Pope Francis to remain hospitalized for several days after undergoing three-hour abdominal surgery

Pope Francis is in the hospital after undergoing a three-hour abdominal surgery Wednesday afternoon, and the Vatican said there were no complications with the procedure.

Francis, 86, was admitted to Rome's Agostino Gemelli University Hospital after Wednesday's General Audience, a regular event in which the pope addresses a crowd and gives a homily. He is expected to remain hospitalized for several days, The Associated Press reported.

The pontiff "will undergo a laparotomy and abdominal wall plastic surgery with prosthesis under general anaesthesia," the Holy See Press Office said before the surgery. "The operation, arranged over the past few days by the medical team assisting the Holy Father, became necessary due to an embedded incisional hernia that is causing recurrent, painful and worsening sub-occlusive syndromes."

A laparotomy is a surgical procedure that opens up a person's abdomen to expose their organs. It can allow a surgeon to see what is going on inside a person and to take tissue samples or it could be used to treat some conditions, according to Cleveland Clinic.

Abdominal wall plastic surgery restores the abdominal muscles and is sometimes recommended for patients suffering from hernias, according to MedStar Health. 

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.