Pope John Paull 11 may be returning to hospital to have a feeding tube inserted.

The Italian news agency APcom said Tuesday that doctors were considering a feeding tube to ensure the 84-year-old pontiff receives adequate nutrition.

The Vatican didn’t comment publicly on the report, which the news agency attributed to a source who wasn’t identified.

The procedure involves passing a feeding tube through the throat into the stomach, then drawing it outside the body through a small incision in the abdomen. Liquid formula is fed through the tube into the stomach.

If the Pope undergoes the surgery, he will be receiving nutrition in the same way that Terri Schiavo did before the feeding tube was removed from the brain-damaged Florida woman, generating tremendous controversy.

John Paul was admitted to hospital twice in February because of difficulties breathing.

Doctors inserted a tracheotomy tube in his throat on Feb. 24 to help him breathe, but he’s since struggled to swallow.