I forgot to ask you guys if we knew before this past week that Prince Philip had a pre-existing heart condition? I don’t think we knew that, but I honestly haven’t paid close attention to Philip’s hospitalizations over the years. The Palace confirmed the pre-existing condition last week when Philip was – they claimed – being hospitalized for some kind of infection. Then he was transferred to St. Bart’s, which has one of the best cardiac centers in London apparently. And now we’re learning that Philip had some kind of “medical procedure” having to do with his pre-existing heart condition.
Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, has undergone a successful medical procedure on a pre-existing heart condition, Buckingham Palace said Thursday.
Philip, 99, was first admitted to a London hospital last month after feeling unwell. The palace later confirmed he had an infection, and he was transferred to another hospital on Monday to continue treatment and undergo tests on the heart condition.
“The Duke of Edinburgh yesterday underwent a successful procedure for a pre-existing heart condition at St Bartholomew’s Hospital,” the palace said in a statement early Thursday. “His Royal Highness will remain in hospital for treatment, rest and recuperation for a number of days.”
The palace had previously said he was expected to stay in the hospital until at least the end of the week.
St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, which is run by the publicly-funded National Health Service, says it has Europe’s largest specialized cardiovascular service.
From the language being used by the Palace, and the fact that Prince Charles has been the only one to visit Philip in three weeks, I’m assuming that this really was a relatively minor procedure. It likely wasn’t open-heart surgery, and if he had a bypass, I think they would just say that. My guess is that the cardiac surgeons inserted a stent or something like that. Which would still be a big deal (especially for a 99-year-old man), but again… the palace seems to be minimizing everything, so let’s take our cues from them. And honestly, if Liz and her aides were super-concerned, they wouldn’t be spending all of their time this week on smearing the Duchess of Sussex! They’ve stepped on their own dumb narratives, so here we are.
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A.k.a. they gave him an aspirin…
This.
I didn’t know everything, but hospital is really tough for older people, and a surgery with anestesia…it will take a lot of time to recover.
And if he asked to see Charles and not his wife…for me it’s WOW.
He’s 99. They’re not performing valve replacement or bypass surgery on a 99 year old because it is too dangerous. Anesthesia at that age is dangerous. Probably a pacemaker or angioplasty.
Even that can be rough. My 90yo great uncle had a pacemaker installed last winter and never recovered from it; he developed a small infection and his body shut down which… Is fine I guess? It’s bound to happen at some point and he was able to go gently and his wife was allowed to be by his side at the end despite of covid (no funerals though). At that point that was the best outcome one could hope for. Arrhythmia would be incredibly uncomfortable so I guess a pacemaker would still count as comfort care? Philip probably won’t make it to his 100 bday and it has nothing to do with H&M, he’s just a very old man and the rota and courtiers need to come to term with that.
My guess is angioplasty. My dad was awake for the entire procedure when they put the stents in.
More likely an angiogram. And I hope they keep him for a while. They sent my Dad home after an angiogram. His incision opened that night and he bled out. They took him back to the hospital and he died the next morning.
Hasn’t he had heart problems/surgery before? At his age ANY surgery is dangerous.
Of course he did.
My reaction was “isn’t being 99 a pre-existing heart condition by default.”
Yes, I remembered he had a heart cath several years ago, but I work in heart surgery so that’s something that would stand out to me. That is also why I have extremely high doubt that any physician performed any heart procedure of any significance on a 99 year old (with an infection no less!). I bet they just did something simple like a 12 lead ECG and BP is just calling it a “procedure” to try to turn it into a distracting headline.
Could he have had something like a cardioversion for an arrhythmia? Have a family member in his 90’s who never had heart issues but developed a problem later in life and has had two procedures in the last few years. Fortunately successful both times and continues with a normal life. Not an invasive procedure and IIRC only modest time under anesthesia. But I’m not a professional, I’m sure you know much more about the possibilities…
Maybe? I’m not a physician and I certainly don’t have Prince Philip’s chart in front of me, but I can just about guarantee you nobody wants to be the doctor who killed the Duke of Edinburgh. I get elderly patients all the time with other issues and think “I really wish I could tell the family to take grandpa home and enjoy their remaining time with him instead of subjecting him to this and then he dies in the hospital two weeks later.” I call it “Nobody In The Family With Any Medical Background Syndrome,” because if they had access to any RN/PA/MT/EMT/MA/RT or anybody to translate for them they could figure out it’s almost never worth it.
@FancyPants- I remember he had A Heart Thing, but my grandpa is of similar age and had heart stuff too. (Most people in their 90s have some kind of heart assistance.) My grandpa has a pacemaker, and every time he’s in the hospital or does anything medical, they keep a real close eye on his heart.
Agree. My mother is getting older and has had a stroke. The most her cardiologist is willing to do at her age is cardiac catherization and a cardioversion, and she is nearly 20 years younger than Prince Philip. I can’t imagine they were doing major surgery on a 99yo.
They don’t really reveal the kind of sickness they have , they are always been cagey about their illness but because they need the public sympathy after the interview they are now somewhat open about his condition
Well that’s a relief. At least now meghan and harry don’t have to go back to the UK any time soon. Thank god for small mercies
His preexisting condition is that his heart is 99 years old.
Exactly. At 99 every body system has a preexisting medical condition. Give me a break. They need sympathy. We are able to see through it.
If he had an infected valve, he may have had a TAVR (trans-catheter aortic valve replacement) it’s minimally invasive and is an option for those who don’t qualify for regular open heart procedures. That being said, I recovered quite a few people in their 80’s-90’s who had this and very few actually did well. Their quality of life was rarely what it was pre-operatively and was riddled with complications such as renal failure.
I know this makes me sounds nasty but I just have to say it.
How many “common” people live to 99?
A typical human at 99 would not be having any kind of surgery, IMO.
None of us “commoners” will get the very best health care for decades, be pampered and live the life of extreme luxury, and travel, expensive hobbies, eat the finest food and drink, etc. that everyone in the BRF has enjoyed.
The Firm, the BRF, all the billionaires and filthy rich folks can go right ahead and kiss my working class butt!
Dolly Parton putting up $1M of her own money toward covid vaccine on top of her free books for little kids, really makes her stand out as a human being.
Go Dolly!
Btw, TQ and PP, your disgusting son Andrew still needs to be brought in by the law! Criminal.
Conspiracy theory : this was a planned admission for an existing heart issue, but was scheduled purposefully by courtiers before the Oprah interview to drum up Palace sympathy?
I literally wouldn’t put it past them
The fact that they are being deliberately vague about what the procedure was exactly is again a tool to keep the conversation going on this distraction.
I mean… he’s 99. It’s kind of a miracle a doctor would perform an operation on him because a 99 year old with anesthesia is a dangerous thing.
I dont think the Queen would visit him even if he was dying tbh, it would be extremely dangerous for her to go into a hospital with COVID the way it is and her being as old as she is as well.
Yesterday Camilla said he was getting better, now he’s had surgery? I don’t understand why the royal reporters are not scrutinizing this story more. I think we can assume that Philip is in relatively good health for the doctors to do a procedure on a 99 year old man.
My grandmother was in excellent physical health until 93yo. She had a heart thingy too. Then another. Then another. I spoke with my doctor after she died who informed me “All of us die from heart failure if we live long enough”.
So as saddle Meghan with “timing”, this fortunately very old man, who didn’t have to sharecrop like my granny while raising her 9 children, is on his way outta this life to the next stage. He’s 99, how much longer do they think he has? Should Meghan hold up her life for the next 2yrs? Yes. Yes that’s exactly what they want her to do.
Phil had heart surgery at 99???? Are they trying to set him up for a record breaking tie with Vlad Lenin for best preserved corpse?
Maybe he’ll be like Jeremy Bentham (British philosopher who died in 1832)whose body is clothed and sitting in a box at University College, London. I spent Junior Year Abroad there and the first time I turned the corner and saw him sitting in his box I nearly fainted from surprise. He looks better than Philip
Someone suggested yesterday that this might be a Weekend at Bernie’s situation, so his death could be announced at a time that would put Harry and Meghan in the worst light. I think that is too complicated for them to pull off, but it’s interesting to consider.
I’m coming here to say that I’m not going to comment on this story out of respect for Prince Phil.
Signed, Carole Middleton
(Am I the only one who pronounces her name CaROLE, rhymes with “bowl”? That extra E just irks me).
I’m going to purposely call her Scarole and pronounce it “SHKAROL”.