Former Brazilian President Bolsonaro undergoes nerve block procedure for persistent hiccups

Former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year sentence for coup plotting, received a phrenic nerve block to address persistent hiccups.

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro underwent "a phrenic nerve block procedure" on Saturday to treat his persistent hiccups, his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, said on social media.

The former 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.(REUTERS file photo)

In a subsequent statement, the doctors treating Bolsonaro said they blocked the right phrenic nerve and scheduled a new procedure in 48 hours to block the left 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.

Bolsonaro, 70, had been hospitalized on Wednesday for hernia surgery.

In September, he was convicted and sentenced to 27 years in prison by Brazil's Supreme Court for plotting a coup to overturn his 2022 election loss.

At the request of his defense lawyers, he was authorized by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to leave prison for the surgery.

In a statement issued while he was in the hospital, Bolsonaro endorsed the 2026 presidential bid of his son, Flavio Bolsonaro.

The former 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 underwent various surgeries in the abdominal region after the stabbing.