The president ( ) underwent surgery this Thursday morning (12) at Hospital Sírio-Libanês, in São Paulo, to reduce the risk of new bleeding in cases of patients with chronic subdural hematoma.
“The procedure was successful, it’s over. The president is awake, speaking,” said cardiologist Roberto Kalil, the PT member’s doctor. According to him, “absolutely nothing changes” following the president’s recovery, which is expected to be discharged at the beginning of next week.
At 10 am, team doctors will present more details to the press about the procedure, which lasted around an hour.
The president is hospitalized at Hospital Sírio-Libanês in São Paulo after undergoing emergency surgery following the discovery of intracranial hemorrhage on Tuesday (10). Lula’s hemorrhage resulted from a hematoma formed at the Palácio da Alvorada, on October 19.
On that occasion, Lula fell from a bench while cutting his nails, and had to receive stitches on the back of his head. Since then, he has had periodic follow-up exams.
On Tuesday (10), when detailing the president’s condition, the medical team stated that Lula does not have any brain damage as a result of the accident and hemorrhage. Emergency surgery was performed after the PT member on Monday (9).
The embolization of the meningeal arteries —which irrigate the meninges, membranes that cover the central nervous system— aims to interrupt the blood flow in a region of the brain.
A study published last month in the scientific journal New England of Medicine shows that the recurrence of bleeding in patients who underwent surgery was 9%, while among those who underwent surgery and then embolization, it was 3%. Previous research has shown even larger differences — from 11% to 3%.
According to neurologists, although the classic treatment received by the president is effective, the fact that he already has additional risk factors, such as age and a busy schedule of air travel, means the chances of bleeding are greater, which justifies embolization.
“In cases where recurrence [do sangramento] It can happen due to risk factors, we opt for embolization. There is sufficient scientific evidence to support this decision”, says Ana Gandolfi, coordinator of the neurosurgical emergency sector at the Escola Paulista de Medicina da Unifesp (Federal University of São Paulo).
According to neurosurgeon Luiz Severo, in general, this procedure is indicated for patients who have undergone surgery and who have had a recurrence of bleeding. “But we are talking about the President of the Republic. So this set of strategies is justified to avoid a new surgery and all the complications.”
Gandolfi explains that the new procedure is considered low risk and does not increase recovery time
“It’s a bit like a catheterization. But instead of reaching the heart, we do a catheterization to reach the meningeal arteries. It’s an endovascular procedure, you place a catheter inside the artery. It’s less invasive, there’s no court.”
In normal situations, explains the doctor, 24 hours of rest is recommended. “As the president is already hospitalized and the plan is to stay for a week, then not much will change in that sense.”
The neurosurgeon also reinforces that embolization has no relation to bleeding drainage.
“Sometimes, people say: ‘did the surgery go wrong?’ That’s not it. The surgery may have been great, but you do the embolization to try to reduce the chance of recurrence, which we know is relatively high.”
In , the procedure has been offered in research protocols. It is also not offered because it is not included in the ANS (National Supplementary Health Agency) list of procedures.
