Former Brazilian President Bolsonaro receives treatment for hiccups

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has received treatment for chronic hiccups, his medical team said.

Treatment on Saturday was “going well,” according to one of his doctors. Another, Claudio Birolini, added that the procedure lasted “about an hour”, stressing that it was not surgery.

The far-right former leader is serving a 27-year prison sentence for orchestrating a coup that saw him lose to left-wing rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the Latin American country’s 2022 presidential election.

The 70-year-old successfully underwent the latest surgery double hernia surgery earlier this week after being allowed to be transferred to the hospital.

Before the surgery, Bolsonaro also supported his son Flavio’s bid to run against Lula in Brazil’s 2026 presidential election. His statement – a handwritten letter – was read by the younger Bolsonaro outside the hospital.

After the successful surgery, his medical team decided it was necessary to treat the hiccups he had been experiencing for several months.

“It has been nine months of struggle and pain, with hiccups every day,” Bolsonaro’s wife Michelle said on Saturday.

She explained in a social media post that her husband’s surgery “blocked” one of his phrenic nerves.

The phrenic nerve contracts and expands the diaphragm, allowing the lungs to inhale and exhale. Hiccups are caused by involuntary spasms of the diaphragm, usually due to irritation of the phrenic nerve.

His doctors later confirmed they had treated the right phrenic nerve and planned to treat the left nerve on Monday.

After being discharged from the hospital, the former president will return to his cell at the federal police headquarters to continue serving his sentence.

Bolsonaro was convicted of a coup plot in September. He was placed under house arrest pending appeal, but Detained by police last month After being deemed a “concrete flight risk”.

Court officials said he had tried to break an ankle monitor and planned to use a rally outside his home as cover to escape. Bolsonaro insists he has no intention of fleeing.

Also on Saturday, Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered the house arrest of 10 officials involved in the coup attempt. They all served in his administration.