The former president of Paraguay Fernando Lugo was operated in the last hours for the stroke that he suffered yesterday and for which he is still in intensive care and with guarded prognosis. As officially reported, the surgery managed to repair the area where bleeding was detected, although one more speech left.
The state of health of the referent of the Coalition for a New Paraguay, the opposition coalition that has a chance of reaching the government next year, continues to be delicate but “At least this first part could be overcome”, highlighted Esperanza Martínezpre-candidate for president by that political force.
“It was possible to drain the hematoma and the bleeding it had, and cauterize all the areas” where the problem was detected. “They left him with a drain and at this moment he is already in the therapy room, stable but with a reserved prognosis”specified the woman who spoke about the state of health of the former president and current senator.
Lugo, 71, yesterday suffered a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) for which he was admitted to an emergency clinic in Asunción. Due to his severity, he remained in an induced coma until he could be operated on, reported his doctor, also senator Jorge Querey.
“Bleeding in the brain has increased, this lesion is inside and has an expansion. We have to stop this bleeding in some way and we are going to treat it through an endovascular procedure,” he explained last night.
Lugo’s health problem and the operation he underwent
The operation was carried out successfully in the last hours. Nevertheless, planned catheterization could not be performed at this time due to the sequels of the same operation.
“The endovascular process could not be completed through the catheter because he had a hematoma and the area where he is was not decompressed”, explained Esperanza Martínez.
According to the doctors, the origin of the problem was “a congenital malformation” that worsened and produced both the bleeding and the hematoma that compresses the admission to the place where the stroke originated.
Lugo remains in serious condition although no accurate prognosis could be made since it continues to be exposed to possible complications.
The first symptoms had been manifested last weekend in Colombia, during the inauguration of President Gustavo Petro. After a series of minor symptoms, “had a seizure or what people normally know as an epileptic seizure,” said Querey, who is also a pulmonologist and therapist.
Then it was detected ischemic stroke in the back of the brain. For this reason he was admitted to the San Roque de Asunción private sanatorium, where he underwent surgery and continues in intensive care.
As reported, the stroke had nothing to do with the cancer that the former bishop had been detected in 2010 and for which he was operated on two years later.
Lugo ruled Paraguay between 2008 and Until now, he was the only president who did not belong to the right-wing Colorado Party since that political force assumed power in 1954, first under the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner and then from 1989 in democracy.
He was removed from the presidency in June 2012, nine months before the presidential elections, by an institutional coup materialized through a controversial impeachment trial in Congress for alleged poor performance of his duties.