The doctors at Hadassah Hospital in southern Jerusalem have placed Prime Minister Sharon in a form of coma, in order to allow him to recover from the massive cerebral hemorrhaging he suffered Wednesday night and again on Friday.
If all goes according to plan, the doctors plan to begin easing him out of the coma tomorrow morning, and to then begin a neurological examination.
Sharon has undergone three operations: a seven-hour affair on Wednesday night, a two-hour operation on Thursday morning, and a nearly four-hour operation on Friday.
Prof. Ben-Yosef, Director-General of Hadassah, announced at 2 PM this afternoon that following today's CAT scan, "We continue to see an improvement in the picture of the brain. The brain ventricles have diminished, there has been good drainage of the fluids, and we can now see an image of the folds of the brain in the CAT scan. This shows improvement. In addition, the other measurements - blood pressure, cranial pressure and pulse - are good, and there is no temperature. His condition is still critical but stable."
In light of the above, Mor-Yosef announced, the doctors will begin reducing the dosage of the coma-inducing medications that the Prime Minister is receiving, "on condition that the whole period until then continues uneventfully."
Most significantly, Mor-Yosef said that the doctors hope to begin a neurological examination tomorrow morning, "to see how the Prime Minister's brain is functioning. I hope we will be able to report on the results tomorrow at approximately this time."
Mor-Yosef did not relate to the question of whether Sharon's condition is still considered life-threatening, or what type or extent of brain damage can be expected.
Prof. Yonatan HaLevy, the director of Shaarei Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, commented on Channel Two television that the decision to wait some 16 hours before beginning to reduce the coma-inducing medication "is most likely the result of wanting to be extra cautious."
He said that the fact that the patient is immobilized is potentially dangerous, and could lead to infection and clotting in the legs. "The usual procedure would be to prescribe blood-thinners," HaLevy said, "but we know from bitter past experience that this could lead to bleeding in the brain. So the next-best course of action, certainly less effective, is simply to move him around as much as possible."
If all goes according to plan, the doctors plan to begin easing him out of the coma tomorrow morning, and to then begin a neurological examination.
Sharon has undergone three operations: a seven-hour affair on Wednesday night, a two-hour operation on Thursday morning, and a nearly four-hour operation on Friday.
Prof. Ben-Yosef, Director-General of Hadassah, announced at 2 PM this afternoon that following today's CAT scan, "We continue to see an improvement in the picture of the brain. The brain ventricles have diminished, there has been good drainage of the fluids, and we can now see an image of the folds of the brain in the CAT scan. This shows improvement. In addition, the other measurements - blood pressure, cranial pressure and pulse - are good, and there is no temperature. His condition is still critical but stable."
In light of the above, Mor-Yosef announced, the doctors will begin reducing the dosage of the coma-inducing medications that the Prime Minister is receiving, "on condition that the whole period until then continues uneventfully."
Most significantly, Mor-Yosef said that the doctors hope to begin a neurological examination tomorrow morning, "to see how the Prime Minister's brain is functioning. I hope we will be able to report on the results tomorrow at approximately this time."
Mor-Yosef did not relate to the question of whether Sharon's condition is still considered life-threatening, or what type or extent of brain damage can be expected.
Prof. Yonatan HaLevy, the director of Shaarei Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, commented on Channel Two television that the decision to wait some 16 hours before beginning to reduce the coma-inducing medication "is most likely the result of wanting to be extra cautious."
He said that the fact that the patient is immobilized is potentially dangerous, and could lead to infection and clotting in the legs. "The usual procedure would be to prescribe blood-thinners," HaLevy said, "but we know from bitter past experience that this could lead to bleeding in the brain. So the next-best course of action, certainly less effective, is simply to move him around as much as possible."