Surgery on pope was successful, doctors say he can travel
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[June 08, 2023]
By Philip Pullella, Crispian Balmer and Alvise Armellini
ROME (Reuters) -Pope Francis underwent a three-hour operation in a Rome
hospital on Wednesday to repair a hernia, which doctors said was
successful enough that he should have no limitations on his travels and
other activities after he recovers.
"He even joked with me about when we would do the third operation," said
chief surgeon Doctor Sergio Alfieri, who carried out 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 the 86-year-old Francis had reacted well to general
anaesthesia and that he expected the pope to be in hospital for about
5-7 days.
But he cautioned that while 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.
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His only caution to the pope was that he should not lift any heavy
objects.
"He looked at me as if to say '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 in the Catholic-run hospital a short drive away
from the Vatican and which has a 10th-floor suite reserved for popes.
It is the third hospital stay for Francis since cardinals chose the
Argentinian in 2013 as the first Latin American pope. It is the latest
in a string of health problems in recent years.
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AUDIENCES CANCELLED UNTIL MID-JUNE
The Vatican said all of the pope's private and general audiences had
been cancelled until June 18. In his 2021 stay there, however, Francis
recited the traditional Sunday prayer from a hospital balcony.
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![](../images/060823PIX/news_q27.jpg)
Sergio Alfieri speaks with the media at
the Gemelli Hospital where Pope Francis undergoes the abdominal
surgery, in Rome, Italy, June 7, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
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A statement issued on Wednesday morning said the operation was
necessary to repair a laparocele, a hernia that sometimes forms over
a scar usually resulting from previous surgery. It is more common in
older people and it can also be caused by obesity or weakness of the
abdominal wall muscles.
Alfieri said the pope himself had decided on Tuesday to have the
operation the next day after having a CAT scan at the same hospital.
The pope's condition was causing painful, intestinal occlusions,
Alfieri said, adding that it was getting "continuously worse".
Francis underwent a laparotomy, or open abdominal surgery, and a
prosthesis was used to reconstruct the abdominal wall.
In July 2021 he had part of his colon removed in an operation aimed
at addressing a painful bowel 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 at the end of
March with a lung infection and last month skipped audiences for a
day due to a fever.
The pope often uses a wheelchair or a cane to walk because of
persistent knee pain. Last year he didn't want to have an operation
on his knee because the general anaesthesia for his colon surgery
had brought disagreeable side-effects.
The Vatican announced plans on Saturday for him to visit Mongolia
from Aug. 31-Sept. 4, one of the more remote places he has travelled
to.
Before that he is due to visit Portugal from Aug. 2-6 to attend the
World Youth Day in Lisbon and visit the Shrine of Fatima. The
Vatican on Tuesday released an official schedule for the trip,
giving an indication 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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