Pope Francis was awake and well the day after his intestinal surgery.According to the AP, he had a three hour operation that removed half of his colon on Sunday.He will be admitted to the Vatican for approximately seven days.Check out more stories from Insider's business page.The Vatican stated Monday that Pope Francis was "in good general health" following Sunday's surgery.According to the AP, the three-hour operation required half of the colon to be removed by the pope at age 84. If there are no complications, he will be kept in hospital for seven days.NBC reported that the surprise announcement by the Vatican on Sunday that the pope was being hospitalized for surgery was shocking to the public. He had earlier that day given an address from his study window, but did not mention the forthcoming surgery.In a Sunday statement, the Vatican stated that the surgery was planned.According to an Italian newspaper, surgeons attempted the surgery laparoscopically, but faced complications, and they had to perform with larger incisions. The AP said that the paper didn't cite any sources.Monday's statement from Vatican did not mention any complications.Doctors told the AP that bowel problems similar to those of Pope Francis are common in older adults. However, doctors said that approximately 10% to 20% of patients with similar issues do not need surgery. Some people feel that the only way to relieve the pain is to have part of their colon removed.According to Dr. Walter Longo of Yale University School of Medicine's chief of colon and rectal surgical, "This is a very large operation." Longo stated that the main concern is to ensure that all parts of the bowel that have been stitched remain attached.
