Pope Francis undergoes second bowel surgery in two years

Rome — Pope Francis underwent intestinal surgery on Wednesday, two years after he was they removed 13 inches of his colon due to inflammation and narrowing of the large intestine.

The procedure successfully removed intestinal scar tissue and repaired a hernia in Francis’ abdominal wall, the latest illnesses to befall the 86-year-old pontiff.

The Vatican said there were no complications during the three-hour surgery, which required Francis to be under general anesthesia. The pontiff was expected to stay at Rome’s Gemelli hospital for several days and all papal audiences were canceled until June 18.

Dr. Sergio Alfieri, Gemelli’s director of abdominal and endocrine sciences, who also performed Francis’ colon surgery in 2021, said the operation was successful. A short time later, the Pope was awake, alert and even joking.

“When are we going to do the third?” he quoted Francis as saying.

During the operation, doctors removed internal adhesions or scars in the intestine that had caused a partial blockage, as well as pain in recent months. Alfieri revealed that Francis had undergone previous undisclosed abdominal surgeries sometime before 2013 in Argentina, which had also left him with scars.

To repair the hernia that had formed over a previous scar, a prosthetic mesh was placed in the abdominal wall, Alfieri said. He added that the Pope did not suffer from other pathologies, that the removed tissue was benign and that after he recovers, he should be fine.

Apparently, no dreaded bulge, or bowel bulge, was found through the hernia tear.

“It appears they operated on him in a timely manner without compromising his intestine,” said Dr. Walter Longo, chief of colon and rectal surgery at Yale University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the surgery and commented after consulting to the Vatican Communiqué on the procedure.

“The stay in the health facility will last several days to allow the normal postoperative course and full functional recovery,” the statement said.

Francis spent 10 days at Gemelli in July 2021 for his previous bowel surgery. She had suffered what the Vatican said was severe inflammation and narrowing of the colon.

In an interview with The Associated Press in January, Francis said the diverticulosis, or bulges in the intestinal wall, that prompted the 2021 surgery, had returned.

Francis went to the Gemelli on Tuesday for what the Vatican said were medical tests. He did not reveal details at the time.

Francis, 86, appeared in fine form Wednesday morning for his audience in St. Peter’s Square, zipping around the square in his popemobile, greeting worshipers. He also had two meetings on Wednesday morning earlier, the Vatican said.

The Argentine Pope had part of a lung removed when he was young. He also suffers from sciatic nerve pain and has been using a wheelchair and walker for over a year due to a strained knee ligament.

The pontiff spent three days in the hospital at the end of March. Initially, the Vatican said he had undergone scheduled tests, but later revealed that he felt chest pain and was rushed to hospital, where he was diagnosed with bronchitis. He was prescribed intravenous antibiotics and released on April 1. joking that he was “still alive”.

Francis has had a busy schedule lately, with multiple hearings each day. The Vatican has recently confirmed a travel-packed August, when the Holy See and Italy are usually on vacation, with a four-day visit to Portugal the first week of August and an equally long trip to Mongolia starting on August 31.

In a sign that the trips were underway, the Vatican on Tuesday released the planned itinerary for Francis’ visit to Portugal for World Youth Day events Aug. 2-6. The itinerary confirms a typically tight schedule that includes all the protocol meetings of an official state visit plus multiple events with young people and a day trip to the Marian sanctuary in Fatima.