Pope Francis in good spirits after he undergoes surgery to repair hernia in abdominal wall – TheLiberal.ie – Our News, Your Views

Pope Francis in good spirits after he undergoes surgery to repair hernia in abdominal wall




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Pope Francis underwent surgery on Wednesday to repair a hernia in his abdominal wall, the latest disease to befall the 86-yr-old pope, who had part of his colon removed two years ago.

The Vatican said there were no complications after the three-hour surgery, during which Francis was under general anesthesia, reports Breaking News.

The 86-year-old pope was to spend several days at the Gemelli hospital in Rome. The Vatican said that as a precaution, all papal audiences have been canceled until June 19.

Although hernia surgery is rarely an emergency, the procedure seemed quite urgent and was scheduled just a day after Francis went to the hospital for tests, reports Breaking News.

Experts said that the formation of a hernia, called a laparocele, is a known complication of colorectal surgery.

There is concern that part of his intestines may have bulged and become trapped by a tear.

Francis went to the hospital on Tuesday for unannounced tests, returned to the Vatican and held an audience on Wednesday morning, but then went straight to Gemella for the procedure.

“When the intestines are trapped, the blood supply to the bowel is compromised. And if you don’t take care of it, the bowel will die, and you will have gangrenous intestines,” said Dr Walter Longo, chief of colon and rectal surgery at Yale University School of Medicine, reports Breaking News.

The doctor said Francis should be OKAY after a few weeks of recovery, but he noted that the ageing pope is already frail.

“There’s the risk of going through surgery, operating on a fragile individual, but if he can get through it, he will be fine,” he said, reports Breaking News.

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