Pope Francis to undergo intestinal surgery Wednesday afternoon

ROME

Pope Francis will need to undergo a surgery on his abdomen on Wednesday afternoon in a Rome hospital, the Vatican said.

The pontiff will remain hospitalized for "several days" to recover following the operation at Gemelli hospital, according to a Vatican statement.

It also said the papal team had decided in recent days that surgery was necessary to treat an intestinal constriction.

Francis, 86, will be put under general anesthesia and will undergo a "laparotomy and abdominal wall plastic surgery with prosthesis" to treat a "recurrent, painful and worsening" constriction of the intestine.

"The stay at the health facility will last several days to allow for the normal postoperative course and full functional recovery,” the statement added.

This is the second intestinal surgery in two years for the pontiff, who – in July 2021 – spent 10 days at Gemelli hospital to remove 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his large intestine, following a severe inflammation and narrowing of the colon.

In an interview with The Associated Press last January, Francis said the bulges in his intestine had returned.

The pope had already spent three days at Gemelli in late March. Then he revealed he had felt pain in his chest and was rushed to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with bronchitis.

Francis had part of one lung removed when he was young and he has been using a wheelchair and walker for more than a year because of strained ligaments in his knee.