Pope faces surgery to clear arteries

[emad]

Sunday Times
John Follain, Rome



THE Pope¡¯s doctors are considering operating on him within the next two months after discovering that he is suffering from clogged coronary arteries, medical sources have revealed.

John Paul II, 84, was taken to hospital on Tuesday night with breathing difficulties caused by tracheitis ¡ª an inflammation of the windpipe ¡ª and spasms of the larynx, or voice-box, after a bout of influenza.

Sources close to his doctors have disclosed that since the autumn he has also had problems with the blood vessels that carry oxygen-enriched blood to the heart.

After an initial consultation in early November, doctors from the Gemelli hospital in northern Rome decided the Pope¡¯s condition was not serious enough to warrant any action. Following a second consultation in late January, however, they opted for an operation in March.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1471927,00.html

[jmcgowanjm]

1. Look, the guy's goin, you can tell by the spin

Cardinals are flocking to the Vatican
like Crows.

Give it up JPII.

[MaineDem]

2. That's pretty cold (nt)

[Name removed]

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[jmcgowanjm]

7. nevermind n/t

[alcuno]

4. The Holy Father has a will of iron. People have been writing him off

for years. My mom and I were chuckling about this the other day; how the media is so quick to look for his successor everytime he becomes ill. He's 84 and this has happened about 20 times now.

He may be frail looking, but he's not going wheels up until he is ready. No matter how many people are prepared to bury him on the spot.

[Rowdyboy]

5. If I were a cardinal, I wouldn't book tickets just yet....

The man may well still lead the Vatican for another decade. He's only 84 and medical science can work miracles.