King Diamond undergoes triple bypass heart surgery

[wolfking]

Holy crap, where the hell did this come from.  Kim is only a young 54 years old, I find this a bit shocking.  I know there are not many KD/MF fans but feel the need to post this.

https://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=150748


Livia Zita, the 26-year-old wife of 54-year-old Danish heavy metal singer King Diamond (real name: Kim Bendix Petersen; MERCYFUL FATE, KING DIAMOND), has issued the following update:

"Let me catch you all up on the past couple of weeks' happenings, because it affects many things.

"On Monday the 29th of November, King had to be transported to the nearby hospital by ambulance. After several different tests were done and the EKG machine showing abnormalities, the doctors recommended that he get a cardiac catheterization.

"Cardiac catheterization is a procedure where the doctors lead a very thin tube up from the leg and into the heart, where it injects dye into the bloodstream. Then a camera at the end of the tube takes many pictures of the heart's arteries, looking for blockages.

"After this was done, they determined that King had several heart attacks, and three of his heart's arteries were the cause: one was completely blocked, the second was 90% blocked, and the third was 65% blocked. The only solution to this was an open-heart triple-bypass surgery.

"If you are interested in the details of how this surgery is performed, please look it up online. I will only touch on the basics. The sternum (breastbone) is cut in half and pulled apart, to expose the heart. Veins are harvested from other places of the body, in King's case it was his left leg and chest wall. The person is then hooked up to a machine that practically does the job of the heart, circulating and oxygenating the blood. The heart is then stopped, and the lungs collapse (the lungs stop working since the blood is being oxygenated by the machine). The surgeon then sews the harvested veins in place, bypassing the found blockages. Once the surgery is done, the surgeon moves the ribs and breastbone back into place and wires it together. The chest is closed as well. They use an electric pulse to start the heart and a breathing machine is lead into the lungs to restart breathing.

"King's surgery took approximately seven hours. Everything went well, and King was taken to ICU for recovery. He was walking and eating solid food already two days after the operation, and he was the first one in the history of the hospital who walked on his own power from the ICU to normal care.

"10 days after the ambulance took him to the emergency room, he is at home and is recovering well. It will be a few months before he feels completely normal and is without pain.

"He would like to mention here that he's eternally grateful for the wonderful staff at Centennial Medical Center who took care of him. Dr. Kourlis, Dr. Kamili, Dr. Alang, Nurse Christie and Nurse Thomas among many others made sure that he got the best care and attention he could ever have hoped for. They were always very nice to me, too, letting me stay overnight in the ICU after visiting hours were over.

"In light of this, he will be taking a break from music and the music business altogether until further notice. He very much wants to write new music, finish the DVDs, and go on tour, but for now, all those things are in the distant future and he's not thinking about them.

"Please understand that the KING DIAMOND band is not stopping, disbanding or anything of the sort. King's health is first priority, and when everything is going good with him, the music will resume.

"Thank you all very much for reading this and STAY HEAVY."

[SPNKr]

I was going to look into another thread before I stopped at the title of this one.

I listened to Abigail last week. It was better than ever too.
That being said, I hope for a smooth and easy recovery for KD as it pains me to know of an unfortunate event, like this, about any person I know of. I wish him all the best during this difficult time for him.

[Ultimetalhead]

Oh man. That's awful. Glad he's doing well.

[Mladen]

Get well, King. 

[Fuzzboy]

I'm not really a big fan, although I used to be. Don't Break the Oath was one of the albums that got me into heavy music, so I'll always owe Mercyful Fate for that.

It's super cool that he recovered so well and so quickly from this pretty major surgery. I was kinda sad and worried for him while reading the article, but I couldn't be happier for him now, knowing that he's doing so well in such a short amount of time. 

[yeshaberto]

glad he is doing okay and still hope for future albums

[wolfking]

Yes, it's good news that he has recovered so well, but unbelievable how a 54 year old man could need this sort of surgery.  It is a shame that he is taking a break from music, but her statement was right, the most important thing is his health. 

I still think Andy should finish off the production of the KD and MF DVD's.  We need to see these that they have been working on for so long. 

Get well King, might crank some Them or House of God tonight. 

[Gadough]

and he was the first one in the history of the hospital who walked on his own power from the ICU to normal care.

Fuck yeah

[LudwigVan]

Move from your native Denmark to Texas.... figures you'd get clogged arteries 

Get well soon KD!  The last 2 albums (Puppet Master and Give Me Your Soul) were awesome.


 

[lateralus88]

Get well soon, Sir Diamond.  

[wolfking]

and he was the first one in the history of the hospital who walked on his own power from the ICU to normal care.

Fuck yeah

He truly is magic!! 

[MykeHavoc]

Yeah, heard this a few days ago. Seems to have been kept under wraps till it went successfully. I personally think that is quite nice not to put fans through heartache. I hope he'll be back on his feet soon. I just wanna see him live once before he retires. He's one of the few idols of mine I have yet to.

[Scard]

Woooah, that's really sad! Great to hear he's doing alright though

[wolfking]

Yeah, heard this a few days ago. Seems to have been kept under wraps till it went successfully. I personally think that is quite nice not to put fans through heartache. I hope he'll be back on his feet soon. I just wanna see him live once before he retires. He's one of the few idols of mine I have yet to.

Kim has always come across as one of the most nicest, most level headed, understanding and friendly men in music.  His attitude is wonderful and he is always great to his fans.  his philosophy on life amazes me and every interview I have seen he has been nothing but a true gentleman.