Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 79, left intensive care on Friday but remains under surveillance in the hospital where he was operated on earlier this week, after a hemorrhage near the brain.
Lula “remains hospitalized” and is now “in semi-intensive care”underlines the latest medical bulletin published by the prestigious Syrian-Lebanese hospital in Sao Paulo.
According to a presidential source, the head of state remains in the same room, but under an intermittent observation regime, and no longer continuously 24 hours a day, as was the case since Tuesday in intensive care. .
Lula underwent emergency surgery on Tuesday to repair a hematoma near the brain linked to a fall in October.
Il “remains lucid, has been eating normally and walking in the hallways” from the hospital, detailed the medical bulletin.
The Brazilian president is “in perfect neurological condition”neurosurgeon Marcos Stavale assured Thursday at a press conference, after a second intervention in the morning intended to reduce the risk of new hemorrhages near the brain.
Ce “additional operation” consisted of blocking blood flow where the initial hematoma had formed in the skull, at the level of the middle meningeal artery.
Dr. Roberto Kalil, during a press conference at the Syrian-Lebanese hospital in Sao Paulo, December 12, 2024 / Nelson ALMEIDA / AFP
After this intervention, which consists of introducing a catheter into the femoral artery, the risk of a new hemorrhage is “less than 5%”according to doctors.
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According to the medical team, Lula should be able to leave the hospital Monday or Tuesday.
Once back at the presidential palace in Brasilia, the head of state will be able to “resuming a work schedule”plus convalescence “requires relative rest for a few weeks”warned his personal doctor, Roberto Kalil.
Brazilian Minister of Institutional Relations Alexandre Padilha G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 15, 2024 / Mauro PIMENTEL / AFP/Archives
Thursday, his Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha, assured that Lula “permanently exercises his activity as President of the Republic”for example having signed official documents electronically.
The hemorrhage which led to his hospitalization is linked to a domestic accident dating from October 19, when Lula hit the back of his head during a fall in the bathroom of his official residence.
This fall had earned him several stitches and forced him to cancel his trip to Russia for the Brics summit.
But it then resumed its activities normally, with a particularly busy schedule, notably hosting the G20 summit on November 18 and 19 in Rio de Janeiro, a forum for the world’s main economies.
The health problems of Lula, who already suffered from laryngeal cancer in 2011, after his first stint as president (2003-2010), cast doubt on a possible new candidacy for re-election in 2026, while there is currently no obvious successor on the left.