Israeli online daily Haaretz reported that the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, is not showing any signs of reviving from his induced coma; if his condition persists into next week, unconscious and connected to respirator; he may be defined as being in a vegetative state.
After the doctors stopped earlier Sharon’s sedation, they 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.
Haaretz added that 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.
One of the doctors who are treating Sharon said that only few people of Sharon’s age have regained consciousness after suck a massive stroke, 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 that the patient will need equipment to breathe since he will not be able to breathe alone, and will remain severely disabled.
Also, a senior official at the Israeli health ministry said on Sunday that the cabinet should establish a commission that will investigate the functioning of his two personal physicians, his treatment, in addition to investigating several public and medical questions.
The official added that the commission should examine the issues of non-disclosure of some information on Sharon’s health, the decision to administer blood thinner despite the vascular disease in his brain, the decision to perform a catheterization to repair the hole in his heart, his fast release after suffering the first stroke and quick return to work after the first stroke, and the fact that he went to his Sycamore Ranch in the Negev, far from Hadassah hospital.
According to the official, the non-disclosure of information and the up-mentioned issues could create crises of faith in the medical establishment and the government.
Hadassah spokesman said in response to a request by Haaretz to interview physicians treating Sharon that the doctors would answer questions if there were a change in Sharon’s condition and that doctors and staff of the hospital would not respond to question about the quality of care Sharon is receiving.
Terminology:
A condition in which the individual is unconscious with little or no hope of regaining consciousness. The body may move, and the eyes may be open, but as far as can be determined, the person cannot think or respond. Compare coma.
Persistent vegetative state (PVS) is a condition of patients with severe brain damage in whom coma has progressed to a state of wakefulness without detectable awareness. There is controversy in both the medial and legal fields as to whether this condition is irreversible.
