Jan 13, 2009, 11:05 GMT
Belgium's Queen Fabiola was sedated using hypnosis during her recent surgery.
The 80-year-old royal had surgery - believed to be on her thyroid - at the University Hospital of Liege on Thursday (08.01.09) but elected not to have a general anesthetic.
Fabiola - the widow of King Baudouin, who died in 1993 after 42 years as sovereign - underwent a technique called hyposedation, which the hospital is famed for.
The method is usually used on older patients because general anaesthetics can have serious side-effects and can be dangerous for older people.
The medical centre in Liege has carried out more than 4,000 operations using the technique, and the queen is believed to have elected to have her operation there for that reason.
Fabiola's surgery went well and she was allowed home on Sunday (12.01.09).
Details of the royal's surgery are yet to be released, although a French television network has reported the operation was to fix a thyroid problem.
A royal spokesman said: "Queen Fabiola underwent a planned benign operation."
Fabiola - who was a hospital nurse when she met the king in the late 50s - was Belgium's queen consort between 1960 and 1993.
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