Church
Pope Francis needs urgent surgery under general anesthesia
What is Pope Francis’ health like? photo
© Andrew Medichini/AP
The head of the church will spend the next few days in a clinic. An urgent operation must be performed. It is already clear which intervention is involved.
Pope Francis has to undergo an urgent operation. A so-called laparotomy, i.e. the opening of the abdominal cavity, is carried out on the 86-year-old in the afternoon, as the Holy See announced. The operation takes place under general anesthesia. After that, the head of the Catholic Church will stay in the clinic for “several days”, as spokesman Matteo Bruni said.
Francis’ team of doctors have decided in the past few days that the Argentine must be operated on for a so-called laparocele. A laparocele is a fracture in the abdomen. The message from the Holy See spoke of recurring pain.
That morning the Pope held the weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square. The day before he was already in the Gemelli Hospital in Rome to be examined. He also arrived there for the operation. The head of the Catholic Church reached the clinic in the late morning in a small white car and with a police escort, as can be seen on video recordings. He drove through the main entrance to the clinic.
In 2021, the Argentine had already been operated under general anesthesia for an intestinal condition – a so-called diverticulitis. Part of his colon was removed. He spent around ten days in the hospital at the time. After that, it was said that he had not tolerated the general anesthesia well.