CONDITION SATISFACTORY

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 536, 13 December 1928, Page 1

CONDITION SATISFACTORY

FLUID TAKEN FROM RIGHT LUNG SURGEON CALLED IN FOR FIRST TIME

REPORTS ARE NOW MUCH MORE HOPEFUL (United P.A.—By Telegraph — Copyright) (Australian and N.Z. Press Association) (United Service) Reed. 11.50 a.m. LONDON, Wednesday. rE latest bulletin regarding the King's condition, issued at 8.45 p.m., states "An operation on the King for drainage of the right side of the chest was successfully performed this evening. His Majesty’s condition is satisfactory.”

(Received 11 a.m.)

An official bulletin was issued at Buckingham Palace at 10.30 a.m. today by Sir Stanley Hewett and Lord Dawson of Penn. It stated: “His Majesty the Vling has had tome hours’ sleep, and the slight improvement noticed in his condition late last night is maintained. “The King's temperature is somewhat lower, and his genera) condition a little better." QUEEN AT TOWER HILL Prayers for the King have been arranged daily at noon in the Abbey till further notice. The happiest news from the palace was the Queen’s statement that she would fulfil her engagement at Tower Hill to unveil the mercantile war memorial, thus emphasising a note of hope. Th. great anxiety which prevailed at the palace yesterday and on Monday was appreciably lessened to-day, the most satisfactory feature of the bulletins being the lowered temperature. The Queen, at Tower Hill, not only unveiled her first war memorial, but her voice was heard over the wireless for the first time. Despite the weather, thousands gathered along the route to show their appreciation of the Queen’s action in keeping the appointment. The seamen’s memorial is engraved with the names of 12,086 officers and men who gave their lives. It has been erected by all the Governments of the Empire, through the Imperial War Graves Commission. After the Queen had unveiled it, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Cosmo G. Lang, dedicated the memorial. A little past noon the Prince of Wales drove up to the palace, heavily muffled in a large overcoat as a precaution against the unpleasant weather, in contrast with the sunshine of Africa. The Duke of York, who called for the Prince at York House, accompanied him. A large crowd greeted the Princes at the palace gates. A MINOR OPERATION Sir Stanley Hewett and Lord Dawson remained at the palace until one o'clock, and returned at three o’clock, accompanied by Sir Edward Buzzard and Sir Humphrey Rolleston. when they saw the King again. Sir Hugh Rigby, his Majesty’s honorary surgeon iu ordinary, was summoned in the afternoon. Much secrecy surrounded a minor operation which was performed on the King. Very few even in the palace knew the reason. Lord Dawson and Sir Stanley Hewett remained so long with his Majesty that the bacteriologist arrived in the afternoon before the bulletin 'which was issued at 3.20) was posted. It read: “The slight improvement in the King's condition noticed this morning, and his strength, are maintained. Some purulent fluid around the base of the right lung was removed by a puncture this n’orning, and further drainage will be necessary.”

this development was accompanied by an increase of leucocytosis. An exploratory puncture at the extreme right posterior base of the lung, a purulent fluid was obtained which contained an organism morphologically resembling those previously found in the blood stream. Drainage will now be performed. Though this pleural localisation of the infection, so anxiously anticipated and looked for, makes the direction of advance more defined and hopeful, there is still in prospect a long and difficult struggle.”