With the recent news about Israels PM Ariel Sharon being hospitalized with yet another stroke, this time however, there is a slim chance he will survive. I offer them (the family, nation,etc...) my best regards and hope he does survive.
Secondly, I heard about who would replace him and am pleased. I've supported the idea of giving land back to the palestinians in the exchange for peace. (Or at least great attempts for it)
-EW
Doctors Doubt Full Recovery for Sharon
AP Medical Writers
Doctors said Wednesday that the chances of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon making a full recovery from the massive stroke he suffered are slim.
The 77-year-old leader suffered a cerebral hemorrhage - bleeding in his brain - while en route to an Israeli hospital to have a hole in his heart fixed.
``It's among the most dangerous of all types of strokes,'' with half of victims dying within a month, said Dr. Robert A. Felberg, a neurologist who directs the stroke program at Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans.
Doctors rushed Sharon into surgery, which could be a good or a bad sign, depending on the extent, location and duration of the bleeding, said Dr. Larry Goldstein, director of Duke University's stroke program.
``Bleeding in some areas of the brain, if it's caught early enough, you can actually have not a bad outcome,'' he said.
If it occurs around the brain or in a back area known as the cerebellum, it can be drained more easily, often through a hole in the skull. Bleeding deep inside the brain can require opening the skull to operate, he said.
But in general, such strokes have a poor prognosis, Goldstein said.
The U.S. doctors have not examined Sharon but are experts in the field.
Sharon's scheduled heart procedure was intended to prevent a repeat of the mini-stroke he suffered last month, which doctors said was caused by a blood clot. The hole, a birth defect, was discovered afterward.
The prime minister has been taking blood thinners since then to prevent another clot, but such drugs also raise the risk of hemorrhages. These account for only about 10 percent of strokes. Other possible causes are ruptured blood vessels, an aneurysm, or bulge in a vessel wall that bursts, or even chronic high blood pressure.
Blood thinners may not have caused the latest stroke but could have made the bleeding worse and may account for its severity, said Dr. Philip Steig, chair of neurosurgery at Weill-Cornell Medical Center in New York.
Steig said doctors would likely try to treat the stroke by drilling a hole in Sharon's skull to remove the blood, which will have formed a blood clot. It is important to remove the blood because the bleeding creates pressure on the brain, enclosed in the skull, causing damage that may be irreversible.
It's possible that doctors may leave his skull open to give the brain space to swell.
``His prognosis is not good,'' Steig said. ``The damage may be too severe to recover from. It will depend on how severe the bleeding was and how long the pressure in his skull has been elevated.
``The fact that he's on a respirator means it's extremely serious. The likelihood that he is going to make a normal recovery is extremely slim. The death rate from this kind of thing is high.''