President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s medical team said this Thursday morning (12), at a press conference held at Hospital Sírio-Libanês, that he is stable and that the procedure was carried out at around 7am to prevent further bleeding. in the head it was a success.
Doctor Roberto Kalil said that the discharge forecast is maintained for the beginning of next week. “He’s awake, he’s eating, he’s super stable. This hasn’t delayed the schedule for the next few days in the slightest, which, depending on the president’s progress, should be discharged at the beginning of the week.”
Lula was underwent emergency surgery last Tuesday (10) to drain a bruise on his head, resulting from a fall he suffered in October. Kalil assured that there was no new bleeding after drainage, and that the procedure carried out today was preventative in nature.
Doctors also stated that Lula’s neurological examination is normal. The recommendation is for “relative rest” in the coming weeks. Physical activities should be postponed and the president should avoid stressful situations.
At the hospital, only Lula’s family members are allowed to visit him.
Simple Procedure
The doctor who performed the intervention, José Guilherme Caldas, stated that it is a relatively simple procedure. “What’s important is to stop the blood that gets close to the hematoma. What we inject is like gelatin, some particles, that clog this vessel. What’s important is to stop the blood from reaching that location.”
The procedure aims to reduce the risk of a new hematoma forming in the region between the skull bone and the brain. For the intervention, there was no general anesthesia, just sedation.
Today Lula will continue with ICU monitoring. “The drain will most likely be removed in the late afternoon. From tomorrow onwards, he will no longer have 24-hour monitoring care. So he will probably be discharged from the ICU tomorrow”, said Kalil.
The medical team also assured that the president is neurologically perfect. “At no point did he have any brain injuries,” said Kalil, explaining that the president is already “talking, eating and walking back and forth.” Doctors reaffirmed that there are no sequelae and Lula is considered “cognitively intact”.
“Why did you do the procedure? There was no type of bleeding. Drainage was performed successfully [na terça] and this other type of procedure was to prevent or minimize the risk of new bleeding”, explained Kalil.
He added that he didn’t warn himself beforehand because “medicine is day to day.” “Mainly a patient in the ICU, after a brain bleed. He progressed as well as he did, he’s great, so what are we going to do to protect him? And then this procedure was discussed. The president was informed about this procedure yesterday afternoon,” he said .
Kalil also informed that the president will be able to go to Brasília after the discharge, which should take place next Monday or Tuesday. Secondly, Lula’s evolution has been very good. “What is expected is that next week the president will be in Alvorada,” he said.
*Article updated at 2:28 pm to add information.
