Pope is stable, but his speech will suffer

Scotcman ^ | Sat 26 Feb 2005 | STEPHEN MCGINTY

[Deetes]

POPE John Paul’s ability to speak in public, including his famous orations in St Peter’s Square, will be seriously curtailed by his recent ill-health, experts have said.

Surgeons performed a tracheotomy on the 84-year-old pontiff on Thursday night to assist his breathing.

It is now believed the effects of this operation could be permanent, making it much more difficult for the Pope - whose voice is already weakened and at times inaudible as a result of Parkinson’s disease - to speak at length.

The procedure at the Gemelli hospital in Rome involved an incision into the trachea, or windpipe, in order to remove phlegm and assist his breathing. The Pope’s hunched posture and the muscular weakness which comes with Parkinson’s has made him more likely to suffer what is known as retained secretions which, in his weakened state, he cannot clear unaided and which could develop into pneumonia.

The tracheotomy is likely to have serious consequences for the Pope’s ability to carry on his duties. The operation will prevent him speaking - restricting his appearances in St Peter’s Square - for an extended period and will probably require an extended hospital stay. "It is unlikely that the tracheotomy which the Pope has received will be reversed," said Mr William Grant, a consultant surgeon of ear, nose and throat at the Charing Cross Hospital in London. "In a healthy young patient it could be taken out in a week or so, but with a patient the age of the Pope, and given the effects of his Parkinson’s disease, I think this will be a permanent part of his treatment."

Mr Grant said patients can learn to speak relatively clearly with a tracheotomy, but that it would certainly further hinder the Pope’s speech, which before the operation was already strained and wheezy.