Pope Leo XIV undergoes successful lung surgery after cancer diagnosis

Doctors removed the lower lobe of Pope Leo XIV’s right lung after tests indicated lung adenocarcinoma, a form of lung cancer. The operation used a video-assisted technique and removed the area containing suspected cancerous tissue. Removing the lobe aimed to eliminate all visible or suspected disease, rather than leaving potentially affected tissue behind.

At Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, the operation lasted about 90 minutes, while Pope Leo spent roughly three hours in the operating room. Surgeons examined the tissue during the procedure, confirming the diagnosis that earlier tests had suggested. The Vatican called the removal “radical,” meaning doctors removed the entire affected lobe and all suspected tissue within it.

The operation was successful, with no complications, and Leo awoke normally before returning to his room. Doctors are not currently planning chemotherapy or other treatment while they await further tissue tests. His expected hospital stay remains one week, and those results will help determine whether additional care is needed.

Lung adenocarcinoma is a cancer that starts in gland-like cells lining the lung. It belongs to non-small-cell lung cancer, which also includes squamous-cell cancer. Unlike small-cell lung cancer, it usually grows and spreads more slowly, although behavior varies.

In Pope Leo XIV’s case, tests suspected adenocarcinoma before surgery, and tissue examination confirmed it during the operation. Surgeons used a video-assisted technique to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, where the cancer was found. Removing the entire affected lobe aims to eliminate all visible or suspected disease.

Further tests on the removed tissue will show the tumor’s exact features, stage, and whether its edges are clear. Those results help doctors decide whether surgery alone is enough or additional treatment is needed. The operation lasted about 90 minutes, had no complications, and doctors were not yet considering chemotherapy.

Removing the lower lobe means taking out one section of the right lung, a procedure called a lobectomy. It aims to remove all suspected cancer while preserving the remaining lung tissue for breathing.

At Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, surgeons used video-assisted surgery to guide instruments with a camera through small openings. They removed the affected lobe in about 90 minutes, and tissue examined during the operation confirmed lung adenocarcinoma.

The operation was successful, with no reported complications, and Pope Leo awoke normally afterward. Doctors are awaiting further tissue tests before deciding whether chemotherapy or another treatment is needed. His expected hospital stay remains about one week.

Leo XIV had one lobe removed—not an entire lung: surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung. A lobectomy removes one of the lung’s five lobes. It aims to eliminate a localized tumor while preserving breathing tissue.

At Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, surgery lasted about 90 minutes, with tissue confirming adenocarcinoma. “Radical” removal meant taking all suspected tissue from that lobe. The right lung has three lobes, so two remained, alongside the left lung.

Breathing capacity varies with age, fitness, smoking history, and existing disease. When the remaining lung is healthy, people often retain roughly 70–80% of their previous measured lung function, though recovery takes time. Further tissue tests will guide Leo’s treatment; doctors were not yet considering chemotherapy or other therapies.

Further tests will study the removed lung tissue in detail. They can confirm the cancer’s type, show whether its edges are clear, and reveal features that help estimate recurrence risk. Those findings matter because they help doctors decide whether surgery removed all treatable disease.

During surgery, tissue confirmed lung adenocarcinoma, while doctors removed the entire lower right-lung lobe using video-assisted surgery. If testing shows the cancer was confined there and the margins are clear, doctors may recommend monitoring rather than chemotherapy. If cancer cells remain at an edge, or other features suggest higher risk, additional treatment could be considered.

Doctors are not currently planning chemotherapy or other therapies, pending these results. The Vatican expects further findings in coming days; the source does not specify which treatments would follow. Pope Leo recovered normally after the 90-minute operation, but the final tissue report will guide discussions about follow-up scans, medicines, or further care.

Doctors combine tissue testing with scans to judge whether lung cancer is gone or has spread. Pathologists examine the removed tumor under a microscope. They check its type, the cut edges, and sampled nearby lymph nodes for cancer cells.

In Pope Leo XIV’s case, surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung. Tissue examination during the operation confirmed lung adenocarcinoma, suspected from preoperative tests. The Vatican called the removal “radical,” but further tissue tests are still needed.

Doctors also use CT or PET scans to search for cancer beyond the operated area. Together, these findings establish the cancer’s stage and guide further treatment. For Leo, no chemotherapy or other therapy is currently planned while doctors await results.

Oxygen enters the bloodstream in microscopic air sacs, not through the lung’s larger air tubes. Each air sac has a thin wall beside tiny blood vessels. Because oxygen moves across this close boundary, blood can deliver it throughout the body.

A person can often manage after losing part of one lung. Remaining tissue provides many air sacs and blood vessels, while the body retains some breathing reserve. For Pope Leo XIV, doctors removed the right lower lobe at Gemelli Hospital using video-assisted surgery lasting 90 minutes.

The operation was successful without complications, but that does not guarantee complete recovery. His expected hospital stay remained one week, and further tests on the tissue were pending. The Vatican said doctors were not yet considering chemotherapy or other treatments.