The surgical intervention, which according to his medical team was “necessary” due to the severity of the Pope’s symptoms, would require hospitalization for “several days,” the director of the Holy See’s news service, Matteo Bruni, said in a press release.
On Wednesday morning, the Argentine Pope presided over a general audience in front of thousands of faithful in St. Peter’s Square.
“At the end of the public audience, the Holy Father A. Gemelli went to the University Hospital, where at the beginning of the afternoon, under general anesthesia, he will undergo a laparotomy and plastic surgery with artificial abdominal walls. “, Mr. Bruni pointed out.
A laparotomy is a surgical procedure that involves opening the abdomen.
“The surgery arranged in recent days by the medical team assisting the Holy Father was necessitated by an incisional hernia causing recurrent, painful and worsening sub-occlusive syndromes,” he said.
On Tuesday morning, the head of the Catholic Church had already gone to Gemelli Hospital for “examinations”, but the Vatican did not comment on the nature of the latter.
In July 2021, the Bishop of Rome was already hospitalized for ten days at this hospital for serious colon surgery. He says he has “after effects” from the anesthesia.
At the end of March, François was again treated for three days at the same institution for a respiratory infection.
The health of George Bergoglio, who was elected in 2013, continues to fuel speculation about the possibility of his abdication and his successor.
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