Former Empress Michiko leaves hospital after breast cancer surgery

TOKYO - Former Empress Michiko was discharged from the University of Tokyo Hospital on Tuesday, two days after undergoing successful breast cancer surgery, the Imperial Household Agency said.

Doctors deemed the 84-year-old former empress was recovering smoothly from the surgery Sunday after observing that her appetite was gradually returning and she could leave her room and walk around.

The former emperor expressed gratitude to the head of the hospital and doctors who conducted the operation, telling them "thank you" before returning to the Imperial Palace by car.

She was admitted to hospital on Saturday to undergo a partial mastectomy to remove cancerous cells while preserving her left breast.

The operation was performed by medical staff from the Shizuoka Cancer Center, which dispatched doctors to carry out breast cancer screenings of the former empress, and the University of Tokyo Hospital.

A lump was found in July in the mammary gland of the former empress's left breast during an echography exam, and the cancer diagnosis was confirmed after a needle biopsy was conducted in early August.

At stage 1, the earliest stage of invasive breast cancer out of four, no tumor cells were detected to have spread.

A decision on whether or not to administer hormone therapy and other treatments will be made based on the results of a final pathological diagnosis of the removed tissue, which will take one to two weeks to complete.

On the day of the surgery, Former Emperor Akihito and the couple's daughter Sayako Kuroda visited the hospital to see the former empress before her operation. The pair also came to the hospital on Monday.

Former Empress Michiko lost weight due to stress and a busy schedule amid the imperial succession earlier in the year, according to the agency. She underwent cataract surgery on both eyes in June and was earlier diagnosed with heart valve abnormalities, with the condition continuing to be monitored.

The former emperor became the first Japanese monarch to abdicate in about two centuries, bringing an end to the Heisei Era spanning his 30-year reign. His elder son Emperor Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1.

==Kyodo

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Emperor's heart bypass surgery successful, doctors report

TOKYO — Emperor Akihito underwent a successful four-hour heart bypass operation Saturday and hopefully should be fit to play tennis again, officials said amid lingering concerns over his declining health.

It was the first surgery for the 78-year-old emperor since 2003—when he had an operation for prostate cancer—after tests showed a narrowing of two of his coronary arteries.

His physicians, a team from the University of Tokyo hospital and the private Juntendo University, said the operation went without a hitch from the start at 11:01 a.m. until the end at 2:57 p.m.

The emperor was awake before he left the operating room at 3:55 p.m. for the intensive care unit.

His wife Empress Michiko and their daughter Sayako Kuroda, a former princess who left the royal household to marry a commoner, visited him about an hour after he came to the ICU and had a brief chat, the palace said.

He might be discharged in two weeks, his doctors said.

“The operation ended smoothly as planned,” Minoru Ono, surgeon at the University of Tokyo, told a news conference.

“His blood pressure is good. No bleeding is seen. His condition after the surgery is just as expected,” he said.

During his recuperation, Akihito’s first son Crown Prince Naruhito will handle official duties such as attending public ceremonies and meeting state guests.

The monarch arrived at the hospital on Friday morning accompanied by Michiko, who stayed with the emperor overnight.

Akihito walked to the operating room with his wife and daughter seeing him off at its entrance.

After his operation, the empress and Kuroda saw him briefly and rubbed his hand.

“I feel good,” the emperor told them, according to Ono.

More than 10,000 people flocked to the Imperial Palace on Saturday to sign books wishing him well at a special tent set up outside the palace gates.

Local press reports had earlier stressed the surgery was a routine procedure that thousands of Japanese undergo every year. But the surgery came amid increasing concerns about Akihito’s health.

A catheter angiogram taken a week ago showed that his arteries had continued to narrow since an examination a year ago, the palace said in a statement.

In November, Akihito, who acceded to the throne in 1989 following the death of his father Hirohito, spent 19 days in hospital with mild pneumonia and underwent surgery for prostate cancer in 2003.

The palace will continue to consider ways to reduce Akihito’s duties, said Ichiro Kanazawa, the palace’s top medical supervisor.

“Fortunately, his heart has become better, so I am hoping that he will be able to play tennis again,” he said. “But as for his work, we have to think of his age, which is not getting younger.”

source: japantoday.com

Japanese Emperor Akihito to undergo heart surgery

REPORTING FROM SEOUL -- Japan is holding its collective breath as beloved Emperor Akihito is scheduled to undergo heart bypass surgery Saturday in Tokyo.

Officials from the so-called Imperial Household Agency said a medical team from the University of Tokyo Hospital decided to operate on the 78-year-old monarch after recent tests showed that Akihito's heart condition had grown worse over the last year.

The surgery will help ensure the emperor enjoys a relatively active life, officials said.

Akihito has suffered numerous health setbacks including surgery for prostate cancer in 2003 and stress-related health issues in late 2008. He is still seen at numerous events but has cut back on his ceremonial public duties, such as offering speeches and meeting foreign dignitaries.

Despite ancient dynastic roots, the monarchy has changed with the times, to a certain extent. No longer is the emperor regarded as a living god, as was the case for centuries. Still, Akihito is a much-revered figure.

Although Japan's modern-day tabloids sometimes strike a gossipy tone when talking about members of the current royal family -- aggressively dissecting Empress Michiko's stress-related ailments, or the failure of her daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Masako, to produce a male heir -- there is rarely, if ever, a disrespectful word uttered of Akihito.

Following last year’s deadly earthquake and tsunami, Akihito delivered an unprecedented imperial pep talks to his people in which he urged calm, perseverance and solidarity in "the difficult days that lie ahead."

Akihito assumed the throne in 1989 following the death of his father, Emperor Hirohito.

After the emperor spent nearly three weeks in the hospital in 2011, Prince Akishino, who is second in line to the throne, called for debate on a retirement age for the head of state.

Under Japan's 1947 Imperial House Law, the emperor is succeeded on his death by a male relative. Crown Prince Naruhito is first in line to the throne, followed by his younger brother.

source: latimes.com