Bolsonaro Undergoes Second Nerve Block for Persistent Hiccups Following Hernia Surgery
Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, 70, who is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup to overturn the 2022 election, recently underwent a second phrenic nerve block to address persistent hiccups. This procedure targeted the left phrenic nerve, following an initial treatment on the right nerve performed on Saturday.
The hiccup treatments come after Bolsonaro had double hernia surgery on Christmas Day; he had earlier undergone an intestinal operation in April. Medical staff have reported that his condition remains stable after the second hiccup procedure. Dr. Claudio Birolini indicated that the hospitalisation is not expected to be prolonged and that Bolsonaro may be discharged around 1 January, assuming recovery progresses as anticipated.
Brazil's Supreme Court permitted Bolsonaro's transfer from the federal police headquarters to a hospital in Brasília to facilitate the initial surgery. Meanwhile, Bolsonaro has endorsed his son, Flávio Bolsonaro, to run against the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in the 2026 presidential election, following Lula's victory in 2022.
