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Medics and Israelis listen the Director of the Hadassah hospital, Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, not seen, as he briefs the media about the condition of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in Jerusalem Saturday. (AP)
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| By Associated Press January 8, 2006 |
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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's latest brain scan showed some improvement and his doctors said Sunday they would bring him out of an induced coma within a day to assess brain damage. One of his surgeons ruled out the possibility of Sharon returning to office.
Sharon, who suffered a debilitating stroke last week, remained in critical condition Sunday at Hadassah Hospital. But his vital signs, including intracranial pressure, were normal, Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, the hospital's director, said after doctors completed a new brain scan of Sharon.
"His condition is still critical but stable, and there is improvement in the CT picture of the brain," Dr. Mor-Yosef said. He did not answer questions from reporters and gave no prognosis.
But one of Sharon's surgeons, Dr. Jose Cohen, was quoted as saying that while Sharon's chances of survival from the stroke are high, his ability to think and reason would be impaired.
"He will not continue to be prime minister, but maybe he will be able to understand and to speak," the Argentina-born Cohen said in comments published Sunday by The Jerusalem Post. His remarks reinforced the widespread belief that Sharon's days as prime minister are over.
A senior official at Hadassah suggested that even Cohen's dire assessment might be too optimistic.
"There was expression of hopes and thoughts ... in which some people expressed optimism," Dr. Yair Birenboim, the No. 2 administrator at Hadassah, told Israel Army Radio. "That was definitely an expression that we think was premature."
Birenboim is not directly involved in Sharon's treatment, but is briefed on the prime minister's condition, hospital officials said.
Sharon has been hospitalized since suffering the stroke on Wednesday night. He has undergone two rounds of surgery to stop bleeding in the brain and to relieve pressure inside his skull. Doctors have placed him in what they call an induced coma -- under heavy sedation and connected to a respirator -- to give him time to heal.
Sharon's medical team gathered early Sunday to decide when to lift the sedation and pull him out of the coma -- a key step in assessing the extent of brain damage. Doctors had planned to begin reducing the sedative level on Sunday, but decided to wait another day after performing a new brain scan.
Mor-Yosef said the latest scan showed brain swelling had gone down, intracranial and blood pressure were within normal range, and cerebral spinal fluid was draining well. He also said the Sharon did not have a fever.
"In light of all these factors the panel of experts decided to start the process of taking him out of the sedation tomorrow morning," he said. "This all depends of course on whether the prime minister makes it until tomorrow morning without any significant incidents."
Dr. Avi Cohen, a neurosurgeon at Soroka Hospital in southern Israel who is not treating Sharon, told Channel 2 TV the latest brain-scan results indicated the prime minister is "on the right path." He said the sedatives would be halted gradually, and that doctors could resume the drugs if tests reveal any problems.
As Sharon was being treated, acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert convened the regular weekly meeting of the Cabinet. He told ministers that Sharon would want everyone to return to work on the country's pressing security, social and economic issues.
"This we will continue to do," he said. "We will continue also to carry out the wishes of Sharon, to manage affairs as necessary."
Speaking to reporters later, Olmert said he saw a "glimpse of hope" for Sharon and expressed hope for a full recovery.
"I pray with all the people of Israel that my tenure as acting prime minister will be short, so soon enough we will be able to see again the leader of Israel," he told a news conference, called to discuss Israel's economy.
Before his collapse, Sharon appeared headed to win a third term in office at the head of Kadima, a new, centrist party he formed to build on the momentum created by his seminal summer withdrawal of soldiers and settlers from the Gaza Strip. Although Israel and the Palestinians have not used the withdrawal to jump-start long-stalled peace talks, there had been hope peacemaking would resume after Palestinian elections in January and Israeli balloting in March.
It is not clear if Olmert or any of Sharon's other potential successors would have the charisma to follow in the footsteps of the hard-charging Sharon.
It had been widely expected that a Sharon-led government would carry out more troop pullbacks in the West Bank, but the prime minister has been reluctant to resume peace talks, saying the Palestinians were not a trustworthy partner.
In the West Bank, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia wished Sharon a quick recovery and expressed hope for new peace talks. "We are looking for a new era in which we can negotiate and be partners in a real peace that serves both peoples," he told his Cabinet.
Sharon, who experienced a mild stroke on Dec. 18, felt weak on Wednesday and was rushed to Hadassah from his ranch in southern Israel when a blood vessel on the right side of his brain burst, causing massive cerebral hemorrhaging.
Outside experts have said the outlook for recovery is grim, and aides said they do not expect Sharon to return to the prime minister's office.
Since Wednesday's stroke, Israelis from all walks of life have lamented Sharon's likely departure from the political scene because, with his larger-than life persona and warrior credentials, Sharon was widely seen as the man most capable of untangling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The AP contributed to this report.
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