Pope Francis Undergoes Surgery, Is Okay, But Will Need At Least Five Days To Heal

O Vatican informed on the afternoon of this Wednesday, the 7th, that the operation of the Pope Francis it was completed without complications and that the pontiff is doing well. According to reports from the doctor who performed it after the operation, he even joked at the end of the process. “The Pope is well, awake and talking to his collaborators. He arrived at the hospital because he had a postoperative hernia with bowel obstruction syndrome, which in recent months caused pain and often also subocclusive syndrome. So, with the other doctors, we decided to proceed with the operation,” said the surgeon to the head of the Catholic Church, Sergio Alfier. “The Holy Father responded well to both the surgery and the anesthesia. The Holy Father is already awake, he has already joked and teased me, ”he added. The 86-year-old Argentine, who has been head of the Catholic Church since 2013, had to undergo emergency surgery due to the risk of intestinal obstruction. This “benign” surgery, decided on Tuesday, will have no sequelae, and Jorge Bergoglio does not suffer from any other pathology, detailed Professor Sergio Alfieri, during a press conference at the Gemelli hospital in Rome. The surgery lasted three hours, according to the Holy See. The concern for Francisco’s health is a recurring concern, especially in relation to his permanence in office. Which he has already made it clear that he would abdicate if he is not in full condition to continue.

The operation that Francisco underwent this Wednesday was laparotomy, a surgical procedure that consists of opening the abdominal cavity. “The operation, prepared in recent days by the medical team that attends to the Holy Father, became necessary because of an incisional hernia that causes recurrent, painful and worsening obstruction syndromes,” added Bruni. The surgical intervention is “necessary” due to the worsening of the symptoms presented by the pontiff, informed his medical team in the morning, and will require “several days” of hospitalization, informs a statement released by the director of the press service of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni. According to Alfier, “generally, for this surgery, you stay in the hospital between five and seven days”, said the professional who believes that this should be the pontiff’s recovery time. However, he stressed that Francisco is already an elderly man and that he has already had four surgeries and that he was recently hospitalized for a lung infection, “so of course we will take all precautions. He has just had surgery, give us a few days to get back to you about his post-op stay.”