Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has undergone surgery for an intestinal obstruction, raising questions about his campaign for the European Parliament elections.
Berlusconi's office said the surgery was successful and that the 82-year-old media mogul would be released from the hospital in the coming days.
Previously, Berlusconi's office had said he was suffering from acute renal colic, pain often associated with kidney stones.
Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was rushed to hospital. Source: AAP
He was taken to hospital on the same day he was to present candidates of his Forza Italia party for European Parliament elections on May 26.
Berlusconi himself is running, the first time he has been allowed to challenge for public office following a ban imposed after a 2012 tax fraud conviction.
Citing his good conduct, a court last year ruled that he could take part in elections again.
Berlusconi's office said he had suffered abdominal pain the night of April 29, and that a scan had revealed a blockage in the small intestine.
Exploratory surgery identified the volvulus of ileum, a rare but serious cause of small bowel obstruction.
The former Italian leader is standing in the forthcoming European elections, but the new emergency could put those plans on hold. Source: Getty Images
Mr Berlusconi's office said the adhesion stemmed from gall bladder surgery 40 years ago.
The three-time premier has suffered heart problems in the past, including surgery in 2016 to repair a heart valve. He has said that despite his age, he wants to run for the European Parliament elections.
It is not clear how the latest surgery would affect his campaign.
Berlusconi made sure to release excerpts of a speech he had planned to deliver on Tuesday. In them, he railed against the isolationist bent of the current populist government of the right-wing League and the 5-Star Movement.
He warned that Italy could not confront African migration, Chinese "imperialistic design" and Islamic fundamentalism without European support.
His once-dominant Forza Italia party trails in the polls behind the League, the 5-Stars and the opposition Democratic Party.
