DR MARC SIEGEL: Pope Leo's lung surgery puts modern medicine alongside faith

When Pope Leo XIV visited Lourdes, France, on Sept.26, he drank a glass of water from the spring at the Grotto of Massabielle, where St.

Bernadette Soubirous reported visions of the Virgin Mary in 1858.Who knew last month that the pope might be calling on the healing waters to help in his own healing as he faces surgical removal of what the Vatican has described as "a small localized nodule" that he has said "was identified at a very early stage and well situated." The surgery will take place Tuesday, Oct.13, followed by a week of recovery at Rome’s highly rated Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital.

Small lung nodules are often detected on CT scans of the lungs.If the nodule is small and well circumscribed and has characteristics, including irregularities that are concerning for malignancy, as may be the case here, removal can often be performed using minimally invasive techniques.POPE LEO ARRIVES AT HOSPITAL FOR SURGERY TO REMOVE LUNG NODULEThe surgeon leading his medical team is Professor Stefano Margaritora, director of the Thoracic Surgery Unit at Gemelli and an expert in minimally invasive techniques.

Margaritora is known for uniportal (one small incision) video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), which is done via a scope under direct visualization.This is the procedure that will be performed on the pope. Dr.

Robert Cerfolio, CEO at Pinnacle Global Health and one of the top minimally invasive lung surgeons in the world, thinks highly of Margaritora but generally prefers a robotic approach, in part because of smaller incisions and better visualization.The robot is placed between the ribs and into the chest and is controlled by the surgeon from a console.POPE LEO ANNOUNCES TUMOR ON LUNG, SURGERY PLANNED IN 'NEXT FEW DAYS'If all goes well, I would expect the Holy Father to resume normal activities fairly quickly.

His recovery will no doubt be aided by the fact that, at age 71, he has maintained an active lifestyle and has generally appeared to be in g...