Pope Francis doing well after 3-hour abdominal surgery, Vatican says

ROME - Pope Francis was doing well on Thursday morning (June 8) after his first night at a hospital following abdominal surgery, the Vatican has disclosed.

"The night went well," the Vatican said in a brief statement, adding that more information would be released later in the morning.

Pope Francis, 86, underwent a three-hour operation on Wednesday to repair a hernia. Doctors said the procedure was successful enough that he should have no limitations on his travels and other activities after he recovers.

Dr Sergio Alfieri, the chief surgeon who carried out the operation at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, said Pope Francis had reacted well to general anaesthesia and that he expected the pontiff to be in hospital for five to seven days.

Speaking to reporters after the surgery, Dr Alfieri cautioned that while the Pope was strong, he was elderly and recently had bronchitis, so "we will take all necessary precautions" involving his hospital stay.

Pope Francis has two trips planned for this summer: To Portugal from Aug 2 to 6 to attend the World Youth Day festival and visit the Shrine of Fatima; and from Aug 31 to Sept 4 to Mongolia, one of the more remote places he has travelled to.

Dr Alfieri said he saw no medical reason why the Pope would have to change his schedule if the recovery went well, as he expected it to.

The Vatican said all of the Pope's private and general audiences have been cancelled until June 18 as a precautionary measure.

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During his 2021 stay at Gemelli Hospital after a procedure to address a painful bowel condition called diverticulitis, Pope Francis recited the traditional Sunday prayer from a balcony on the Roman Catholic-run hospital's 10th floor, which has a suite of rooms reserved for popes.

Doctors have said the latest operation was necessary to repair a laparocele, a hernia that sometimes forms over scars that are usually the result of previous surgical operations. The condition is more common in older people, and can also be caused by weakness of the abdominal wall muscles, or by a person being overweight.

Dr Alfieri said the Pope's condition was causing painful intestinal occlusions that were becoming more frequent.

The Pope underwent a laparotomy, or open abdominal surgery, and a mesh prosthesis was used to reconstruct the abdominal wall.

In the July 2021 operation for his diverticulitis, the Pope had part of his colon removed. He said earlier in 2023 that the condition had returned and was affecting his weight.

Pope Francis has had a string of health problems in recent years, and his current hospital stay is his third since cardinals chose the Argentinian in 2013 as the first Latin American pope. 

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