Pope Benedict XVI fractures wrist in a fall

[July 17, 2009]  AOSTA, Italy (AP) -- A hospital spokesman says Pope Benedict XVI is undergoing surgery after breaking his right wrist in a fall during his vacation in the Italian Alps.

Tiziano Trevisan, a spokesman at the Umberto Parini hospital in Aosta, says surgeons were operating Friday on the wrist to reduce the fracture, a procedure to realign the broken bone fragments.

He said they were giving 82-year-old Benedict "light sedation," though heavier anesthesia may be given as the surgery progresses.

A Vatican statement says the pope fell in his room in a nearby chalet overnight and despite the accident, celebrated Mass and had breakfast before going to the hospital.

[Associated Press]

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