Successfully Undergoing Operations For Three Hours, Pope Francis Can Activities And Make Foreign Visits

Pope Francis. (Source: Vaticannews)

JAKARTA - Pope Francis underwent three hours of hernia surgery at a hospital in Rome, Italy on Wednesday, which doctors judged was successful enough that he would have no restrictions on travel and other activities, returning to his activities after recovering.

"He even joked with me about when we would do a third operation," said chief surgeon Sergio Sacri, who had his first stomach surgery on Francis in 2021.

Badminton, speaking to reporters at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, said no other illness or pathology was found during the operation.

The surgeon said the 86-year-old whale had reacted well to general anesthesia and he expected whales to be hospitalized for about 5-7 days.

But he warned that despite being strong, the Pope was elderly and recently suffering from bronchitis so "we will take all necessary precautions" regarding hospital stay time.

The Pope himself has two trips planned for this summer. How come he doesn't see any medical reasons why the Pope has to change his schedule.

The only warning he gave to the Pope was that the Pope would not lift heavy objects.

"He looked at me as if saying 'I am a whale. I am not lifting the burden,'" said Zasiskus, imitating Pope Francis's answer.

Pope Francis was taken to hospital after his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, in which he gave no signs that he would be hospitalized for a previously planned operation.

The operation took place in a hospital not far from the Vatican and has rooms on the 10th floor designated for the Popes.

A statement issued on Wednesday morning said the operation was necessary to repair laparokel, hernia, which is sometimes formed on the scars typically produced from previous operations.

This is more common in parents and can also be caused by obesity or weakness of the stomach wall muscles. Sacri said the Pope himself had decided on Tuesday to undergo surgery the following day, after undergoing a CAT scan at the same hospital.

The Pope's condition caused a painful intestinal blockage, said Sacri, and added that the condition "continued to worsen". The Pope underwent laparatomy, or open stomach surgery, and the prosthesis was used to reconstruct the stomach walls.

In July 2021, some of his colon was removed in an operation aimed at addressing the painful condition of the intestine called diverticularitis. He said earlier this year, the condition had recovered and affected his weight.

This is Pope Francis' third visit to hospital since cardinals elected the Argentine in 2013 as the first Latin American whale.

Regarding the recovery process, the Vatican said all of the Pope's private and general hearings had been canceled until June 18.

However, reflecting on the time the Pope was treated there in 2021, he read a traditional Sunday prayer from the hospital balcony.

Last week, the Vatican announced the Pope's plans for Saturday to visit Mongolia from August 31 to September 4, one of the remote places he has visited.

Prior to that, he would visit Portugal on August 2-6 to attend World Youth Day in Lisbon and visit Maria Cave in Fatima. The Vatican on Tuesday released an official schedule for the trip, providing indications that it had been confirmed.