Brazilian president in intensive care after emergency brain surgery

The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is recovering in intensive care having undergone emergency surgery after a brain bleed was detected during an MRI scan.

A statement from the Sírio-Libanês hospital in São Paulo that was shared on Lula’s social networks early on Tuesday said the operation had taken place “without complications”. Brazil’s leftwing leader was under observation after the craniotomy and was “well”. According to the NHS, a craniotomy is a surgical intervention during which a neurosurgeon temporarily removes part of the skull to remove a haematoma. Such surgery is usually performed under a general anaesthetic.

The hospital attributed the intracranial haemorrhage to a domestic accident Lula suffered in October, when the 79-year-old fell while taking a shower in the Alvorada Palace, the official presidential residence in Brasília. That accident forced Lula to cancel a trip to a Brics summit in Russia and left him with several stitches.

Lula was admitted to hospital in Brasília on Monday night after complaining of a headache. After the haemorrhage was detected he was transferred 620 miles (1,000km) south to one of Brazil’s top hospitals in São Paulo, where doctors operated. A press conference is scheduled to take place on Tuesday morning with more details of Lula’s condition.

The newspaper O Globo said Lula arrived in São Paulo at about 11pm on Monday having felt unwell during the afternoon. By 4.45am he had undergone surgery and was recovering, asleep. “He wakes up [feeling] groggy, goes back to sleep, wakes up [again]… Everything as expected,” one aide was quoted as saying.

More details soon …