Royal Watch News

King Juan Carlos leaves hospital

Dec 3, 2012, 12:02 GMT

King Juan Carlos

Spain's King Juan Carlos has been discharged from hospital.

The 74-year-old monarch was in good spirits as he left the Madrid Medical Centre yesterday (02.12.12), nine days after undergoing reconstructive surgery on his left hip joint and vowed to 'take things very easy' during his recuperation.

A hospital statement says the king had 'very satisfactorily completed the first phase of his rehabilitation.'

The operation lasted 90 minutes and doctors were able to deal with the deterioration of the left hip joint caused by osteoarthritis by implanting a state-of-the-art artificial hip.

This is the third operation king has undergone on his hip and his sixth overall in the past two-and-a-half years. His other operations were on a benign lung tumour in 2010, on a torn Achilles tendon last year, and a procedure to replace his right knee joint with an artificial one.

During his stint in hospital, the king had several visitors including Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, wife Queen Sofia, Princess Elena, Princess Cristina, Crown Prince Felipe and his wife, Princess Letizia.