“I would say there are no clinical reasons why this visit should not take place.”

Professor Stefano Margaritora, the surgeon who operated on Pope Leo XIV’s lung on Tuesday, October 13, told Vatican News that, from a medical standpoint, the Pope can undertake the demanding visit to Latin America scheduled for November 6–17.

Dr. Margaritora is Professor of Thoracic Surgery at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and Director of the Thoracic Surgery Unit at the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital Foundation.

Q: Professor, first of all, how is Pope Leo XIV?

At the time of his discharge from the hospital, Pope Leo was in entirely satisfactory clinical condition. His blood test results were completely normal, and his heart function was fine.

The lung’s re-expansion after surgery is proceeding according to the usual timetable. So, overall, his condition is good.

Q: Can you tell us how the lung adenocarcinoma was discovered?

The discovery of the Pope’s malignant lung tumor was entirely accidental, as unfortunately often happens.

During routine abdominal examinations, this small spot was found in the chest, at the base of the lung. This is fairly normal because, when radiological examinations of the abdomen are performed, the lower part of the lungs is usually visible, since the diaphragm is shaped somewhat like a parachute.

However, if this small spot had been a little higher up, it certainly would not have been seen.

Q: What does the Holy Father’s experience over the past few weeks teach us? How important is prevention?

Prevention is extremely important. The Holy Father falls into the category of people who discover they have lung cancer entirely by chance – not because they are undergoing preventive screening, but because they undergo examinations for other reasons.

For example, someone falls from a tree, goes to the emergency room for an X-ray, and a spot on the lung becomes visible. Or it is found during tests carried out for other reasons.

It would therefore be important for people, especially those at risk, to undergo regular preventive checkups – not only for other cancers for which widespread screening exists, such as breast or colon cancer, but also for lung cancer.

Unfortunately, especially in its early stages, this cancer causes no symptoms. We saw that in the Holy Father’s case: he had no respiratory symptoms and felt perfectly well.

Q: How would you describe the surgery? Was it a complicated operation?

It would be dishonest of me to say it was very complicated in order to make it sound heroic. In fact, the Holy Father’s operation was routine in the sense that, in similar cases involving a lung tumor of a certain size, the entire lobe containing it has to be removed.

In the Holy Father’s case, that was the lower lobe of the right lung. So, from that standpoint, it was a routine operation.

Q: Are you satisfied with the outcome of the surgery, Professor?

Yes, very much so. The operation went ahead without any complications, and that is what we always hope for before every operation. Unfortunately, that is not always how things go.

Q: Are you pleased with his postoperative recovery?

Yes, we are truly pleased with it. The Holy Father has put his heart and soul into his recovery, as the most motivated people do after this kind of operation.

As a result, he needed very little assistance from us. His determination to recover quickly has been effective in every respect. It was truly commendable.

Q: Can you estimate how long his recovery will take? Will he be ready in time for the visit to Latin America?

Treating him as I would any other patient, I think it takes a couple of weeks to make a truly complete physical recovery after this kind of operation. Since almost a week has already passed, I believe the Pope could be fully recovered in another ten days or so.

As for a long trip involving air travel in about three weeks, I would say there are no clinical reasons why it should not take place.

Q: What did it mean to you, as a man, a doctor, and a believer, to lead the team that operated on the Pope?

Operating on a Pope stirred a deep feeling that I cannot even describe. Obviously, the person before you is a man – after all, the Pope is a man – but you know very well that he is not an ordinary person. Pope Leo has such charisma that it would be impossible to regard him as ordinary.

You are about to operate on a Pope who, for the first time – at least in modern history – is undergoing surgery for a malignant tumor. As far as we know, that has never happened before.

You know the eyes of the world are on you, because he is (not) only a head of state: he is the leader of faithful spread throughout the world, and there is enormous media attention. So, it is clear that an operation that is routine medically cannot feel routine on a human level.

Therefore, I experienced a series of conflicting thoughts, telling myself: “You have to perform a normal operation, one you have done a thousand times in your life,” and, “For the first time, you are performing this kind of operation on a Pope.”

Q: May I ask what you said to the Pope just before the anesthesia took effect?

When the Pope entered the operating room, he was very down-to-earth and smiling. We had formed a sort of semicircle – my colleagues and I, the anesthesiologists, and the operating room staff.

When he came in, he looked around and saw us, and I said to him, “Holy Father, this is our dream team.” He smiled, and he let himself… We began administering the anesthesia.

Q: Professor, may I ask what kind of patient Pope Leo XIV was during his days at Gemelli?

Pope Leo was an ideal patient. I am not saying that to flatter him. He truly did not cause the slightest problem for the team caring for him, and he would not have done so even if his name had been Mario Bianchi.

He was always serene, always smiling, and rarely complained, despite the pain a person inevitably feels, even with all the measures we take.

He followed every stage of our guidance on diet and physiotherapy. He got back on his feet and always did a little more than we asked of him.

On the second day after the operation, we turned around and found him arranging the chairs in the chapel himself. We said, “Holy Father, we can do that.” And he replied, “It doesn’t matter. I can do it, so I will.” What can I say? He really was an absolutely ideal patient.

I would also like to thank all the staff, the entire team at Gemelli Hospital who helped care for the Holy Father. We should never forget that, in hospitals, behind the work of the surgeon and the anesthesiologist, there are operating room nurses and other operating room staff, laboratory technicians, and radiology technicians, who came every day to take the Holy Father’s X-ray. There are physiotherapists and many other healthcare professionals who may not usually be mentioned, but whom I am glad to recognize.

I also want to express my heartfelt thanks to the leadership of the Gemelli Hospital Foundation and to the Rector of the Catholic University. They placed their trust in me and allowed me to have this truly extraordinary experience.