ROME, June 7 (Reuters) – Pope Francis underwent a three-hour operation at a Rome hospital on Wednesday to repair a hernia, which doctors said was successful enough that he has no limitations on his travels and other activities after you recover.
“He even joked with me about when we would do the third operation,” said the chief surgeon, Dr. Sergio Alfieri, who performed a first abdominal operation on Francis in 2021.
Alfieri, speaking to reporters at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, said no other ailments or pathologies were discovered during the operation.
The surgeon said that Francis, 86, had reacted well to general anesthesia and that he expected the pope to be in the hospital for five to seven days.
But he warned that, although strong, the pope was elderly and recently had bronchitis, so “we will take all necessary precautions” regarding the timing of the hospital stay.
Francis has two trips planned for this summer, and Alfieri said he saw no medical reason why the pope would have to change his schedule.
His only warning to the Pope was not to lift heavy objects.
“He looked at me like, ‘I’m the Pope. I don’t lift weights,'” Alfieri said.
Francis was taken to hospital after his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square, where he gave no sign that he was about to enter hospital for planned surgery.
The operation took place at the Catholic hospital a short distance from the Vatican and which has a suite on the 10th floor reserved for popes.
It is Francis’ third hospitalization since the cardinals elected the Argentine in 2013 as the first Latin American Pope. He is the last of a chain of health problems in recent years.
(1/4) Sergio Alfieri speaks to the media at the Gemelli Hospital where Pope Francis is undergoing abdominal surgery, in Rome, Italy, June 7, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
HEARINGS CANCELED UNTIL MID-JUNE
The Vatican said all private and general audiences with the pope had been canceled until June 18. However, during his stay there in 2021, Francis recited the traditional Sunday prayer from a hospital balcony.
A statement issued Wednesday morning said the operation was necessary to repair a laparocele, a hernia that sometimes forms over a scar that usually results from previous surgery. It is more common in older people and can also be caused by obesity or weakness of the abdominal wall muscles.
Alfieri said the Pope himself had decided on Tuesday to have surgery the next day after undergoing a CT scan at the same hospital.
The pope’s condition was causing painful intestinal occlusions, Alfieri said, adding that it was getting “continually” worse.
Francis underwent a laparotomy, or open abdominal surgery, and a prosthesis was used to reconstruct the abdominal wall.
In July 2021, part of his colon was removed in an operation to treat a painful intestinal condition called diverticulitis. He said earlier this year that the condition had returned and was affecting his weight.
Francis was treated for five days at the same hospital in late March with a lung infection and missed hearings for a day last month due to a fever.
Pope often uses a wheelchair or walking cane due to persistent knee pain. Last year he did not want to have knee surgery because the general anesthesia for his colon operation had brought unpleasant side effects.
The Vatican announced plans Saturday for him to visit Mongolia from Aug. 31 to Sept. 1. 4, one of the most remote places he has traveled to.
Before that, you must visit Portugal from August 2 to 6 to attend the World Youth Day in Lisbon and visit the Sanctuary of Fatima. The Vatican published an official timetable for the trip on Tuesday, giving an indication that it was confirmed.
Additional reporting by Alvise Armellini, Keith Weir, Federico Maccioni and Crispian Balmer, editing by William Maclean, Alex Richardson and Nick Macfie
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