Metro Manila, Philippines – Pope Leo XIV will not go through extended treatment after his lung surgery last week, the pontiff’s doctors Luigi Carbone and Professor Stefano Margaritora said on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
According to a statement released by the Holy See Press Office, the final medical reports confirmed that the tumor was a common type of lung cancer and that the disease was localized.
It added that a subsequent oncological assessment has confirmed that “no further treatment is necessary.”
The 71-year-old pontiff underwent an operation on Oct. 13 that removed part of his right lung to extract a cancerous tumor. The procedure lasted more than an hour and was without complications.
He was eventually discharged from the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital in Rome on Saturday.
Margaritora earlier said the pope is in generally good condition and fit to proceed with his activities, like the upcoming visit to Latin America on Nov. 6 to 17.
He added that the recuperation is on track, saying that patients who undergo such a surgery require a few weeks to fully recuperate.
“Since almost a week has already passed, I believe the Pope could be fully recovered in another ten days or so. As for a long trip involving air travel in about three weeks, I would say there are no clinical reasons why it should not take place,” he said in a Vatican News interview.
With reports from Vatican News
