1 of 1 Pope Francis was hospitalized this Wednesday (29) for treatment of respiratory problems Photo: Alessandra Tarantino/AP Pope Francis was hospitalized this Wednesday (29) for treatment of respiratory problems Photo: Alessandra Tarantino/AP
Pope Francis was doing well Thursday morning after spending his first night in hospital following abdominal surgery, the Vatican said.
“The night went well,” the Vatican said in a brief statement, adding that the pope had a peaceful night.
Francis, 86, underwent a threehour operation to repair a hernia at a hospital in Rome on Wednesday. According to the doctors, the surgery was successful.
Doctor Sergio Alfieri, chief surgeon who operated on the pope at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, said Francis responded well to the general anesthetic and he expects the pope to stay in the hospital for around five to seven days.
Francisco has planned two trips this summer: to Portugal from August 2nd to 6th to attend World Youth Day and to visit the Shrine of Fatima, and to Mongolia from August 31st to September 3rd.
Alfieri said he sees no medical reason why the pope would need to change his schedule if the recovery is going well, as the surgeon hopes.
The Vatican announced that all papal audiences had been canceled until June 18 as a precautionary measure.
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Doctors said the surgery was necessary to repair a laparocele, a hernia that sometimes forms over scars that usually result from previous surgeries. It is more common in older people and can also be caused by obesity or weak abdominal wall muscles.
Alfieri said the Pope’s condition was causing painful bowel obstructions with increasing frequency.
Francisco underwent a laparotomy, which is open abdominal surgery, and a mesh prosthesis was used to reconstruct the abdominal wall.
In July 2021, he had part of his colon removed during surgery to treat a painful bowel condition called diverticulitis. He said earlier this year that the disease had come back and was affecting his weight.
It is Francis’ third hospitalization since the cardinals elected the Argentine as the first Latin American pope in 2013.