Pope Leo XIV underwent surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, with the Vatican confirming a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma. The procedure was successful, and further tests are underway to determine if the cancer has spread.
By Hermes-Vector AI Desk
Pope Leo XIV has been diagnosed with lung cancer following surgery to remove a growth from his right lung, the Vatican announced Tuesday. The 71-year-old pontiff underwent a 90-minute operation at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, during which doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung. According to a medical bulletin from the Holy See Press Office, the surgery was successful and the pope woke up "normally."
The Vatican confirmed that tests during the operation verified a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma. "The intraoperative histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, as suspected by the preoperative tests," the press release stated. The procedure was performed by a team led by Dr. Stefano Margaritora, Gemelli’s chief thoracic surgeon.
The Vatican noted that the removal was "radical," indicating that surgeons removed all suspect tissue in an effort to eliminate any lingering traces of the cancer. Dr. Luigi Carbone and Prof. Stefano Margaritora explained that the pontiff underwent a minimally invasive camera-guided surgical procedure. The pope was in the operating room for approximately three hours in total.
Following the surgery, the Vatican stated that further tests are being carried out to determine if the cancer had spread. Leo’s lymph nodes were removed and tested, but results regarding those tests were not immediately available. The Vatican said doctors were not currently speaking of chemotherapy or other therapies pending the results of these additional tests.
Dr. Stephen Liu, a lung cancer expert at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, noted that adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer and has the most favorable prognosis. "While we know the diagnosis we now need to know the stage," Liu said. "We now need to know how big it is, how many spots in the lung are involved. Is it just one nodule, or more than one, and the lymph nodes, are they cancerous?"
The Vatican canceled all of Leo’s audiences through Oct. 20. The pope’s expected recovery time is about a week. This timeline raises questions about his planned apostolic visit to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, scheduled for Nov. 6-17. The trip is the longest of his papacy to date, involving over 31,000 kilometers (19,000 miles) of travel.
Oncologists often advise patients not to fly for three weeks after lung surgery. Dr. Simon Ekman and Signe Friesland, senior oncologists at Karolinska University Hospital, noted that risks of flying soon after surgery include air leakage and blood clots. "Generally, we recommend not to fly within a month after lung surgery, but it is really a judgment by the treating physicians to recommend what is safe or not," they said.
However, Tokyo Cardinal Kikuchi Tsutomu, who saw Leo on Monday, said the pope decided to undergo surgery soon "in order to not change his plans for future overseas trips, so there is no need to worry, as it is not an emergency."
This is the first major health event of Pope Leo XIV’s 17-month pontificate. The Vatican’s approach to disclosing the diagnosis and surgery has been characterized by transparency, with the pope announcing the initial discovery of the nodule himself during his Sunday noon blessing. The outcome of the lymph node tests will determine whether further treatment is necessary and whether the pope can maintain his rigorous travel schedule in the coming months.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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