Bolsonaro's condition 'evolving satisfactorily' but no discharge scheduled, says hospital

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was admitted to the hospital after witnessing persistent hiccups for the days and abdominal pain, was making satisfactory progress on July 15, said the hospital where he is receiving treatment. Bolsonaro was taken to a military hospital in Brasilia before he was transferred to Vila Nova Star private hospital in Sao Paulo on July 14. The 66-year-old was diagnosed to be suffering from an “intestinal obstruction” and on Wednesday, the hospital decided to start with a “conservative clinical treatment.”

Reportedly, in a statement on Thursday, the hospital said that Bolsonaro in its care was “evolving satisfactorily.” The hospital also informed that the Brazilian President will continue to remain admitted with “no discharge schedule” and the previously established treatment plan will be practised. Even though there are no plans to operate the far-right leader, if the hospital decides to change the decision, it would be Bolsonaro’s seventh surgery since he was stabbed during a rally in 2018 in the abdomen.

Bolsonaro’s chronic hiccups 

Brazilian President’s admission to the hospital came after he appeared to have been struggling with his constant hiccups. In an interview with Radio Gaiba on July 7, Bolsonaro had said, “I apologize to everyone who is listening to me because I’ve been hiccupping for five days now.” Further suggesting that medications after dental surgery might be the cause, he had also informed, “I have the hiccups 24 hours a day.”

Even on July 8, during his weekly Facebook Live session, Bolsonaro had apologised for not being able to express himself without getting interrupted by his hiccups. As per The Associated Press, Dr Anthony Lembo, a gastroenterologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston has said that chronic hiccups are usually a manifestation of an underlying such as obstructed intestine that eventually requires surgery. In other cases, a part of the intestine might have also be ejected.

“Any time you’re moving bowels, it’s not a small surgery,” Lembo said, adding that in the case of repeated surgeries, as in the Brazilian President’s case, interventions can get more complicated.

In September 2018, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed while campaigning suffering severe injuries and being hospitalised. The man later identified as Adélio Bispo de Oliveira stabbed Bolsonaro after rushing up to the Brazilian leader while the latter was bring carried through a crowd on the shoulders of a supporter. He suffered serious injuries in his abdomen.

IMAGE: AP