Three-Hour Abdominal Surgery On Pope Was Successful
Wednesday, doctors at Rome's Gemelli hospital said that surgery on Pope was successful after a three-hour surgery to fix a hernia. Pope Francis, who is 86 years old, was taken to the Gemelli hospital in Rome right after his June 7 general audience.
Author:Hajra ShannonReviewer:Paula M. GrahamJun 08, 202335 Shares34.5K Views
Wednesday, doctors at Rome's Gemelli hospital said that surgery on Pope was successfulafter a three-hour surgery to fix a hernia.
Pope Francis, who is 86 years old, was taken to the Gemelli hospital in Rome right after his June 7 general audience. Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the chief surgeon who worked on the pope, said at a news conference after the surgery that the pope was put under general anesthesia and had stomach surgery to fix a hernia that had formed at the site of previous incisions.
Doctors Say Surgery On Pope Was Successful
Doctors say surgery on Pope Francis was successful
The Vatican said Wednesday that Pope Francis had a three-hour operation on his stomach that went well. This came after new worries about the 86-year-old's fragile health. The Vatican said there were no problems that were known about. Earlier, it was said that the pope would stay in the hospital for a few days.
Dr. Alfieri said that Pope Francis had scars and adhesions inside his body from two surgeries he had a long time ago, possibly in Argentina. One was to treat peritonitis, which is inflammation of the abdominal tissue caused by an infected gallbladder, and the other was to treat hydatid disease, which is caused by cysts that contain a parasite. This last surgery had left scars in the Pope's abdominal muscle, which was where a new hernia had formed.
The signs of the intestinal hernia, on the other hand, made it clear that surgery was the only option. The "sub-occlusive syndrome," which is a narrowing of the gut, can be very painful and sometimes dangerous if it is not treated. It can also get sick, which can cause fevers. This might explain why the Pope had to cancel his public events for a day because of a fever two weeks ago.
Dr. Alfieri said that during the three-hour operation, adhesions were found between the gut and the membrane that lines the abdomen. These had been causing an "aggravating, painful" intestinal blockage for months.
The Pope is likely to stay at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome for a few days. Even though hernia surgeries aren't usually done in an emergency, Francis's was planned just one day after he went to the hospital for tests. This made it seem like it was a bit of a rush.
His doctors probably also wanted to give him a lot of time to get better before he had to travel a lot later this summer. The pope had a "painful and getting worse" hernia that had formed over an old scar, likely from his stomach surgery in 2021.
At his Wednesday morning audience in St. Peter's Square, the pope was in good shape. He zipped around the square in his popemobile to meet the faithful. The Vatican also said that he had two talks before that.
Francis has been going to a lot of places and speaking to a lot of people each day. The Vatican just announced that there will be a lot of travel in August, which is usually when the Holy See and Italy are on vacation. In the first week of August, he is going to Portugal for four days, and on August 31, he is going to Mongolia for the same amount of time.
Tuesday, the Vatican released the schedule for Pope Francis' trip to Portugal for World Youth Day events from August 2 to August 6. This showed that the trips were still happening. The busy plan includes all the protocol meetings of an official state visit, as well as multiple events with young people and a day trip to the Marian shrine at Fatima.
This is the third time Pope Francis has gone to the hospital since he became the first Latin American pope in 2013. Because of inflammation and narrowing of the big intestine, he also had 33cm (13 inches) of his colon taken out two years ago. Part of one of his lungs was taken out when he was young in Argentina, and he often needs a cane to walk because his knees hurt.
Conclusion
Pope Francis had surgery to fix a hole in his abdominal wall, and it went well. The surgery took three hours and Francis had to be put to sleep for it. The Vatican said there were no problems during the treatment. The pontiff was due to stay at the Gemelli hospital in Rome for a few days, and all papal audiences were canceled until June 18.
Hajra Shannon
Author
Paula M. Graham
Reviewer
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