Pope Leo discharged from hospital after lung cancer operation
Pope Leo, 71, was discharged from Rome's Gemelli hospital on Saturday afternoon after an operation to remove a cancerous tumour from his lung, walking unaided to cheers from well-wishers.
Pope Leo discharged from hospital after lung cancer operation
Doctors declare pope fit for discharge
Pope Leo left the Gemelli hospital in north-west Rome on Saturday afternoon, walking on his own to cheers from the crowd that had gathered. His doctors, Luigi Carbone and Stefano Margaritoria, signed the statement clearing him to leave, which the Vatican published.
"Considering the blood tests, the chest X-ray done this morning, and evaluating the clinical picture, the Holy Father has been deemed fit for discharge"
Leo had been in the Gemelli hospital since Tuesday, when surgeons removed part of his right lung to extract the tumour. He had been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, the most common kind of lung cancer. Doctors said on Wednesday that his recovery was progressing normally.
Working from his hospital room
The pope did not pause his duties during the stay:
- Before leaving, he celebrated mass in his room on the 10th floor of the Gemelli hospital.
- On Friday he telephoned Vladimir Putin, urging the Russian president to call a ceasefire in Oleshky, the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city.
The nodule on his lung had been made public only the previous Sunday, when Leo told the crowd in St Peter's Square that a check-up had detected it - an unusual step of openness from the Vatican.
What comes next
According to the Vatican, Leo will recite the Angelus prayer on Sunday from the window of the papal apartment.
Open questions remain around his fuller schedule:
- Doctors are still waiting for test results to show whether the cancer has spread and whether further treatment is needed.
- The Vatican had originally expected the stay in hospital to last a week, and the pope's appointments were cancelled until 20 October.
- It is uncertain whether Leo will make the 12-day trip to South America planned for November.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, told reporters on Friday that the pope may need to readjust his trip schedule, at least regarding South America, depending on his health.
