Brazil’s Lula undergoes a second procedure to address bleeding inside his head

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva underwent a procedure Thursday morning to stop persistent bleeding on the surface of his brain, following an unplanned head surgery earlier this week, his doctors told reporters in Sao Paulo.

The procedure was minimally invasive and successful, doctors at the Sirio-Libanes hospital said.

The president is awake and fine, they said, and expected to leave the hospital and return to Brasilia at the beginning of next week. He will then be able to resume his activities little by little, they said.

On Tuesday, the 79-year-old leftist leader underwent surgery for a brain bleed after suffering complications resulting from a fall at home in October.

After the first surgery, doctors had said that there would be no aftereffects. Lula has no brain damage and is neurologically perfect, they said Thursday.

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.