Pope Francis undergoes intestinal surgery in Rome

Pope Francis was recovering Wednesday after he underwent abdominal surgery Wednesday to repair a hernia, according to the Vatican.

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The surgery comes two years after the pontiff had 13 inches of his colon removed because of a narrowing of the large intestine.

Update 12:45 p.m. EDT June 7: Officials said the three-hour surgery went on without complications, The Associated Press reported. Officials said Francis will remain hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli hospital for the next several days as he recovers.

— Theresa Seiger, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Original report: Francis, 86, is expected to be hospitalized for several days in Rome’s Gemelli hospital.

Francis is suffering from a blocked laparocele, The Associated Press reported. He will be undergoing a “laparotomy and abdominal wall plastic surgery with prosthesis” to treat a “recurrent, painful and worsening” condition of the intestine.

A laparocele is a hernia that formed over a previous scar.

Francis was hospitalized for five days at the Gemelli Hospital at the end of March, suffering from a lung infection.

As a young man, the Argentine pope had part of one lung removed. He has been using a wheelchair and walker for more than a year because of strained ligaments in his knee.

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