Pope Leaves Hospital 10 Days After Colon Surgery

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Ten days after surgery to remove half of his colon, Pope Francis has been discharged from a Rome hospital.

The Associated Press reported that a car carrying Francis, 84, left Rome’s Gemelli Polytechnic hospital and traveled to the Vatican on Wednesday morning.

After being diagnosed with diverticular stenosis, a severe narrowing of the large intestine, half of the pope’s colon was removed on July 4. It was his first major surgery since being named pope in 2013, the AP reported. The procedure was scheduled for early July, when the pope’s audiences are suspended and he would typically take some time off.

The pope will have several more weeks of recovery before returning to travel in September. There are plans for him to visit Hungary and Slovakia in a Sept. 12-15 trip, and a quick stop is planned to Glasgow, Scotland, in November to participate in an international climate conference, the AP reported.

The pope appeared for the first time in public since the surgery on Sunday, as he delivered his weekly prayer from the 10th floor hospital balcony, surrounded by young cancer patients. He used the occasion to call for free health care for all, the AP reported.

On Tuesday afternoon, he visited the pediatric cancer ward, which is located on the same floor as the papal hospital suite, the AP said.

Having enjoyed good health most of his life, the Argentine pope did have part of one lung removed when he was a young man.

More information

Visit the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for more on diverticular disease.

Source: HealthDay

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