UK

King Charles leaves hospital after three-night stay following prostate treatment

4 months ago
King Charles leaves hospital after three-night stay following prostate treatment

The King has left hospital after undergoing treatment for an enlarged prostate.

He will not carry out royal engagements for up to a month as he recovers from the surgery, Sky News understands.

Sky’s royal correspondent Laura Bundock said there will now be a “period of recuperation” for the King, though he can attend to red boxes with government papers.

The monarch, 75, was admitted to the London Clinic hospital on Friday morning with the Queen at his side.

It is the same hospital where the Princess of Wales was recovering after undergoing abdominal surgery.

The princess left earlier on Monday to recover at home in Windsor. It is understood the King visited her ahead of his own treatment.

Image:
The King and the Princess of Wales. Pics: Reuters

When the Queen left the hospital just after 3pm on Friday she told people her husband was “doing well”. She visited him again on Saturday and earlier on Monday.

The King arrived in London from Norfolk on Thursday afternoon ahead of the procedure after a couple of behind-the-scenes official duties.

He was diagnosed with the benign condition on 17 January after going for a check-up when he was experiencing symptoms.

How long will it take for the King to recover?

It’s difficult to say and depends on the individual, says Dr Amos Ogunkoya, an NHS GP working in London.

But how much time the monarch takes to recover may depend on his busy schedule.

A benign enlarged prostate is common in men over 50, according to the NHS, but a small proportion of men undergo a medical procedure to treat the condition.

“It’s rare to have surgery,” Dr Ogunkoya says, but “some people would opt for that before trying therapeutic therapies”.

Choosing whether or not to have surgery “depends on how much of a restriction the enlarged prostate is causing”.

“If it’s enlarged, it can restrict the flow. It can fill the bladder [and] you can get more water infections. It could be uncomfortable,” Dr Ogunkoya adds.

Apart from surgery, he says that some men can take medication to relax the muscles around the bladder and in the prostate gland.

Visit nhs.uk for more information.

It is understood the King shared details of his diagnosis to encourage other men who may be experiencing symptoms to get checked in line with public health advice.

NHS England said the “enlarged prostate” page on the NHS website received one visit every five seconds on the day the King’s diagnosis was announced, with further huge boosts in visits in the following days.

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