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| By Israel Insider staff and partners February 11, 2006 |
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PM Ariel Sharon emerged alive from surgery Saturday morning after an operation to open a blockage in his digestive tract. His condition is described as more stable and his life is in no longer deemed in "immediate danger." However, doctors and Hadassah Hospital officials said that the abdominal crisis was not the "main problem," as Sharon remained comatose, in a vegetative stage, with no change in weeks.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was rushed into surgery Saturday morning after a CT of his stomach revealed serious damage to his digestive tract, a spokeswoman for the Hadassah University Hospital said. His condition was described as critical and his life was in danger, Yael Bossem-Levy said in a statement. The decision was made to operate on Sharon immediately.
The operation began at around 11:30 A.M. and lasted more than four hours. Sharon underwent a laparoscopy, in which a tube is inserted into his body in an attempt to open an obstruction caused by the death of tissues in his stomach, which is blocking the flow of blood to Sharon's digestive tract. Part of his large intestine was reportedly removed.
Thank God, the situation right now looks much better than it did in the morning," one of Sharon's close aides said. "At first it looked like the worst was to come. The hospital estimated there's a good chance he won't make it. But during the surgery, and certainly right now, we are much more relaxed. The smiles are back on our faces."
Director of Hadassah Hospital, Shlomo Mor-Yosef announced that "The surgery proceeded with no complications. There was no change in the prime minister's parameters," he said. "At the end of the operation he was transferred to the general intensive care unit, because in the coming days his main problem is the large intestine and stomach."
However, Mor Yosef stressed that Sharon's "major problem" was his coma. "In the past week to 10 days there has been no change at all on this front (the coma.)"
Addressing a question regarding the implications of the large intestine's partial removal, Mor Yosef characterized it as a routine procedure. "It's not an unusual procedure," he said. "Patients go back to normal functioning following such surgery. Yet the prime minister's major problem is his unconsciousness, not his intestines."
Regarding Sharon's prospects for recovery, Mor Yosef said: "As you know, the behavior of the brain is still a mystery, both to you and to us. With every passing day, of course the chances become slimmer."
Sharon, 77, has been unconscious since suffering a massive stroke on January 4, and his condition since has been described in "serious but stable," without immediate danger to his life.
He has undergone brain scans from time to time to check whether there was swelling and bleeding. The brain scans had not shown changes, but Sharon has failed to regain consciousness.
Sharon suffered the massive stroke a day before he was to check into Hadassah for what was described as a minor heart procedure. The major stroke came two weeks after he had suffered a mild stroke.
Doctors have come under fire from critics who questioned whether Sharon should have been treated with massive doses of anticoagulants after his first stroke, which was caused by a small blood clot in a cranial artery. Doctors admitted that the anticoagulants made it more difficult for them to stop the bleeding from the later hemorrhagic stroke.
The extensive bleeding and the lengthy operations Sharon underwent to stop it have led experts to conclude that he must have suffered severe brain damage and was unlikely to regain consciousness. If he does awaken, most say, the chances of his regaining meaningful cognition or activity are slim.
The AP contributed to this report.
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