Pope Leo XIV to Enter Rome Hospital for Removal of Lung Nodule Pope Leo XIV will be admitted to Gemelli hospital in Rome to have a lung nodule removed, a procedure doctors say will reveal whether the lesion is malignant and whether more treatment is needed. VATICAN CITY - Pope Leo XIV was expected to be admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Tuesday for the removal of a lung nodule, an operation experts say will determine whether the lesion is malignant and whether other treatment is needed. The surgery date was reported on October 13, 2026. The 71-year-old American pontiff has shown a rare level of transparency about the first publicly disclosed major health problem of his 17-month papacy. He revealed the discovery of the small, localized nodule during his Sunday noon prayer and announced he would have it removed. The Vatican said Leo would be admitted to Gemelli late Tuesday morning, but gave no immediate word on the timing of the operation itself.Medical Experts Detail Lung Nodule Removal ProcedureDozens of well-wishers, including medical personnel, gathered at the hospital entrance in anticipation of his arrival. The surgery, usually performed under general anesthesia, will require a weeklong hospital stay. The Vatican on Monday canceled all of Leo's audiences through October 20. Cardiologist Dr. Christopher Labos discussed what a lung nodule is, the kind of procedure the pontiff will undergo, and what recovery looks like.Dr. Lorenzo Spaggiari, director of thoracic surgery at the European Institute of Oncology, or EIO, in Milan, is not involved in the pope's care but knows the Gemelli team. He said: These are things that can be treated very well, if the words he used reflect the clinical situation.Tokyo Cardinal Kikuchi Tsutomu, who saw Leo on Monday, said the pope told him he felt fine and decided on surgery immediately so he would not have to alter upcoming travel plans to Latin America. The decision clearly came as a surprise. Gemelli has a specific papal apartment used by past popes, complete with a private chapel on the 10th floor.Leo will instead stay in a nearby room because the papal apartment is undergoing renovations, according to a person with knowledge of the plans who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. Spaggiari said he expected the Gemelli team to perform a biopsy to determine whether Leo has lung cancer, followed by removal of a section or lobe of the lung where the nodule is located.Advanced Robotic Technology Used for Biopsy and SurgeryBoth could be done with robotic techniques, consecutively, under the same anesthesia, with different specialist teams, he said. A sophisticated robotic bronchoscopy technology called ION allows a biopsy on nodules as small as 3 millimeters, or 1/10 inch, Spaggiari said. Both Gemelli and EIO have the technology, available in Italy for only two years. Gemelli also has robotic surgical technology, allowing removal of the nodule using a minimally invasive technique.The method involves four small incisions in the chest through which instruments of the so-called da Vinci robot are inserted. The surgeon controls the robotic arms while looking at a screen providing high-definition, 3D views of the surgical site. Spaggiari said: It is a very well-established technology. This is something we have been doing for 20 years.It was not known for certain what technique would be used on Leo. Gemelli has documented using both robotic procedures to diagnose and operate in under four hours. The biopsy risk is virtually zero, while the surgical risk is very small, carrying a 0.6% to 0.8% mortality rate for patients in otherwise good health with good heart and lung function, Spaggiari said.During surgery to remove the nodule and part of the lung, doctors would also remove lymph nodes that drain the segment or lobe. Spaggiari said: If all those lymph nodes turn out to be negative, so stage one, then the outlook is very good, adding that no other treatment would be necessary. The nodule was discovered during regular checks, the Vatican has said. Spaggiari said the pope has likely undergone other tests before being recommended for surgery.He said: I think he has had a bit of luck. They found something that was asymptomatic - a lung nodule, possibly a tumor. He might call it something else; we call it luck. EIO advises patients not to fly for three weeks after surgery, which would give the pope just the interval needed for his planned November 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, depending on his recovery.Pope Leo XIV Maintains Upcoming South America Travel PlansThe itinerary is the longest of his papacy to date, calling for just over 31,000 kilometers, or 19,000 miles, on a dozen flights and two helicopter rides, plus a significant altitude change in Peru. Spaggiari said: I think the Holy Father is in excellent hands at Gemelli. They have everything needed to keep the Holy Father alive for a long time.Kikuchi, the Tokyo archbishop who also heads the Vatican's charitable federation Caritas Internationalis, said Leo told him he felt no different than usual and was looking ahead to the trip. Kikuchi wrote on the Facebook page of the Tokyo archdiocese: He has decided to undergo surgery soon in order to not change his plans for future overseas trips, so there is no need to worry, as it is not an emergency.The Vatican has for centuries zealously guarded the pope's health and often sent confusing information, or none at all, about papal illnesses. Pope Francis tried to change that by being upfront about his frailties and musing on his eventual death. But even during his pontificate, information was tightly controlled.Pope Leo XIV Breaks Tradition With Health TransparencyLeo's decision and reveal suggested an unusual level of transparency by the American pope, who revealed it in perhaps the most public way possible: at the end of his Sunday noon blessing, with thousands of people in St. Peter's Square. Quebec Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix said: I really appreciated yesterday at the end of the Angelus, he himself said, This is what is going on - very transparent - and ask for prayers.