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Brazilian President Lula da Silva recovering in intensive care after emergency surgery for intracranial hemorrhage

The head of state was rushed to the city of São Paulo, where he underwent surgery to drain the hematoma detected on his head

El presidente de Brasil, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva
El presidente de Brasil, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva | EFE

December 10, 2024 5:41am

Updated: December 10, 2024 8:32am

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva underwent emergency surgery to drain an intracranial hemorrhage resulting from the fall he suffered on Oct. 19, a medical center reported this Tuesday.

The surgery went “without problems” and Lula is “well” in the intensive care unit of São Paulo’s Sírio-Lebanés Hospital, according to the bulletin published on the president's social networks.

The 79-year old Brazilian leader went to a hospital in Brasilia on Monday night for “a headache” and, after performing an MRI, “an intracranial hemorrhage” was detected.

The head of state was then rushed to an emergency room in São Paulo, where he underwent surgery to drain the hematoma detected on his head.

“The surgery went without problems and, at this moment, the president is well, under monitoring, in an intensive care bed,” the doctor said according to Brazilian media reports.

The hospital said that on Tuesday morning it will hold a press conference with the responsible doctors to update Lula's health condition.

The bulletin specifies that the hemorrhage is a reflection of the fall he suffered on Oct. 19 at the Alvorada Palace, the official residence of the Brazilian presidency, in Brasilia, for which he had to receive five stitches in the back of his neck.

During the following weeks he underwent various check-ups without major problems, although doctors prevented him from traveling by plane for a time as a precaution.

Due to this recommendation, Lula da Silva canceled his October trip to Russia, where he planned to participate in the summit of the BRICS group. Once he was discharged, he resumed his trips normally, the note says.

Lula da Silva also underwent surgery in September 2023 at a private hospital in Brasilia in which he was implanted with a hip prosthesis to correct problems in the head of the femur caused by osteoarthritis and which caused him permanent pain, his doctors reported.

The Brazilian, who took office Jan. 1, 2023, was one of the Latin American presidents who mediated the situation in Venezuela after the electoral fraud last July, after dictator Nicolás Maduro’s election apparatus declared him the winner.

Those results have not been recognized as legitimate by multiple international organizations and countries in the region, and to date have not published the official minutes.

In recent weeks, the Lula da Silva affirmed that Maduro is a “problem” for Venezuela and not Brazil, after the latest diplomatic tensions between both countries.

He also assured that he cannot continue worrying about the politics of the neighboring nation, in an interview with the RedeTV television network.

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