By Frances D’Emilio
Rome: Pope Francis is “in good, overall condition, alert” and breathing on his own, the Vatican said a day after the pontiff underwent a three-hour operation that involved removing half of his colon.
Francis, 84, is expected to stay in Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic, which has a special suite reserved for popes, for about seven days, assuming no complications, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.
Pope Francis, pictured at the start of June, underwent surgery for an intestinal problem.
The Vatican has given few details about the procedure, but an Italian newspaper reported, without citing sources, that surgeons began the operation laparoscopically but ended up having to operate with wider incisions after encountering unspecified complications.
Monday’s brief medical bulletin – which came more than 12 hours after the end of Sunday’s surgery and contained the first details from the Vatican – mentioned no such complications. The Holy See said the Pope needed the procedure because of a narrowing of a portion of his large intestine that doctors say can be quite painful.
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