Emperor Akihito to undergo heart bypass surgery
Emperor Akihito will undergo heart bypass surgery Saturday at University of Tokyo Hospital, the Imperial Household Agency said Sunday, after an angiogram performed the previous day showed
the further narrowing of two branches of his left coronary artery. A team of doctors decided to conduct the surgery after consulting the emperor about it, the agency said. It will be the first surgery for the 78-year-old emperor since 2003, when he had surgery for prostate cancer. [...]
Compared with a similar test in February last year,
the two branches of the artery providing oxygen and nourishment to the heart muscle
had narrowed further, prompting doctors to decide coronary artery bypass surgery is necessary, according to the agency. Ichiro Kanazawa, the imperial household's main doctor, and Ryozo Nagai, professor at University of Tokyo, told a news conference
they expect the surgery will enable the emperor to maintain his lifestyle, conducting official duties including visiting local cities nationwide and engaging in physical exercise such as tennis, and improve his quality of life. The surgery will be conducted by a team of doctors from the University of Tokyo Hospital and Juntendo University Hospital, the agency said. [...]
In the surgery
likely to take about five hours, doctors will give the emperor a general anesthetic and work to bypass the obstructed branches
while keeping his own heart beating, the agency said. The emperor is expected to be able
to leave the hospital in about two weeks if there are no complications.
Japan's Emperor Akihito to undergo heart bypass surgery: palace
Japan's Emperor Akihito, 78, will undergo heart bypass surgery this week after tests showed the narrowing of his arteries has worsened, the palace said Sunday. The operation, scheduled for Saturday, will be performed “
to maintain and to improve his majesty's daily life. We have decided to ask his majesty to have a coronary artery bypass surgery,” a palace spokesman said. [...]
The test showed that the narrowing of his arteries has progressed, compared with an examination he underwent a year ago, the spokesman said. Doctors have reached “
a conclusion that a new action has to be taken” to stop the trend, he said. [...]
The surgery comes amid
increasing concerns about Akihito's health. The latest angiogram was arranged after periodic electrocardiograms showed restricted blood flow to his heart. In November, the emperor spent 19 days in hospital suffering mild pneumonia.
