Spain's former monarch Juan Carlos I said Saturday that he was feeling ``phenomenal'' with ``new plumbing'' after a successful triple bypass heart surgery.
``It feels like a truck ran me over, but now it's about getting rid of the truck and looking ahead,'' the 81-year-old king emeritus said as he was driven out of a hospital in the outskirts of Madrid.
``New pipes, new plumbing, [it feels] phenomenal,'' he added.
Quiron Salud Hospitals Managing Director Lucia Alonso said the former king was discharged one week after the operation because he was ``clinically stable.''
The operation was Juan Carlos' 17th surgical procedure and had been scheduled two months ago.
The king emeritus abdicated in 2014 in favor of his son, Felipe, ending a nearly 39-year reign. He retired from public duties last May.
Former Spanish King Feels 'Phenomenal' After Heart Surgery
![Former Spanish monarch Juan Carlos I sits in a car as he leaves Quiron Salud Hospitals one week after a heart surgery in Madrid, Spain, Aug. 31, 2019, in this still image taken from a video obtained by Reuters.](https://gdb.voanews.com/a3fa2577-3eb4-49b4-9b27-06e843d67cd2_w250_r1_s.jpg)