{"id":38082,"date":"2026-10-13T09:06:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T08:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/?p=38082"},"modified":"2026-10-13T09:06:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T08:06:18","slug":"pope-leo-xiv-to-undergo-surgery-for-lung-nodule-at-rome-hospital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/13\/pope-leo-xiv-to-undergo-surgery-for-lung-nodule-at-rome-hospital\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo XIV to Undergo Surgery for Lung Nodule at Rome Hospital"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pope Leo XIV was expected to enter Rome\u2019s Gemelli hospital on Tuesday for surgery to remove a small lung nodule discovered during routine medical checks. The Vatican said he would be admitted late Tuesday morning but had not announced when the operation would begin. A weeklong hospital stay was anticipated, and all papal audiences through October 20 had been canceled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The procedure is expected to determine whether the nodule is benign or cancerous and whether further treatment is needed. It marks the first publicly disclosed major health issue of Leo\u2019s 17-month papacy. The pope announced the discovery during his Sunday noon prayer in St. Peter\u2019s Square, describing the nodule as small and localized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Lorenzo Spaggiari, director of thoracic surgery at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, told The Associated Press that the description suggested a condition that could respond well to treatment. Spaggiari, who is not involved in Leo\u2019s care, said doctors could perform a biopsy followed by removal of the affected lung segment or lobe, potentially under the same general anesthesia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pope Leo XIV faces his first publicly disclosed major health challenge since becoming pontiff.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gemelli has robotic technology for both procedures, including the ION system for sampling small nodules and the da Vinci system for operating through small chest incisions. Spaggiari said these could allow a minimally invasive approach, although the Vatican had not confirmed which techniques would be used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spaggiari described biopsy risks as extremely low and cited a surgical mortality rate of about 0.6% to 0.8% among otherwise healthy patients with good heart and lung function. These were general estimates, not an assessment of Leo\u2019s individual risk. Doctors may also remove nearby lymph nodes to check for any spread of cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the nodule proves malignant but is confirmed as early-stage disease without lymph-node involvement, Spaggiari said the outlook could be favorable and additional treatment might not be necessary. The Vatican has not confirmed a cancer diagnosis or released detailed medical findings. Lung nodules can be benign or malignant, and tissue testing helps establish their nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pope Leo XIV asked the faithful for prayers after revealing his upcoming surgery.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tokyo Archbishop Cardinal Kikuchi Tsutomu, who met Leo on Monday, said the pope felt well and wanted surgery promptly to avoid disrupting future travel. In a Facebook post, Kikuchi described the intervention as planned rather than an emergency. Leo is scheduled to visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from November 6 to 17, on a journey covering more than 31,000 kilometers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spaggiari said his institute generally advises patients to avoid flying for three weeks after lung surgery. The timing could allow Leo to make the trip, but his participation will depend on his recovery and medical advice. The itinerary includes a dozen flights, two helicopter transfers and significant altitude changes in Peru.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leo\u2019s personal announcement drew attention to his openness about his health, an area the Vatican has traditionally guarded closely. Quebec Cardinal G\u00e9rald Cyprien Lacroix welcomed his direct explanation and request for prayers. The operation and tissue examination will now provide a clearer assessment of his condition, recovery and any need for further treatment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pope Leo XIV was expected to enter Rome\u2019s Gemelli hospital on Tuesday for surgery to remove a small lung nodule discovered during routine medical checks. The Vatican said he would be admitted late Tuesday morning but had not announced when the operation would begin. A weeklong hospital stay was anticipated, and all papal audiences through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":38083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5,3],"tags":[83,24811,24809,24808,80,85,24810,11182,24812],"class_list":["post-38082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-international","category-naija-news","tag-catholic-church","tag-gemelli-hospital","tag-lung-nodule","tag-papal-health","tag-pope-leo-xiv","tag-rome","tag-surgery","tag-vatican","tag-vatican-news"],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AA2e7lV3.jpg?fit=768%2C512&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38082"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38086,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38082\/revisions\/38086"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}