Adnkronos (Adnkronos) –
It was "foreseeable" that the nodule for which Pope Leo XIV underwent removal from the lower lobe of his right lung "was a tumor. Benign nodules are not operated on. It was explained that it is an adenocarcinoma and, if it is localized, the operation can be curative." Claudio Micheletto, director of the Complex Operating Unit of Pneumology at the University Hospital of Verona and a member of the board of the Italian Association of Hospital Pneumologists (AIPO), explained this to Adnkronos Salute, commenting on the explanation given by doctors after the operation the Pope underwent at the Gemelli Polyclinic.
“During the operation, the lymph nodes are also removed, and the next steps will be based on a definitive histological examination.
If the tumor is localized only to the lung lobe, surgery is sufficient. If, however, there are some tumor cells in the lymph nodes, treatment will also be necessary later. The hope, of course, is that it is located there, as it seemed to be in the preoperative tests.
The specialist specifies that "it is still too early" to say with certainty what the next path will be.
"The surgery may have been sufficient. However, the lymph nodes need to be analyzed," which are located "in the mediastinum, which is the space between the two lungs." As for the post-operative period, a hospital stay of about a week was mentioned. In light of the surgery performed, "we'll see. On the right, we have three lobes; the Pope had one removed.
A person in good health can tolerate having one less lobe,” Micheletto emphasizes. “But seven days is the length of a hospital stay. This doesn't mean a patient on the eighth day is the same as before. A recovery period is required, considering that 30% of the right lung was removed, and it's obvious that the surgery also requires a normal recovery period. We need to distinguish between the days spent in the hospital and the return to normal health. Current surgical techniques are certainly minimally invasive, so the patient always makes a speedy recovery. The operation is performed using video thoracoscopy, with a camera, and is undoubtedly a minimally invasive procedure. The Pope is also a person in good health, so he will certainly have a quick recovery, but everything takes time.”
News
webinfo@adnkronos.com (Web Info)