The pope was released Friday from the Rome hospital where nine days ago he underwent surgery to repair a hernia in his abdominal wall and remove intestinal scar tissue, and his surgeon said Francis is now “better than before” his admission.
The 86-year-old Argentine pontiff walked out the front door of the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic Hospital in a wheelchair, smiling and waving. He thanked the waiting crowd and stood up to get into a small Vatican car.
On the brief ride to the white Fiat 500 waiting for him, reporters held microphones practically up to his face and he seemed to turn them down good-naturedly.
“The pope is fine. He’s better than before,” Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the surgeon who operated on him for three hours on June 7, told reporters as Francis drove away.
Hours after the operation, Alfieri indicated that scar tissue, which was the result of previous abdominal operations, was causing Francisco to be in increasing pain. There was also a risk of intestinal obstruction if those adhesions were not removed, doctors said.
There were no complications either during the operation or throughout the pontiff’s hospitalization in the 10th floor apartment of the Gemelli reserved exclusively for popes, according to Francis’ medical team.