Pope Leo XIV: the surgeon who operated on him says that there are "no clinical reasons" to prevent his trip to Peru

Dr. Stefano Margaritora, who was in charge of Pope Leo XIV's operation to remove a cancerous tumor at the Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital, said that there are no clinical reasons why he cannot travel to Latin America. This was after he was discharged from the hospital so he could return to the Vatican days after his surgery. In statements to Vatican News, Professor Margaritora commented that the surgical intervention was routine, without complications. For this reason, he estimated that as happens in other patients, physical recovery would be achieved two weeks after the surgery. "If we consider it like any other person after this type of intervention, we can say that he needs a couple of weeks to achieve a truly complete physical recovery. Therefore, since almost a week has already passed, I believe that in another ten days, the Pope could be fully recovered," he estimated on October 17th. Pope Leo XIV underwent an operation at Gemelli hospital in Rome on Tuesday, October 13th. Previously, it had been reported that an anomaly had been detected, which was later confirmed to be a lung adenocarcinoma that required the removal of the entire lower lobe of the right lung. "Regarding a long trip involving air travel planned for approximately three weeks, I would say there are no clinical reasons to prevent it," Margaritora specified. The Pontiff has a planned tour of visits to several Latin American countries starting from November 6th. Specifically, he will visit Peru from November 12th to 16th, according to the official agenda coordinated from the Holy See. Details of Pope Leo XIV's operation according to the supervising doctor Commenting on the details of the intervention to which Pope Leo XIV was subjected, Dr. Margaritora commented that he was discharged on October 17th in "completely satisfactory clinical condition." He commented that his blood tests were normal, his cardiac function was fine, and his medical situation was stable. "The reexpansion of the lung after the intervention is following the usual timelines. Therefore, in general, his condition is good," he said to the Vatican news portal. The professor revealed that the malignant tumor in the right lung was detected by chance during a routine abdominal examination. According to him, if the malformation had been higher up, it would not have been detected since in its early stages, lung cancer shows no symptoms. "It would not be honest if I said it was very complicated to attribute heroic deeds to me. In reality, the Holy Father's intervention was a routine operation, in the sense that, in similar cases, when it is a lung tumor of a certain size, the entire lobe where it is located must be removed. In the case of the Holy Father, the lower lobe of the right lung. Thus, from this point of view, it was a routine intervention," he specified.