Vatican confirms Pope tracheotomy

A Vatican spokesman said doctors performed a tracheotomy, a procedure in which a hole is made in the throat and a tube is inserted to assist breathing.

The Vatican said the tracheotomy was completed in “a positive way” and lasted 30 minutes.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the Pope had been informed of his situation and gave approval for the operation.

John Paul will be spending the night at the hospital, the papal spokesman said.

The Pope was rushed to the Gemelli Polyclinico hospital shortly before 11am today.

The tracheotomy is likely have serious consequences for the Pope’s abilities to carry on his duties. The operation would prevent him from speaking for an extended period and will probably require a long hospital stay.

Anaesthesia is also risky for someone of the Pope’s age, especially considering his Parkinson’s disease.

Vatican officials said the Pope was suffering breathing problems similar to those that sent him to Gemelli on February 1, and Italian news reports said the latest respiratory crisis was even more severe than the first one.

Papal officials played down the seriousness of the hospitalisation, saying a patient of the Pope’s age is always at risk from the flu. But Vatican aides said the Pope had a fever and congestion in addition to the breathing problems.

The Italian news agency Ansa reported that the Pope was conscious when he arrived at Gemelli and that he was sitting upright in a stretcher. People who saw him enter the hospital said his face looked “quite relaxed”.

The frail 84-year-old pontiff had greeted pilgrims twice at the window of his studio at St Peter’s Square since his release from Gemelli on February 10, and yesterday he made his longest public appearance since he fell ill more than three weeks ago.

With each successive appearance, he seemed a little stronger, a little more alert, and his voice rang out with greater clarity. That made today’s reversal all the more shocking for the faithful.

“We are so scared because he has been sick in the past,” said Vanessa Animo Bono, 32, a Roman Catholic being treated at Gemelli. “He is one of the few popes that is actually able to listen to people.”

Today’s hospitalisation was the Pope’s eighth since his election in 1978, and is certain to fuel speculation about whether he could continue as Pope, and what would happen if he was incapacitated.

In the clearest sign that the Vatican may be taking the eventuality of papal resignation seriously, Vatican No 2 Cardinal Angelo Sodano declined to rule out the possibility during John Paul’s first hospitalisation this month, saying it was up to the Pope’s conscience.

In the pope’s hometown of Wadowice, southern Poland, worshippers offered prayers at an afternoon Mass in St Mary’s church, where the young Karol Wojtyla was baptised.

The pope’s breathing problems can complicate the swallowing difficulties characteristic of Parkinson’s disease. The lack of coordination of the muscles involved make it easy for food or saliva to get into the lungs, which can cause pneumonia.