In July a catheter draining fluid from King Adulyadej’s brain was found to need adjusting, while in June the 88-year-old monarch underwent an operation to widen arteries in his heart. Over the past two years King Adulyadej has been treated for a wide range of bacterial infections, breathing difficulties, heart problems and hydrocephalus (a build-up of cerebrospinal fluid often referred to as ‘water on the brain’). In 2007 he suffered the first of several Ischemic strokes.