Well...then again... maybe he is not dead
PM said to have opened eyes; significance unclear
By Haaretz Service and Agencies
Members of Ariel Sharon's family said Monday that the prime minister's eyelids had moved and that he had appeared to have opened his eyes for the first time since suffering a massive stroke on January 4.
But officials of Hadassah University hospital said that the medical significance of the observation was unclear.
Earlier Monday, staff treating Sharon had denied a news report that he had opened his eyes.
Aides to the prime minister described the movement of Sharon's eyes as an involuntary action that did not mean his coma had ended.
"It's a reflex action," one aide said. "You can tell that the pupils don't follow anything."
But Army Radio reported family members at Sharon's bedside had observed his eyes appearing to follow movements in the room.
Sharon has been in a coma since the stroke and doctors are concerned that he has not begun to awaken.
Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Karem, which at first had denied the report, later issued a statement saying that family members had interpreted "eyelid movements" as an opening of Sharon's eyes.
The hospital statement said the "medical signficance is unclear at this stage."
Sharon, whose doctors began trying last week to bring him out of a state of induced coma, still has shown no significant signs of reviving.
Sharon undergoes tracheotomy
A senior physician who is an expert in intensive care and comas told Haaretz on Sunday that, according to reports by doctors treating Sharon, if the prime minister's condition persists into next week (he is still unconscious and connected to a respirator), he may be defined as being in a vegetative state.
After previously stopping Sharon's sedation, doctors Sunday placed him under general anesthesia in order to perform a tracheotomy - cutting a small opening in the neck and inserting a tube directly into his windpipe.
Up until the operation, Sharon had breathed through a tube in his nostrils or mouth, with the help of a respirator. But such methods can only be used for a week or two without incurring possible injury.
According to the physician, "Few people of Sharon's age have regained consciousness after such a massive stroke as the one the prime minister had, especially after three emergency operations."
The doctor added that when he has to speak to the family of an individual in such a situation, he tells them: "He will not fully regain consciousness. He may be able to breath alone and will not need equipment, but he will remain severely disabled."
A senior Health Ministry official told Haaretz on Sunday that he thought the cabinet should establish a commission that will investigate the treatment Sharon has received at Hadassah Hospital, the functioning of his two personal physicians and various governmental, public and medical questions.
from:
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/670659.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hadassah unable to confirm reports PM opened his eyes
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH AND AP
Hadassah officials on Monday said they could not confirm reports claiming that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had opened his eyes and appeared to follow movements in the room.
The hospital, which first denied the report, later issued a statement saying that family members had interpreted "eyelid movements" as an opening of Sharon's eyes.
Sharon, officials stressed, is still in serious condition.
Dr. Anthony Rudd, a stroke specialist at St. Thomas' Hospital in London, said eye movement - including eye opening - is "not a dramatic breakthrough."
"A coma is not an absolute all-or-nothing state. There are various stages," Rudd said. "His coma may be lightening a bit. It's not a dramatic breakthrough."
Given the length of the coma, "one still needs to be pessimistic," he said, adding, "It means more if he opens his eyes in response to someone talking to him than it does if he simply opens them in response to strong stimulation or pain."
Sharon underwent the successful surgical insertion of a tracheostomy tube to "help doctors wean him" from his respirator on Sunday night.
Sharon has been on the respirator since he suffered a massive stroke January 4.
A tracheostomy involves making a small hole in the windpipe while the patient is under general anesthesia and attaching a ventilator to it, rather than to a mask over his face.
Doctors said last week that Sharon might have to undergo the procedure because the plastic tube connecting the prime minister's windpipe with the respirator via his mouth would start to cause him damage if it remained in for too long.
The minor surgery, which the Hadassah University Medical Center spokeswoman said was "part of his treatment plan," was preceded by a computerized tomography (CT) scan.
Sharon remained in critical but stable condition Sunday evening ahead of the surgery, the hospital said in a statement.
Asked whether doctors still hope Sharon will emerge from his coma, the hospital spokeswoman said: "Yes."
Doctors said Saturday that Sharon, who has been unconscious since suffering his devastating stroke, had activity on both sides of his brain.
Last week, doctors began weaning Sharon from the sedatives that had kept him in an induced coma to give his brain time to heal from the stroke and the three surgeries that followed. By Saturday, he was only receiving light sedation, but remained unconscious.
from:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid...ost%2FJPArticle