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

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will undergo a new procedure on Thursday following up on an unplanned surgery earlier this week for a brain bleed, doctors said.

The minimally invasive procedure aims to stop persistent bleeding on the surface of the brain. 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.

Doctors at the Sirio-Libanes hospital on Wednesday said Lula would undergo the second procedure on Thursday.

In a statement, they said that Lula “spent the day well," adding that “he underwent physiotherapy, walked and received visits from family members."

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 journalists Thiago Mostazo and Maycron Abade contributed to this report.

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