Pope Francis’s abdominal hernia surgery went off “without complications” and he will stay in the hospital for a few days, the Vatican announced Wednesday evening.
Francis was admitted to Gemelli Hospital on Wednesday afternoon for the scheduled procedure, which, according to Vatican News, was a “laparotomy and plastic surgery for the abdominal wall with prosthesis.” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement that the pope underwent the procedure “without complications.”
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“The surgery, decided upon over the past few days by the medical team assisting the Holy Father, became necessary due to an incisional laparocele (hernia) that is causing recurrent, painful and worsening sub-occlusive syndromes,” Bruni said early Wednesday as the pope made his way to the hospital for the surgery.
Despite the planned surgery, Francis, 86, still appeared at his weekly general audience Wednesday morning in St. Peter’s Square before leaving the Vatican for the hospital. Bruni said the pope will be staying at Gemelli for several days “to allow for a normal post-operative course and full functional recovery.”
Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the doctor who performed the surgery, told reporters Wednesday that “the Holy Father is well, he is awake, alert and has already joked with me!”
“The surgery and the general anesthesia went ahead without complications,” Alfieri reportedly said, adding that the doctors will “take all precautions” in handling the pope’s post-operation recovery, citing his advanced age.
The pontiff’s health has visibly deteriorated in recent years. He is now the oldest-reigning pope since Pope Leo XIII, who died in 1903 at the age of 93.
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The pope’s surgery comes more than two months after he was admitted to Gemelli Hospital following an audience in St. Peter’s Square. The pope stayed at the hospital for four days due to a lung infection.
In 2021, Francis underwent surgery to remove a portion of his colon to treat inflammation of his intestine, a condition known as diverticulitis. He has also increasingly been using a wheelchair or a cane due to ligament damage in his knee.
