Brazil’s Bolsonaro visits hospital for hernia complication: source

By Lisandra Paraguassu

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro visited a hospital in Brasilia on Thursday night, leaving without speaking to reporters, with a source familiar with the matter saying the president had felt discomfort in his abdomen.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a medical team was weighing whether to replace mesh that was put in Bolsonaro’s abdomen to treat a prior hernia.

Government representatives could not be reached for comment on the reason for the visit.

Bolsonaro, 64, was stabbed by an attacker on the campaign trail in 2018 and has repeatedly sought follow-up treatment for the injury and related issues.

He has undergone four surgeries since the attack, with the most recent operation using the mesh to correct a hernia in the area where he was stabbed.

Thursday’s hospital visit was not on Bolsonaro’s official agenda for the day, which was set to end after he visited the state of Minas Gerais where heavy rains and flooding last week led to the deaths of more than 50 people.

(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Writing by Jake Spring; Editing by Peter Cooney)