King Harald V’s doctor has said the monarch is making good progress after he underwent surgery to replace a heart valve was first operated on in 2005. Just before 11 am, local time, on October 9th 2020, it was confirmed that His Majesty’s operation had concluded successfully.
At 2 pm the same day, the King’s personal doctor, Bjorn Bendz, met the press to give a statement and answer questions. Dr. Bendz said: “The king is fine after the operation. He received some sedative medication during the procedure itself, even though he was awake, so he has now been lying down and sleeping a bit, but in practice he has been awake and had a good time, and was very happy with outcome of today. He has said a lot of funny things, like he usually does. So he is still our good old king.”
Bendz explained that King Harald was treated in a hybrid room in which all other patients have been treated. The room is a mixture of an X-ray laboratory and an operating room. No complications took place and afterwards the King was returned to the intensive care unit where he is under observation and he is well. It is a goal to get the King out of bed tomorrow, Saturday, and get him to walk on his own.
Bendz says it is difficult to answer when the king can return home but he will probably stay at the hospital over the weekend. The king will be on sick leave until October. When the sick leave ends, he will return to work, the Royal Court has confirmed.
During the press conference, he was also asked about the king’s general health, and said that the king has pain in his legs, which is the reason why he has been unsteady walking which many have noticed lately. This has nothing to do with the heart operation, the king’s doctor assured. However, he has a clear plan for King Harald to live as normal in the future.
Just after 3 pm, the king was visited by Queen Sonja and Crown Prince Haakon.
