President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) must avoid excessive use of his voice in the next 15 days, especially in the first week, after the surgery for the removal of a throat lesion which he underwent this Sunday (20), in São Paulo.
Lula arrived on Sunday at Hospital Sírio-Libanês to undergo a laryngoscopy to remove leukoplakia from the left vocal fold. The future president was discharged at 7:45 am this Monday (21) and is at his home in São Paulo. He should resume meetings in Brasília on Wednesday (23).
Surgery was recommended after the appearance of white spots, caused in most cases by smoking, alcohol, and acid reflux, which is potentiated by excessive use of the voice. Smoking is pointed out as the main cause of the problem. Lula also suffers from acid reflux.
A former smoker, Lula already has chronic trauma. But the injury would have increased this hoarseness in his voice, even more so during the election campaign — which required excessive use of the voice. Therefore, there is an expectation of voice improvement after the scarring of the operated region.
In November 2011, Lula was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer. He was deemed disease-free in June 2012.
Translated by Cassy Dias