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| Doctors plan next step for Sharon |
1/8/2006 |
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Doctors plan next step for Sharon
Worshippers are holding a round-the-clock vigil
Doctors for the ailing Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon are preparing to decide the next stage of his treatment.
Mr Sharon, 77, suffered a big stroke on Wednesday and has had three operations to stop bleeding on his brain.
A spokesman for Jerusalem''s Hadassah Hospital said early on Sunday that Mr Sharon remains in a critical but stable condition, with no overnight change.
Doctors must now decide whether to bring him out of a drug induced coma, after detecting small improvements.
A brain scan on Saturday revealed minor improvements in his condition, but the full extent of any brain damage or physical disability he may have suffered can only be understood by reducing sedation.
Meanwhile acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will chair Israel''s weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday morning.
Despite the ongoing crisis over Mr Sharon''s health, Israel''s government must decide whether to allow Palestinians living in East Jerusalem to vote in Palestinian Authority elections scheduled for 25 January.
''Optimistic''
On Saturday, the director of the Hadassah Hospital said a scan of Mr Sharon''s brain had shown a slight reduction in swelling, although the prime minister''s condition remained critical but stable.
HAVE YOUR SAY
If any other major political figure had suffered massive strokes and bleeding in the brain, this would be predominantly a ''messages of sympathy'' board - let''s not forget that first and foremost Sharon is a man and show a bit of humanity
Alex Harvey, UK
Send us your comments
"First we have to stabilise the situation and fight for the life of the prime minister," Shlomo Mor-Yosef said.
"Then we will be able to evaluate the different neurological findings."
Mr Sharon''s other vital signs, including blood pressure and pulse were within normal limits, the director added.
"We as human beings are optimistic. But I cannot say that the prime minister has come out of danger," he said.
''Low expectations''
Mr Sharon has undergone three rounds of surgery to stem bleeding in his brain from the stroke.
ARIEL SHARON''S HEALTH
Sharon suffers minor stroke on 18 December 2005
Doctors discover small hole in heart, schedule operation for 5 January
Sharon rushed to hospital one day before scheduled surgery with major stroke
Undergoes two operations overnight on 4/5 January, followed by third on 6 January
What is a stroke?
A brain scan following surgery on Friday showed the operation successfully released pressure on Mr Sharon''s brain.
The BBC''s James Reynolds in Jerusalem says there appears to be little expectation in Israel that Mr Sharon will make a meaningful recovery.
A general election is to go ahead as planned on 28 March. As head of the recently formed Kadima (Forward) party, Mr Sharon had been widely expected to win re-election.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has cancelled a week-long trip to Australia and Indonesia amid concerns about Mr Sharon''s health.
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