Pope Francis is operated on for an abdominal hernia "without complications", says the Vatican

Photo: Franco Origlia/Getty Images

The abdominal hernia operation to which Pope Francis underwent today at the Gemelli hospital in Rome, for which he had to receive general anesthesia, has ended without complications, the Vatican confirmed.

“The surgical intervention is over. It has developed without complications and has lasted three hours“, explains a brief statement from the Holy See, which for the moment has not offered more details.

The 86-year-old pontiff will have to remain hospitalized for a few days and the Prefecture of the Papal Household, which manages his schedule, today canceled all his activities until June 18.

Immediately afterwards, the pope was transferred to the Gemelli pontifical apartment, on the tenth floor, according to local media reports.

Francisco received general anesthesiaas confirmed by the Holy See in a statement this morning.

The surgical intervention was carried out by the team of surgeon Sergio Alfieri, who already operated on his colon two years ago.

Specifically, a laparotomy was performed on an abdominal incisional hernia, probably produced after his colon operation two years ago, given the risk that it could cause intestinal obstruction.

The Vatican explained that "the operation, arranged in recent days by the medical team assisting the pope, has become necessary because of an incarcerated incisional hernia which is causing recurrent, painful and worsening subocclusive syndromes”.

The operation has been considered urgent after the results of the CT scan that he underwent yesterday, Tuesday, and occurs after the colon intervention in July 2021.

Francisco underwent colon surgery for diverticula in the same Roman hospital on July 4, 2021, with the removal of 33 centimeters of intestine, and was discharged after 10 days, followed by a slow recovery.

This is the third time that the pope has been admitted to the Roman hospitalwhere he was admitted for three nights at the end of March for "acute pneumonia."

The other Pope suffers from a problem in his right knee that forces him to walk with a cane or to move in a wheelchair and has assured on several occasions that he does not want to undergo surgery.

During a press conference on his return from a trip, he confessed that the anesthesia affected him a lot during the colon operation and "it still carries some effects." "You don't play with anesthesia and that's why you think it's not convenient," he said regarding this possible operation.

With information from Efe.

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