EXPLAINER: What kind of surgery did Pope Francis have?

Although minor symptoms can be treated with antibiotics, Chand said in some older people, the pain becomes so severe that removing part of the colon is the only way to fix it.

“That leads to scarring of the colon, which results in a narrowing part of the colon,” Chand said, explaining that prevents normal bowel movements. “There aren’t any drugs we can use to remedy the situation, so the only way to rid patients of the pain is by removing that narrowed portion of the bowel and join the two healthy ends of the bowel together.”

WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF COMPLICATIONS?

Although the pope’s surgery was planned, it was not minor.

“This is a major operation, so as with any big operation, you want to make sure a patient’s heart and lungs are recovering and progressing the way they should after something like this,” said Dr. Walter Longo, chief of colon and rectal surgery at Yale University School of Medicine. Longo said the primary concern is ensuring that the two parts of the bowel that surgeons have stitched together remain attached.

“The biggest risk is that this fails, and the patient experiences more pain, a fever, and there’s evidence of infection,” Longo said. “If that happens, then another operation would be needed to hook (the colon) back together.” He said that is extremely rare and that only two to three out of 100 surgeries would result in a repeat surgery…