Pope Francis is recovering well from a scheduled surgery that he underwent over the weekend, the Vatican announced Sunday evening.
Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, said that the 84-year-old Holy Father “reacted well” to “surgery done under general anaesthesia” for a diverticular stenosis of the colon, according to a Vatican press release.
He was “alert and breathing on his own” and is in “good general condition,” The New York Times reported. (RELATED: White House Denies Report That Vatican Canceled A Meeting Between Biden And Pope Francis)
TOPSHOT – This handout picture released by the Vatican Media shows Pope Francis, in Rome on March 15, 2020, prays in S. Marcello al Corso church, where there is a miraculous crucifix that in 1552 was carried in a procession around Rome to stop the great plague. (Photo by – / VATICAN MEDIA / AFP) (Photo by -/VATICAN MEDIA/AFP via Getty Images)
“Admitted in the afternoon to the A. Gemelli Hospital, the Holy Father underwent surgery in the evening for a diverticular stenosis of the colon,” Bruni said. (RELATED: Catholic Archbishops Will Discuss Denying Biden Communion In June. Until Then, Most Are Staying Quiet About It)
Diverticulitis is a condition that either infects or inflames the colon, the Times reported, noting that Pope Francis had the left side of his colon removed during a procedure called a left-hemicolectomy.
The pope’s surgery came as a surprise since he had not made any previous announcements about the scheduled appointment, the publication reported, and his operation is the first known serious health issue that he experienced.
“It is a very delicate and certainly complex procedure,” Dr. Giovanni Battista Grassi, the scientific director of oncological and emergency surgery at Rome’s Casilino Hospital, told the Times.
“Once he has gotten through the postoperative stay, once he has undergone an adequate rehabilitation, he can return to living his life in a normal way, without any problems,” Grassi said.
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