Brazil's former President Bolsonaro operated

Brazil's imprisoned former President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday underwent a medical procedure to treat persistent hiccups for the second time in three days.

The doctors carried out a "phrenic nerve block procedure" ⁠on Bolsonaro to block his left phrenic nerve, following a surgery on Saturday to treat the right one.

In medical literature, the phrenic nerve is described as a vital nerve originating in the neck that controls the diaphragm, the primary muscle for breathing.



The surgery at the DF Star hospital in capital Brasilia lasted for about an hour.



According to the attending physician Bolsonaro is expected to leave the hospital on January 1,



Bolsonaro, had been hospitalized on Wednesday for hernia surgery on Christmas Day.



The ex-president has faced health problems since a stabbing he suffered in September 2018, during a presidential campaign event in the town of Juiz de Fora, in Minas Gerais state.



Bolsonaro was convicted and sentenced to over 27 years in prison by Brazil's Supreme Court in September for plotting a coup to overturn his 2022 election loss. He started to serve his sentence last month.