The Pope says it is fine after bowel surgery, the Vatican reports By Reuters

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis is doing well after bowel surgery, the Vatican said on Sunday after the 84-year-old pope was hospitalized for the first time since the 2013 election.

A spokesman for Matteo Bruni said in a statement that when the pontiff “responded well” to the operation, it was performed under general anesthesia and the Vatican had said earlier that it was not caused by an emergency.

He gave no further details on the operation or how long it lasted and did not say how long the pope would last at Gemelli Hospital in Rome.

The pope was admitted to hospital on Sunday afternoon and the statement was given before midnight in Rome.

Francis underwent symptomatic diversified colonic stenosis surgery, in which the sac-shaped sacs protrude from the muscular layer of the colon, becoming narrow. The operation was performed by a medical team of 10 people.

In addition to causing pain, the inflammation can cause inflammation, swelling, and bowel movements. It tends to affect older people more.

The pope appeared to be in good health a few hours earlier in a St. Peter’s Square addressing thousands of people for Sunday’s blessing and announced a trip to Slovakia and Budapest in September.

The Gemelli Catholic hospital and medical school in northern Rome are often opened by the pope and part of its 10th floor is preserved forever.

As he does every year in July, Francis has already canceled all general and private hearings per month. Surgery seems to coincide with a time when surgery is the only public commitment, with Sunday’s blessing in St. Peter’s Square.

Unlike his predecessors, he is in the Vatican and has never been used by the summer pope of Alban Hills in southern Rome.

Francis is sometimes out of breath because he was removed from his lungs after suffering an illness when he was young in his hometown of Argentina.

He also suffers from sciatica, which causes pain in the lower part of the back through the sciatic nerve to the legs.

The condition of receiving regular physiotherapy forced him to miss several events earlier this year and has sometimes led him to walk with difficulty.

Last year, a bad cold prevented him from taking part in a week-long Lenten retreat with the main auxiliaries of southern Rome.

In 2014, a year after the pope was elected, Francis had to cancel several engagements because he was believed to have a stomach ache.