Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is set to undergo a new medical procedure on Thursday to prevent further bleeding in his brain, local media reported on Wednesday.

Lula had brain surgery on Tuesday to drain a bleed on his brain, which was linked to a fall in his home in October.

A statement earlier on Wednesday from the 79-year-old's doctors indicated he remained in intensive care in a Sao Paulo hospital but was continuing to recover.

Further surgery will be "complementary"

According to the hospital treating Lula, the President will have a "complementary" operation on Thursday in order to staunch blood flow to an area under his skull that previously underwent surgery.

"As part of his treatment, complementary to the surgery, an endovascular procedure (embolization of the middle meningeal artery) will be carried out tomorrow morning," a medical bulletin from Hospital Sirio-Libanes in Sao Paulo said on Wednesday.

The hospital note added that Lula "carried out physiotherapy, walked and received family visits."

What led to the surgery?

After suffering from a headache on Monday, an MRI detected an intracranial hemorrhage, which led to Lula being transferred to Sao Paulo for surgery at the Sirio Libanes hospital.

The initial surgery was said to have gone "without complications" and would require the leftist leader to remain in intensive care for 48 hours.

The hospital said earlier on Wednesday that the Brazilian president was alert and had "progressed well" since the surgery, "without incident."

Following his fall in October, tests conducted in early November showed Lula's condition remained stable but the injury forced him to cancel a trip to Russia for the BRICS summit, in accordance with medical advice to temporarily avoid long-haul flights.

km/jcg (Reuters, AFP)