The Brazilian president is in a “good” condition in an intensive care unit. The injury is a consequence of the fall he suffered on October 19.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has undergone surgery to drain an intracranial hemorrhage resulting from a fall on October 19, the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital in Sao Paulo reported on Tuesday. The surgery went "without problems" and the president is "well" in the hospital's intensive care unit.

The 79-year-old Brazilian progressive leader went to a medical centre in Brasilia on Monday evening for a "headache" and, after an MRI was performed, "an intracranial haemorrhage" was detected. The head of state was then rushed to the city of Sao Paulo, where he underwent surgery to drain the haematoma detected in his head.

"The surgery went off without a hitch and the president is currently doing well, under monitoring, in an intensive care bed," the medical center said in a statement, which specifies that the hemorrhage is a reflection of the fall he suffered on October 19 at the Alvorada Palace, the official residence of the Brazilian Presidency, in Brasilia, for which he had to receive five stitches in the back of his neck.

Long trips are prohibited

After the accident, Lula underwent numerous tests, which did not reveal any major problems. However, doctors prevented him from travelling by plane for long periods of time as a precaution. This instruction meant that he was to miss the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, at the end of October.

Lula, who has been in power since January 1, 2023 after defeating Jair Bolsonaro in the presidential elections, has had an intense work schedule in November and the first days of December, after hosting the G20 leaders' summit in Rio de Janeiro and traveling to Montevideo for the semi-annual meeting of Mercosur presidents.