The former president (PL) was admitted to the ICU of the DF Star Hospital, in Brasília on the 13th. According to a statement from the hospital, the former president arrived at the unit with a high fever, a drop in oxygen saturation, sweating and chills.
The hospitalization, which led the STF (Supreme Federal Court) to temporarily grant house arrest, is another chapter in a long history of health complications that began in September 2018.
Since , in Juiz de Fora (MG), when Bolsonaro was stabbed by Adélio Bispo de Oliveira, his health has been unstable. The stab wound hit the abdomen and caused serious injuries to the small and large intestines, requiring emergency surgery. Days later, he underwent a second intervention to treat an intestinal obstruction resulting from the original injury.
In 2019, at the beginning of his first year in office, the former president underwent a third surgery for , a device he had used since the initial interventions to allow intestinal recovery. The seven-hour procedure preceded the fourth surgery, in September of the same year, to correct an incisional hernia that had appeared in the region of the abdominal scar, a common consequence after multiple operations in the same area.
During the pandemic, the then president arrived in July 2020, after having declared the disease. On the same day, he took advantage of the announcement of his Covid test to treat the disease.
Between 2021 and 2022, Bolsonaro was repeatedly hospitalized for new intestinal obstructions, without the need for surgical intervention.
The former president’s health worsened again in January 2023, when, outside of government, he was hospitalized in Orlando (USA), with intense abdominal pain and intestinal subocclusion, treated clinically. At the time, after the most disputed election in history, Bolsonaro traveled to Florida before finishing his term, avoiding passing the banner to his opponent Lula (PT).
In September of the same year, he underwent two procedures: the correction of a hiatus hernia, to treat gastroesophageal reflux, and surgery to deviate the nasal septum, to improve the quality of breathing.
In May 2024, he needed hospitalization due to erysipelas — a bacterial skin infection that required the use of intravenous medication for around 12 days. He — where he participated in an event for the PL of federal deputy Captain Alberto Neto for Manaus City Hall — went to the Vila Nova Star Hospital, in São Paulo, to treat the infection.
In April 2025, the former president: a 12-hour intervention for , after feeling intense pain during an appointment in Rio Grande do Norte. Recovery required prolonged hospitalization, with time in the ICU.
In September,. The report confirmed the presence of carcinoma in two of the samples, located in the chest and arm. Two days later, on September 16, he was hospitalized urgently after experiencing vomiting, dizziness and a drop in blood pressure, and was discharged the following day.
In November, with the condition oscillating between bouts of hiccups and the use of continuous medication, Bolsonaro maintained an exercise routine and balanced diet to try to stabilize his health.
On December 24, 2025, he was authorized by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF, to leave the Federal Police headquarters to be admitted to DF Star. On the 25th, he underwent surgery. The problem occurs when, as we age, the tissues become fragile and the intestine begins to slip into the inguinal canal.
Exams also showed that, according to the medical team, it worsens high blood pressure. Between December 27th and 30th, he underwent three more interventions to contain persistent bouts of hiccups, which the medical team considered part of a rare case of chronic hiccups, which requires continuous treatment.
Six days later, in the early hours of January 6, Bolsonaro tried to walk inside the room where he was detained, at the Federal Police headquarters, and fell, hitting his head, and was diagnosed with. The main hypothesis raised by the medical team was that the fall was caused by disorientation resulting from the interaction between the medications used to treat hiccups.
Bolsonaro is now in the same hospital, this time with a bacterial diagnosis and was admitted to the ICU.
