Pope walking and recovering 'as expected' after surgery, doctors say

ByMaia Davies and Sarah Rainsford, Southern and Eastern Europe correspondent, Reporting fromRome.

Key points

• The Pope was diagnosed with lung cancer after the surgery at Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
• The news has shaken Catholics worldwide, plenty of of whom will have recent memories of Pope Francis's hospital visits.
• Pope Leo XIV's recovery from surgery to remove a lower lobe of his lung is "progressing as expected", his doctors have remarked.
• Blood tests and an X-ray early on Wednesday indicated his recovery was "proceeding normally", the doctors stated, and he has additionally undergone respiratory physiotherapy.
• The whole lower lobe of the Pope's right lung was removed "to ensure the procedure was radical", the Vatican remarked after the surgery.

Notably, the 71-year-old pontiff has began to walk and has "resumed a normal diet" after the roughly 90-minute procedure, the medics noted in an update shared by the Vatican.

Meanwhile, the Pope was diagnosed with lung cancer after the surgery at Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday afternoon. It the Vatican remarked had been "successful" and proceeded without complications.

In practice, the whole lower lobe of the Pope's right lung was removed "to ensure the procedure was radical", the Vatican remarked after the surgery.

"After the operation, the Pope awoke normally and returned after a brief period of observation to his room, " it remarked earlier, before spending a "peaceful night" at the hospital.

For context, the pontiff is projected to remain there for concerning a week as he recovers. What we know regarding the Pope's lung cancer diagnosis. Pope's cancer diagnosis leaves Catholics questioning what comes next.

According to He had, he would be admitted for the operation during his weekly Sunday prayers, telling the crowd in St Peter's Square that doctors had identified a "well-contained" nodule on his lung "at an early stage" and advised him to have it removed.

Nodules are quite common and not necessarily cancerous, but after it was examined the medical team confirmed it was, "as suspected by pre-operative tests", the Vatican remarked. He was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma.

Meanwhile, a Vatican source informed news agency AFP that further tests were carried out to see whether the cancer had spread.

Notably, the Vatican has stressed that the Pope. This person is generally thought to be fit, had no symptoms of infection or illness.

Meanwhile, the news has shaken Catholics worldwide, plenty of of whom will have recent memories of Pope Francis's hospital visits.

Pope Leo's predecessor, who died last year, additionally had part of his lung removed in his youth before suffering a series of respiratory infections afterwards in life. What is lung adenocarcinoma?

Adenocarcinomas develop in cells that produce mucus and are one of the most common types of lung cancer.

In practice, the long-term prognosis depends on a number of things, including the stage of the cancer when identified and the person's overall health. The earlier it is spotted, the better, and treatments have improved over the last few decades.

Some adenocarcinomas are picked up early – before symptoms develop – during routine tests. At afterwards stages, lung cancer can cause a persistent cough, breathlessness, fatigue and weight loss.

For now, pope walking and recovering ' as expected' after surgery, doctors say remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.