According to a spokeswoman for Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital in Jerusalem, Sharon's condition has not changed significantly and he remains comatose.
Dr. Ben-Zion Khromchensky and Leon Sezbon, intensive care specialists from Beit Levenstein Rehabilitation Center, also met with several members of Sharon’s family.
Yael Bossem-Levy, Hadassah spokeswoman, did not indicate whether Sharon would be moved to the facility, a long-term rehabilitation center in Ra’anana. She said, however, that there were no immediate plans to do so. She also declined to say whether Sharon is still receiving medication.
Sharon remains in serious but stable condition after suffering a massive stroke on January 4. He is unconscious and breathing spontaneously with the assistance of a respirator, and responds to pain stimuli.
Doctors not connected with Sharon’s care have said that the Prime Minister might still return to consciousness, but that the possibility is remote.
Dr. Avraham Lazri commented that based on reports he has seen, Sharon is in a “vegetative state." Lazri is Deputy Hospital Director and head of the Brain Injury Department at Reut, another long-term care facility.
Lazri hastened to add that Sharon’s condition does not completely meet the medical definition of a vegetative state. A patient in a vegetative state can breathe without the assistance of a respirator and his condition remains stable even without medication.
In a vegetative state the patient seems to be unaware of his surroundings but shows a low level of consciousness in which he may open his eyes, cry or laugh – none of which means he has regained consciousness, according to an intensive-care specialist quoted by Haaretz.
Responses to pain stimuli, such as those exhibited by the Prime Minister, are the signs that differentiate a vegetative state from a deep coma.
“The tendency in the world is to wait six months from the time of the stroke to say whether or not someone will fully regain consciousness,” he said.
Nonetheless, said Lazri, the severity of Sharon’s stroke, combined with his age and medical history, is working against him.
Dr. Ben-Zion Khromchensky and Leon Sezbon, intensive care specialists from Beit Levenstein Rehabilitation Center, also met with several members of Sharon’s family.
Yael Bossem-Levy, Hadassah spokeswoman, did not indicate whether Sharon would be moved to the facility, a long-term rehabilitation center in Ra’anana. She said, however, that there were no immediate plans to do so. She also declined to say whether Sharon is still receiving medication.
Sharon remains in serious but stable condition after suffering a massive stroke on January 4. He is unconscious and breathing spontaneously with the assistance of a respirator, and responds to pain stimuli.
Doctors not connected with Sharon’s care have said that the Prime Minister might still return to consciousness, but that the possibility is remote.
Dr. Avraham Lazri commented that based on reports he has seen, Sharon is in a “vegetative state." Lazri is Deputy Hospital Director and head of the Brain Injury Department at Reut, another long-term care facility.
Lazri hastened to add that Sharon’s condition does not completely meet the medical definition of a vegetative state. A patient in a vegetative state can breathe without the assistance of a respirator and his condition remains stable even without medication.
In a vegetative state the patient seems to be unaware of his surroundings but shows a low level of consciousness in which he may open his eyes, cry or laugh – none of which means he has regained consciousness, according to an intensive-care specialist quoted by Haaretz.
Responses to pain stimuli, such as those exhibited by the Prime Minister, are the signs that differentiate a vegetative state from a deep coma.
“The tendency in the world is to wait six months from the time of the stroke to say whether or not someone will fully regain consciousness,” he said.
Nonetheless, said Lazri, the severity of Sharon’s stroke, combined with his age and medical history, is working against him.