Brazil’s President Lula to undergo further surgery after brain bleed procedure

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will undergo another surgery, doctors at the Sirio-Libanes hospital where the leader is being treated said on Wednesday.

The minimally invasive procedure that doctors will perform on Mr Da Silva, known as Lula, is called middle meningeal artery embolisation and aims to stop persistent bleeding on the surface of the brain, according to the University of California San Francisco’s definition.

On Tuesday, the 79-year-old leader underwent surgery for a brain bleed after suffering complications resulting from a fall at his home in October. Doctors told journalists after the operation that Lula would remain in intensive care for 48 hours.

But doctors on Wednesday said he would undergo another surgery on Thursday.

Lula “spent the day well”, doctors said in their updated statement.

“He underwent physiotherapy, walked and received visits from family members,” they added.

He remains in intensive care. In an earlier statement on Wednesday, doctors said the Brazilian president was lucid and had his bearings, and that he remained hooked up to a surgical drain as he awaits further routine tests.

After the first surgery, doctors had said that there would be no aftereffects and that Lula was expected to return to the capital, Brasilia, at the beginning of next week. Until then, they said, he would be unable to work.

Doctors will hold a press conference at 10am local time on Thursday to provide further updates, they said.

Lula cancelled a trip to Russia for a Brics summit after the accident, his office said at the time. It left him with a visible cut on the back of his head, slightly above his neck.