Daniel del Castillo González
At the end of the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square, Pope Leo XIV announced to all the faithful that he will undergo lung surgery.
POPE LEO
Dear friends, during some recent medical examinations, the doctors found a small, localized nodule in my lung. It was detected at a very early stage and is well-localized. The doctors believe that it is best to intervene, so, following their advice, I have decided to undergo surgery to remove it. The operation is already scheduled to take place in the coming days. I thank you for your spiritual closeness and entrust myself to your prayers.
Vatican sources reported that the procedure will take place the week of Monday, October 12, and that the Pope will be operated on at the Gemelli University Hospital.
It is well known as "the Pope's hospital." John Paul II was also operated on there for a benign tumor, and Francis underwent surgery there as well. But what will Leo XIV's operation consist of?
DRA. NURIA NOVOA
European Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Well, it means that something significant could be happening. Lung nodules can have many origins, but the one that concerns us most is the possibility of lung cancer. That is why this is very important right now.
It is a major procedure, a major surgery performed under general anesthesia, and well, one of the issues we face with this type of surgery is that it is painful. It is painful because we operate through the respiratory muscles—and the respiratory muscles cannot stop.
Leo XIV is 71 years old and exercises regularly. Even so, the postoperative recovery will take approximately one week.
DRA. NURIA NOVOA
European Society of Thoracic Surgeons
It will depend heavily on the amount of lung tissue that needs to be removed. When speaking about a small, localized nodule in an early stage, typically a surgery can be performed that preserves most of the lung.
A pathologist present during the surgical procedure itself will provide the result of what we are dealing with—what that nodule actually is, whether it is malignant or non-malignant, or whichever of the various possible diagnoses it may be.
And based on that, they may decide whether to remove a bit more lung tissue, such as a pulmonary lobe.
Despite the lung operation, Leo XIV has not ruled out his trip to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru in November.
