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Ariel Sharon undergoes emergency surgery
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-11 21:47
A comatose Ariel Sharon underwent four hours of emergency surgery Saturday
afternoon to remove part of his badly damaged intestines, an aide and hospital
officials said.
The Israeli prime minister's condition was good after
part of his intestines was removed, the aide said. Hadassah Hospital said he was
returned to the intensive care unit. Before the surgery, doctors said Sharon's
life was in danger.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon spreaks
during the weekly cabinet meeting at his Jerusalem office, Sunday, July
17, 2005. [AP] |
The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to
discuss Sharon's medical condition.
Hospital officials said they would update reporters on Sharon's condition at
10 a.m. EST. The prime minister underwent his seventh operation in five weeks
after an abdominal scan revealed severe damage to his digestive tract.
Hospital officials said before the surgery that Sharon's life was in danger.
It was not clear whether surgeons were able to stabilize him.
Sharon has been in a coma at Hadassah Hospital for five weeks, attached to
breathing and feeding tubes, since suffering a devastating stroke Jan. 4.
The premier's condition deteriorated early Saturday. An abdominal scan
revealed that blood was not reaching parts of his intestines and that his
digestive tract had suffered severe damage, Hadassah spokeswoman Yael
Bossem-Levy said.
The restricted flow raised the possibility of necrosis, or death of cells or
tissue, in the intestines, she said. Necrosis has many possible causes,
including restricted blood flow to tissue.
"Sharon's life is in danger," Bossem-Levy said before the surgery.
Sharon's sons, Omri and Gilad, rushed to the hospital
Saturday morning. Later, several of his 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.
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