Bolsonaro undergoes medical procedure to treat severe hiccups

Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, underwent a medical procedure on Saturday afternoon at a hospital in Brasília to treat a bout of persistent hiccups.

The intervention, described as successful by his medical team in a Saturday press conference, involved blocking the phrenic nerve, which runs from the neck to the diaphragm. Saturday’s procedure was on Bolsonaro’s right side. A second procedure is scheduled for Monday to block the same nerve on the opposite side.

On Thursday, Bolsonaro also underwent surgery to repair a hernia, a consequence of the abdominal stabbing he suffered during the 2018 presidential campaign. The procedure was carried out without complications, according to his medical team. He endorsed his son Flavio’s 2026 presidential bid in a statement ahead of his surgery Thursday.

Bolsonaro is currently in prison after being convicted by the Supreme Court of attempting to carry out a coup following his electoral defeat in 2022.

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