MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolsonaro recovering from a planned operation to remove a bladder stone

“The procedure was carried out without complications, and the bladder stone was completely removed. The patient is in stable condition, without fever or pain”

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro underwent an operation to remove a bladder stone on Friday, the government said, the latest in a series of health issues for the far-right leader.

Bolsonaro, 65, “underwent endoscopic cystolithotripsy surgery,” a minimally invasive procedure under general anesthesia that involves using a laser to break up and remove a bladder stone, the communications ministry said in a statement.

“The procedure was carried out without complications, and the bladder stone was completely removed. The patient is in stable condition, without fever or pain,” it said.

Bolsonaro had previously announced he would undergo the surgery, telling supporters the bladder stone was “bigger than a bean.”

“I felt a little pain, so I went for a checkup. But I'm fine. It's an age thing,” he said last month.

Bolsonaro has undergone a series of surgeries in recent years, including four stemming from an attack in which he was stabbed in the abdomen during his 2018 presidential campaign.

The attack, carried out by a suspected radical leftist, came just over a month before Bolsonaro was elected president.

He also had a case of COVID-19 in July, putting him in quarantine for nearly three weeks.

That episode did not deter him in his regular attacks on stay-at-home measures to contain the new coronavirus, which he says are needlessly damaging the economy.