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Ariel Sharon undergoes emergency surgery
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-11 21:08
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon underwent emergency surgery Saturday
after an abdominal scan revealed severe damage to his digestive tract, and
hospital officials said his life was in danger.
It was the seventh surgery for the 77-year-old Sharon
since he suffered a severe stroke Jan. 4. He has been in a coma since then,
attached to breathing and feeding tubes.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon spreaks
during the weekly cabinet meeting at his Jerusalem office, Sunday, July
17, 2005. [AP] |
"Sharon's life is in danger," said Yael Bossem-Levy, spokeswoman for Hadassah
Hospital where he is being treated. His condition is now "very serious, or
critical," she said.
An abdominal scan Saturday revealed problems with the blood flow to his
intestines and that his digestive tract had suffered severe damage, Bossem-Levy
said. The restricted blood flow raised the possibility of necrosis, or death of
tissue, in the intestines, she said.
Sharon was taken to the operating theater at about 11 a.m. local time, and
surgery began shortly thereafter. The operation was to last between three and
six hours, Bossem-Levy said.
Sharon's sons, Omri and Gilad, rushed to the hospital Saturday morning. Later
in the day, Sharon confidant Dov Weissglass, bureau chief Ilan Cohen and adviser
Lior Horev arrived.
Israel's political system has been surprisingly stable despite the sudden
disappearance of the nation's most popular politician from the scene and even
though elections are just six weeks away. Sharon's deputy, Ehud Olmert, quickly
took over, both 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 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.
On Jan. 4, the eve of that procedure, he suffered a massive stroke. Since
then, he has been unconscious and critical, but stable, undergoing occasional
brain scans to check whether there was bleeding or swelling.
Before dawn Saturday, his condition deteriorated.
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