Pope Francis to undergo abdominal surgery

It emerged that Pope Francis would undergo abdominal surgery on Wednesday afternoon at Rome's Gemelli Hospital. The Vatican said that doctors would perform a “laparotomy and abdominal wall plastic surgery with prosthesis” to treat a “recurrent, painful and worsening” constriction of the intestine. The 86-year-old wpuld be put under general anaesthesia and hospitalised for several days, the Vatican added.