AP Features, June 6th, 2007
Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito successfully underwent surgery at a Tokyo hospital Wednesday to remove a benign growth from his small intestine, the doctors treating him said.
"The surgery was performed smoothly as planned and ended successfully," said palace physician Dr. Ichiro Kanazawa. "The crown prince woke up smoothly from the anesthetic and exchanged a few words with the crown princess, who was waiting inside his hospital room."
Doctors at the University of Tokyo Hospital took a little over an hour to remove the polyp in a noninvasive, endoscopic operation, Kanazawa said.
"We were able to do everything that we had to do," said Dr. Hirokazu Nagawa, the surgeon who performed the operation, in which a tube-like scope is inserted through the patient's mouth and esophagus.
Naruhito woke up from the intravenous anesthetic after about an hour, Nagawa said.
"When I asked him, 'Are you all right?' the crown prince responded, 'I'm fine. Is it over already?'" he said. Naruhito was able to walk around the room without any pain or discomfort about an hour after returning to his hospital room, Nagawa added.
"I'm so relieved," Nagawa said.
But Naruhito is not allowed to take any food or liquid by mouth until around Friday, when he can break his fasting with thin rice gruel, Nagawa said. "Till then, he can only nibble on a piece of ice," he said.
Palace doctors found the polyp in Naruhito's duodenum, the first section of the small intestine, during a regular health check in March.
Doctors decided that polyp, called an adenoma, was "worth removing," mainly because the duodenum is more prone to bleeding and other complications than the lower intestines, Moriyama said.
The polyp was "the size of a fingertip," according to Nagawa. The growth will be biopsied for the second time to confirm that it was benign, he added.
The 47-year-old crown prince was expected to remain in the hospital for about a week before returning to his palace to recuperate for another week, Moriyama said.
Crown Princess Masako, the prince's 43-year-old wife, was accompanying Naruhito at the hospital, according to the agency. Masako is still recovering from depression. She withdrew from virtually all of her public duties four years ago after being diagnosed with the stress-induced illness.
