Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has undergone successful emergency surgery for a brain bleed and is expected to return to work next week after being discharged from the hospital.
Brazil‘s President Lula Discharged from Hospital After Brain Bleed Surgery
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been discharged from the hospital after undergoing emergency surgery for a brain bleed, doctors announced. The 79-year-old president appeared alongside his medical team at a news conference at Sírio-Libanês hospital in São Paulo.
Thanking God and Supporters
Lula expressed gratitude to God and his supporters during the news conference. “This here is not an interview, this is simply a session to say thanks,” he said. “To thank, firstly, God, who has looked after me in a very generous manner.” The president also thanked those who had prayed for him, saying, “Thank you very much for the prayers.”
Causes and Treatment of Brain Bleed
The brain bleed, or intracranial hemorrhage, was caused by a blow to the head Lula sustained when he fell in his bathroom at the presidential residence in October. Doctors performed a craniotomy on the president, a procedure in which part of the bone is surgically removed from the skull to treat the bleed and relieve pressure. The bone is then replaced.
Stable Condition and Return to Work
On Tuesday, doctors said the president was in a stable condition following the surgery and was conscious. Lula was “lucid” and conversing with medical staff, they added. Doctors also insisted that he had not sustained any brain injury and was not experiencing after-effects from the surgery. The president is expected to return to Brasilia next week if everything goes well.
Vice-President Takes Over Duties
While Lula was in hospital, Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin took on some of the president’s commitments. Doctors said the bleeding was a result of the fall Lula had sustained in October and explained that it is not unusual for problems from a blow to the head to appear “months later.
