What is an incisional hernia and why should it be operated urgently Pope Francis

He Pope Francisco will be submitted today at the Gemelli hospital in Rome to one laparotomy due to an abdominal incisional hernia, probably produced after the colon operation he underwent in July 2022 and which could cause a intestinal obstruction.

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Francis, 86 years old, “will be subjected under general anesthesia to a surgical intervention laparotomy and plastic surgery of the abdominal wall with prosthesis”indicated the Holy See it’s a statement.

He Vatican explained that “The operation, arranged in recent days by the medical team assisting the Pope, has become necessary due to a incarcerated incisional hernia which is causing recurrent, painful and worsening subocclusive syndromes”.

“It is a type of hernia that forms in a scar. A bulge is observed on the outside of the abdomen, a space is created inside where a loop of intestine can be slipped.explains Luigi Boni , director of general surgery at the Milan Polyclinicto the dailyLa Repubblica” .

The risk, according to Boni“it is that there are problems such as intestinal obstruction but also strangulation of the intestinal loop. In this case, the vessels are damaged and there may be necrosis, a very dangerous event that requires significant intervention.” and for this reason the emergency operation has been decided after Francisco submitted this Tuesday to some medical exams.

In his opinion, this hernia is a consequence of the diverticula operation that was performed on the Pope almost two years ago. So, “Colleagues had started laparoscopic surgery, which involves much smaller cuts in the abdomen, but found it difficult and switched to traditional surgery, called outdoor surgery and this involves making a fairly large cut in the middle of the abdomen.”

For this reason, in today’s intervention, the point where the previous incision was made will be reopened and the abdominal wall will be reinforced where the incisional herniafor which he uses a prosthesis, a synthetic mesh.

“In some cases the problem is reduced with manual maneuvers carried out by expert personnel, in other cases it is not possible. In this, the medical team of PGemelli oliclinic considered it necessary to intervene again surgically. The complication is quite rare, but the operation is relatively little complex”, said Pierluigi Fracasso Medical Director of Gastroenterology at Sandro Pertini Hospital in Romein it “National Everyday”.

In a maximum of three days you can go home, but relapses are always possible, he adds Marco Scatizzipresident of the Association of Italian Hospital Surgeons (Acoi): “If everything goes fine, The Pope will be able to return to his activities quickly even with the use of a girdle for a few months.”

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.