HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE FOR THE POPE TO RECOVER?Ĭhand said even if the pope began to feel better soon, it would take weeks for someone to recover from losing half their colon and that he would likely feel very fatigued. On Monday, Vatican officials said the pope was breathing on his own. He said the pain might make it difficult for the pope to breathe deeply, preventing the lungs from expanding fully and getting rid of any fluid that could cause problems. “In the case of having previous problems with the lung, there is always a concern after the major abdominal surgery of the risk of getting a chest infection,” Chand said. Given the pope’s previous respiratory issues - he is missing part of his right lung after having it removed following a severe bout of pneumonia in his youth - Chand said doctors would need to monitor his breathing carefully. The Vatican said Francis is expected to spend a week in Rome’s Gemilli Polyclinic recuperating. “If that happens, then another operation would be needed to hook (the colon) back together.” He said that is extremely rare and that only two to three out of 100 surgeries would result in a repeat surgery.Ĭhand said if there are no complications, he would expect the pope to experience an almost immediate improvement in his quality of life and be back to eating regularly within days. “The biggest risk is that this fails, and the patient experiences more pain, a fever, and there’s evidence of infection,” Longo said. Longo said the primary concern is ensuring that the two parts of the bowel that surgeons have stitched together remain attached. Walter Longo, chief of colon and rectal surgery at Yale University School of Medicine. “This is a major operation, so as with any big operation, you want to make sure a patient’s heart and lungs are recovering and progressing the way they should after something like this,” said Dr. “There aren’t any drugs we can use to remedy the situation, so the only way to rid patients of the pain is by removing that narrowed portion of the bowel and join the two healthy ends of the bowel together.”Īlthough the pope’s surgery was planned, it was not minor. “That leads to scarring of the colon, which results in a narrowing part of the colon,” Chand said, explaining that prevents normal bowel movements. Although minor symptoms can be treated with antibiotics, Chand said in some older people, the pain becomes so severe that removing part of the colon is the only way to fix it.
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