Sharon Critical But Stable After Intestinal Surgery

[Skywatch_NC]

Sharon Critical But Stable After Intestinal Surgery
Doctors Remove Nearly 2 Feet Of Ailing Israeli Leader's Large Intestine

POSTED: 10:51 am EST February 11, 2006
UPDATED: 11:17 am EST February 11, 2006

JERUSALEM -- Doctors removed nearly 2 feet of Ariel Sharon's severely damaged large intestine during emergency surgery Saturday, but there was no immediate threat to the comatose prime minister's life, a hospital official said.

Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director of Hadassah Hospital, said doctors removed about 20 inches of Sharon's intestines during a four-hour operation after a scan revealed restricted blood flow to the digestive tract. Doctors suspected necrosis, or death of cells and tissue, and removed about a third of the large intestine after determining that his condition was life-threatening.

Sharon, 77, was in critical but stable condition after the procedure, Mor-Yosef said, adding there was "no immediate danger to his life." Sharon has been comatose at Hadassah since suffering a stroke Jan. 4.

The operation was Sharon's seventh in five weeks. He has been attached to breathing and feeding tubes since suffering his latest stroke.

Mor-Yosef told reporters that Saturday's complication was not unusual in comatose patients. He said the surgery was a relatively simple procedure, and that Sharon's main medical problem continues to be his coma.

With each day in a coma, Sharon's chance of recovery becomes slimmer and risk of additional illnesses increases, he said.

The intestinal problem "is taking us several steps back in his treatment," Mor-Yosef said.

Asked whether Sharon could awaken from the coma, he said: "All possibilities remain open, but with each passing day, the chances are lower."

Mor-Yosef said Sharon would be fed intravenously, but doctors planned to reinsert the feeding tube eventually.

With word of Sharon's deteriorating condition Saturday morning, his sons, Omri and Gilad, rushed to the hospital. Later in the day, Sharon's political confidants arrived.

Israel's political system has been surprisingly stable despite the sudden disappearance of its most popular politician and the campaign for elections being held in just six weeks.

Sharon's deputy, Ehud Olmert, quickly took over as acting prime minister and leader of Sharon's new centrist party, Kadima, which has held steady in the polls.

The health of the overweight Israeli leader first became an issue in December when he suffered a minor stroke. Two weeks later, he was to check in to Hadassah for a minor heart procedure to close a hole believed to have contributed to that first stroke.

On Jan. 4, the eve of that procedure, he suffered a massive stroke that caused bleeding in the brain. Since then, he has been unconscious and in critical condition, undergoing occasional brain scans.

Before dawn Saturday, his condition deteriorated.

His doctors have been criticized by some for treating Sharon 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.

Sharon's stroke jolted Israel, which is gearing up for an election March 28. Just weeks before the stroke, Sharon had left the hard-line Likud Party and formed Kadima to gain a free hand for drawing Israel's final borders, whether unilaterally or in negotiations with the Palestinians.

Sharon had fought Likud hard-liners to carry out the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, which was completed in September.

With the pullout, Sharon shifted to the center of the Israeli political spectrum, winning the support of many doves and angering hawks who believed that the architect of Israel's settlement expansion had betrayed them. The decision has proven to be hugely popular, with polls suggesting Kadima will win at least 40 out of 120 seats in the parliament.

A war hero, Sharon had for years opposed concessions to the Palestinians. He came to accept the idea of giving land to the Palestinians and allowing them to form a state only during his most recent term as prime minister, which began in 2003.

http://www.wral.com/news/6937308/detail.html

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.

[alicia-w]

as if that poor man hasnt been through enough. i'm afraid i'll have to light a Yahrzeit Memorial Candle before the week is out.

[Brent]

Yeah... I've been wondering how he was doing lately a few days ago.

[Cookiely]

Sounds like they did a colostomy. I'm surprised he made it through the surgery. He's led a good life. I just wish people could accept death and not torture people when its evident that death is imminent. It makes me so sad. Love is letting go and letting GOD handle things. Just my two cents.

[Miss Mary]

Cookiely, I thought the same thing. Managing a patient recovering from a stroke, having a colostomy would make it easier. I'm not convinced he had one though, they can take out sections of the GI tract and sew you back together (my situation, but I did have a temp ostomy for 2 months back in 99). I would think if they didn't creata a stoma, then his chances of minimal paralysis are greater. What is also odd is we are not given all the details. Unless you've been thru surgeries or strokes (close relative had one), you accept the updates as that's all there is. But I suspect more. The poor man must be struggling so hard. My heart breaks for him and his family.

Mary

[alicia-w]

Sounds like they did a colostomy. I'm surprised he made it through the surgery. He's led a good life. I just wish people could accept death and not torture people when its evident that death is imminent. It makes me so sad. Love is letting go and letting GOD handle things. Just my two cents.

i agree.