Duke of Edinburgh in hospital following chest pains, angioplasty/stent operation

[The Bread Guy]

Here's hoping for a quick & full recovery.... 

The Queen has visited the Duke of Edinburgh in hospital in Cambridgeshire, where he has been treated for a blocked coronary artery.

A "minimally invasive procedure of coronary stenting" was successfully performed after he was taken to hospital suffering chest pains.

The duke, 90, is in "good spirits" but remains under observation at Papworth Hospital, Buckingham Palace said.

The Queen was accompanied by their sons Edward and Andrew, and daughter, Anne.

They arrived by helicopter for a 45-minute visit, where they were met by the hospital's chief executive and Professor John Cunningham, chief physician to the Queen.

After they left, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall arrived by car from Highgrove.

BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell said the fact the Queen had visited her husband so promptly suggested it was a "moment of real anxiety" for the royal family, albeit one which appeared to have passed.

The coronary stenting procedure involves pushing a balloon into the artery and blowing it up to remove the blockage.

The stent is a metal sleeve fitted over the balloon, which remains inside the body when the balloon is removed.

The duke would have remained conscious during the procedure.

He was flown to the hospital by an RAF helicopter. No other member of the Royal Family travelled with him.

Buckingham Palace said he was eager to leave but it was likely he would have to stay in overnight ....

BBC, 24 Dec 11

More from Google News here.

 

[ModlrMike]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

While I disagree that threading a wire from your groin to your heart is "minimally invasive", it is a common enough procedure to have a relatively small degree of risk.

 

[PMedMoe]

He's out of the hospital now.  http://ca.news.yahoo.com/britains-prince-philip-spends-3rd-night-hospital-heart-100322879.html

 

[brihard]

He's a cantankerous old coot. He'll come through this out of spite if for no other reason- and I hope swiftly. I had the pleasure and honour of meeting - and being made fun of - by him last year when my regiment visited him (as our Colonel-in-chief) at Rideau Hall. I got the impression then, and maintain it now, that it will take more than a stent to slow him down much.