Brazil's President Lula to undergo another surgery after initial procedure for brain bleed

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will undergo another surgery, doctors at the Sirio-Libanes hospital where the leftist leader is being treated said Wednesday.

The minimally invasive procedure that doctors will perform on Lula is called middle meningeal artery embolization and aims to stop persistent bleeding on the surface of the brain, according to the University of California San Francisco's definition.

On Tuesday, the 79-year-old leader underwent surgery for a brain bleed after suffering complications resulting from a fall at home in October. Doctors told journalists after the operation that Lula would remain in intensive care for 48 hours.

But doctors on Wednesday said he would undergo another surgery on Thursday.

Lula ''spent the day well,'' doctors said in their updated statement.

''He underwent physiotherapy, walked and received visits from family members,'' they added.

Lula remains in intensive care. In an earlier statement on Wednesday, doctors said the Brazilian president was lucid and had his bearings, and that he remained hooked up to a surgical drain as he awaits further routine tests.

After the first surgery, doctors had said that there would be no aftereffects and that Lula was expected to return to the capital, Brasilia, at the beginning of next week. Until then, they said, he would be unable to work.

Doctors will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. local time on Thursday to provide further updates, they said.

Lula canceled a trip to Russia for a BRICS summit after the accident, his office said at the time. It left him with a visible cut on the back of his head, slightly above his neck.

Fagnislainny Fernandes, a 40-year-old visual artist, said she went to the hospital ''out of compassion'' for Lula.

"This country, unfortunately, has a lot of misinformation and so I came personally to find out if this situation is really happening,'' she said.

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AP videojournalists Thiago Mostazo and Maycron Abade contributed to this report.

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