By Carol Glatz and Josephine Peterson
VATICAN CITY — Doctors removed a cancerous tumor from Pope Leo XIV’s lower lobe of his right lung, after preoperative medical tests raised suspicions, according to a medical report released by the Vatican.
The removed lung tissue was diagnosed as adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer that develops in the specialized cells lining certain internal organs.
“The Holy Father was in the operating room for about three hours; the surgery itself lasted approximately 90 minutes. The surgery was successful, and there were no complications,” the Vatican press office said in a communique released late Oct. 13.
With the assistance of a tiny video camera or thoracoscope, doctors at Rome’s Gemelli hospital performed a “radical surgery” in which they removed the entire lower lobe of the right lung to ensure that the entire tumor and surrounding tissues were removed, it said.
Radical surgeries to treat cancer usually involve removing a tumor along with surrounding tissues and structures, such as lymph nodes, that may contain cancer. A Vatican source said early post-operative exams should be ready late Oct. 14.
Pope Leo said in his initial announcement of the impending surgery after praying the Angelus Oct. 11 that doctors
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