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Sharon operated upon; no danger
The Israeli PM has been undergoing treatment since suffering a massive stroke on Jan 4. The Sharon we know
Doctors carried out emergency stomach surgery on Israel's coma-stricken Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Saturday after warning that he was in danger of losing his fight for life.
Hadassah hospital director Shlomo Mor-Yosef told a news conference that Sharon's life was not in immediate danger after the surgery on Saturday, but the operation would not improve his chances of recovery.
He said one third of Sharon's large intestine was removed to avoid the danger of infection and that there were no complications during the operation.
Sharon has been treated at the Hadassah hospital since suffering a massive brain haemorrhage on January 4.
Another Hadassah doctor, speaking on condition of anonymity before the stomach operation, said the prospects for the 77-year-old Sharon were grim.
"The odds are very small" that Sharon will survive much longer, said the doctor.
"The situation shows that the digestive system is collapsing. What this means for a person in the condition of Prime Minister Sharon is it is a sign that the internal systems of the body are collapsing," the doctor said.
"The collapse of the digestive system means that the other parts are starting to collapse now... In those who have brain damage it usually means you can't keep them alive for a long time."
Doctors have been gradually trying to bring Sharon out of the medically-induced coma in the last five weeks, although there is widespread acceptance that he will never return to high office.
