Pope admitted to hospital for surgical procedure on gut

The Pope has been admitted to hospital to have an operation on his gut.

It comes a day after he had medical assessments at a Rome hospital.

The Vatican mentioned the process can be beneath basic anaesthetic on Wednesday afternoon and he would keep in hospital for “some days”.

It mentioned the 86-year-old had been struggling “recurrent, painful and worsening” signs brought on by a incarcerated laparocele (belly hernia).

The Pope spent three days in hospital on the finish of March resulting from a respiratory an infection and final month needed to skip audiences due to a fever.

He emerged on 1 April, joking “I’m still alive!”

Two years in the past, he additionally had 33cm (13 inches) of his colon eliminated due to an irritation and narrowing of the massive gut.

He can also be lacking a part of one lung, which he had eliminated when he was a younger man in Argentina.

Knee ache can also be an issue for Francis, who marked his tenth 12 months as pontiff in March, and he typically makes use of a cane to stroll.

However, the Pope appeared in good spirits earlier than he was admitted to hospital on Wednesday, utilizing the Popemobile to greet individuals throughout his basic viewers in St Peter’s Square.

The Vatican mentioned he was then taken to Rome’s Gemelli University Hospital for a “laparotomy and abdominal wall plastic surgery with prosthesis”.

A laparotomy entails a big incision within the stomach to look at the organs and diagnose or deal with any issues.

“The stay at the health facility will last several days to allow for the normal post-operative course and full functional recovery,” the Vatican mentioned.

The Pope has a busy summer time lined up, with a four-day journey to Portugal for World Youth Day firstly of August and a visit to Mongolia about 4 weeks later.