Conservative former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro was discharged from the DF Star Hospital in Brasília on Thursday after undergoing four different surgical procedures over the span of a week.
The 70-year-old former president, currently serving a 27-year and three-month prison sentence for “crimes against democracy,” spent eight days hospitalized, from Christmas Eve to January 1.
During his stay at the hospital in the Brazilian capital, Bolsonaro underwent four surgical procedures to address complications stemming from the 2018 failed assassination attempt when a man identified as Adelio Bispo de Oliveira stabbed Bolsonaro during a presidential campaign rally, causing significant damage to Bolsonaro’s organs.
Bolsonaro was originally admitted to the DF Star Hospital on December 24 to undergo a bilateral inguinal herniorrhaphy. Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorized the procedure, allowing Bolsonaro to be “discreetly” transferred from his prison cell to the hospital while demanding that the Brazilian Federal Police carry out strict hospital-wide security and surveillance measures during Bolsonaro’s stay.
The herniorrhaphy was successfully performed on December 25 without any complications. The procedure was done at the recommendation of Bolsonaro’s medical team due to existing risks derived from the former president’s pre-existing conditions. At the time, Bolsonaro’s chief medical officer, Dr. Cláudio Birolini, explained to reporters that his team was evaluating the possibility of having Bolsonaro undergo a different procedure to address the hiccups he has been experiencing for years — another consequence of the failed stabbing attempt.
To address the hiccups, Bolsonaro underwent separate phrenic nerve block procedures. The phrenic nerve is primarily responsible for controlling the diaphragm, a muscle essential for breathing. First, doctors blocked the right side phrenic nerve on December 27, then performed a similar procedure for the left side phrenic nerve on December 29. On that same day, Bolsonaro underwent another procedure to reinforce the block, marking his fourth surgical procedure over the final week of 2025.
On Wednesday, December 31, Bolsonaro reportedly underwent an endoscopy, during which doctors confirmed the persistence of esophagitis and gastritis. Hours later, Birolini, speaking on behalf of Bolsonaro’s medical team, explained that although the former president experienced a reduction in the intensity of his hiccups after the three phrenic nerve block procedures, the procedures were not sufficient to fully treat the condition.
The doctor detailed that the limited response to the procedures has led the team to the conclusion that the origin of Bolsonaro’s hiccups is not related to the diaphragm, but may be linked to his central nervous system. The intervention sought to contain the hiccups in the short term, while awaiting a more lasting response from the body, which did not fully occur, he stressed.
The medical team reportedly recommended continuing drug treatment and adopting complementary therapies, such as “diaphragmatic breathing exercises, speech therapy, and hypnosis.”
“A definitive intervention could cause paralysis of the diaphragm without resolving the spasms, which are the hiccups,” Birolini said, explaining that more invasive procedures on the phrenic nerve would not be effective.
Bolsonaro is presently serving his prison sentence at the Regional Superintendency of the Federal Police in Brasília after spending several months under strict house arrest. The former president was discharged from the hospital on Monday and sent back to the superintendency, reportedly located some 1.2 miles from the hospital.
The Brazilian outlet Poder 360 published footage of Bolsonaro’s departure inside a police SUV escorted by a group of police officers on motorcycles. A group of supporters of the former president gathered outside the hospital and chanted messages of support as the vehicle departed.
Bolsonaro’s legal team has repeatedly requested STF Justice Alexandre de Moraes to grant humanitarian house arrest measures to Bolsonaro since he was transferred to the Superintendency and officially began serving his prison sentence. At press time, de Moraes has rejected every such request.
On Thursday, de Moraes rejected the latest humanitarian house arrest request, filed by Bolsonaro’s legal team on December 31. Poder 360 reported that the lawyers requested that Bolsonaro be immediately granted house arrest provisions and sent back to his home from the hospital on the grounds that returning to the prison cell could pose a risk of worsening his health.
According to a copy of de Moraes’ ruling obtained by the outlet, the justice determined that Bolsonaro’s defense “did not present any new facts capable of overturning the grounds” that led to a similar request filed on December 19. According to de Moraes, there is a “total absence of legal requirements” for granting house arrest benefits to Bolsonaro.
De Moraes also reportedly rejected the health deterioration claims presented by the lawyers, asserting that there was “no worsening of his health, but rather an improvement in his discomfort after elective [sic] surgeries, as reported by the convicted man’s own doctors.”
“The Minister [justice] added that all prescriptions indicated by the defense can be fully complied with at the Federal Police unit, where there is a 24-hour medical service, as well as unrestricted access to attending physicians, medications, physical therapy, and food prepared by family members,” Poder 360 reported.
Bolsonaro’s son Carlos condemned de Moraes’ ruling in a lengthy social media post without directly mentioning the Justice by name.
“It must be said loud and clear: what is happening in Brazil is not the strict application of the law, but a repeated exercise of abuse of power, concentrated in the hands of a minister who has long since exceeded any acceptable limit in a country governed by the rule of law,” Councilman Bolsonaro’s message read in part.
“The decisions made by this individual not only violate basic constitutional guarantees, but also deliberately expose Jair Bolsonaro to real physical and human risks,” he continued.
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