Pope Francis discharged from hospital following abdominal surgery

Pope Francis was discharged from a hospital in Rome on Friday following an operation on his abdomen.

Seated in a wheelchair, he waved to onlookers as he was driven from the Gemelli Hospital, where he was operated on to prevent an intestinal obstruction.

He spoke briefly with reporters outside the entrance to the hospital.

“I’m still alive,” he said, smiling, before heading back to the Vatican.

His doctors have said that the operation went smoothly and he tolerated the general anesthetic well.

Before his operation last Thursday, many Catholics were concerned about the latest, urgent operation partly due to fears as to how well the pope would tolerate the anesthetic.

He underwent a procedure known as a laparotomy in medical terminology.

It was the third time the pope was admitted to the hospital in Rome, following intestinal surgery in the summer of 2021, then being admitted for pneumonia earlier this year.