Brazil’s former President Bolsonaro undergoes new surgery to treat hiccups

SAO PAULO, Dec 29 (Reuters) – Brazil’s imprisoned former President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday underwent a medical procedure to treat persistent hiccups for the second time in three days.

The doctors carried out a “phrenic nerve block procedure” on Bolsonaro to block his left phrenic nerve, following a surgery on Saturday to treat the right one.

In medical literature, the phrenic nerve is described as a vital nerve originating in the neck that controls the diaphragm, the primary muscle for breathing.

The surgery at the DF Star hospital in capital Brasilia lasted for about an hour and was concluded near 3 p.m. local time (1800 GMT), according to information provided by his wife, former First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro, on social media.

Doctor Claudio Birolini told journalists later that Bolsonaro is expected to leave the hospital on January 1, if his recovery is uneventful, while a second doctor said his health conditions will be closely watched in the next 48 hours.

“I don’t believe the hospitalization will be prolonged much longer,” Doctor Brasil Caiado, the third doctor at the press conference, said. “His condition is stable.”

Bolsonaro, 70, had been hospitalized on Wednesday for hernia surgery on Christmas Day. His doctors then decided to also carry out procedures to treat his hiccups during his hospital stay.

The ex-president has faced health problems since a stabbing he suffered in September 2018, during a presidential campaign event in the town of Juiz de Fora, in Minas Gerais state.

Bolsonaro was convicted and sentenced to over 27 years in prison by Brazil’s Supreme Court in September for plotting a coup to overturn his 2022 election loss. He started to serve his sentence last month.

He was authorized by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to leave prison for the hernia surgery.

(Reporting by Andre Romani in Sao Paulo, additional reporting by Fernando Cardoso; Editing by Alistair Bell)