Brazil: Lula discharged from hospital after brain surgery

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was discharged Sunday from a Sao Paulo hospital after undergoing emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage last week.

"I am here in one piece... returning home calmly," the 79-year-old president said in a surprise appearance at a press conference by his medical team at the Sirio-Libanes Hospital.

He burst into the press conference without warning and approached the microphones unaided. "I am alive, unscathed and ready to work ... I have a lot of work ahead of me," Lula added.

"I confess I was scared by the volume of fluid growth in my head. I was worried by the urgency of the request" to go to the hospital, he said.

What did the doctors say?

"He is stable, walking, eating and speaking normally. He had a very good postoperative phase, which was within expectations," Doctor Roberto Kalil told journalists.

According to Kalil, Lula can resume his activities but will have to rest for 15 days. "The only restriction is physical exercise," said Kalil.

Another doctor, Ana Helena Germoglio, said the president's recovery has "exceeded expectations."

"I never think I'm going to die, but I'm scared, so I need to follow the rules," Lula said, adding that he feels good but will not go to the beach for the end-of-year holidays, as many Brazilians do.

What kind of surgery did Lula have?

Lula underwent a successful surgery on Tuesday, in which doctors drilled through his skull to relieve pressure that built up after he was hit on the head in October when he fell in a bathroom at his presidential residence.

On Thursday, he underwent a follow-up operation to minimize the risk of further bleeding in the affected area.

The president will remain in Sao Paulo until Thursday when he will undergo follow-up tests. Once cleared, he will be able to return to Brasilia and his normal routine, doctors said.

dh/jcg (AFP, dpa)