Brazil: President Bolsonaro leaves hospital after treatment

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has left a hospital after being treated there since last week for an intestinal obstruction

Brazil Bolsonaro (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro left a hospital on Sunday after being treated there since last week for an intestinal obstruction.

Bolsonaro, who was admitted Wednesday to the Vila Nova Star Hospital in Sao Paulo because of abdominal pain and persistent hiccups, appeared to be in good spirits as he left and told journalists that he hoped to be eating barbecue ribs in 10 days.

Doctors had originally considered operating on 66-year-old Bolsonaro, but decided not to do so. For some days, Bolsonaro was fed through a tube, but he was deemed fit to leave the hospital after returning to normal food intake.

Social media posts had shown Bolsonaro walking around the hospital and he continued to work, meeting Cabinet ministers by videoconference.

In 2018, Bolsonaro was stabbed in the abdomen while on the campaign trail. Since then, he has undergone several operations, some unrelated to the attack.