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Sharon Sent Back Into Operating Room
Las Vegas Sun ^ | January 04, 2006 at 22:25:59 PST | STEVE WEIZMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

Posted on 01/04/2006 10:30:56 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach

JERUSALEM (AP) -

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon underwent hours of surgery after suffering a life-threatening stroke, but doctors resumed operating early Thursday after a brain scan revealed he required more treatment. Powers were transferred to his deputy, Ehud Olmert.

Sharon fell ill at his ranch Wednesday evening and was rushed to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, where he was diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage. Doctors began emergency surgery about midnight to stop "massive, wide-spread bleeding" in his brain.

Media reports said the surgery had ended after more than six hours. But Hadassah Hospital Director Mor-Yosef said that while the bleeding had stopped, Sharon was returned to surgery in "serious condition."

"We are continuing with the same operation, and there are more areas that need to be treated," Mor-Yosef said without elaborating.

Surgery apparently had been complicated by blood thinners he had been given following a mild stroke on Dec. 18, and the medication may also have contributed to Wednesday's stroke.

Mor-Yosef did not address Sharon's prognosis, but neurosurgeons not involved in Sharon's treatment said a full recovery was not likely following such a massive stroke. They said it usually takes at least a day after the surgery to determine the extent of any damage.

Olmert was to convene the Cabinet at 9 a.m. for a special session.

An ambulance brought Sharon to the Jerusalem hospital only hours before the hard-charging, overweight, 77-year-old Israeli leader had been scheduled to undergo a procedure to seal a hole in his heart that contributed to a mild stroke on Dec. 18.

Sharon's cerebral hemorrhage, or bleeding stroke, came at a time of upheaval among Palestinian factions in Gaza and in the midst of both Israeli and Palestinian election campaigns. Sharon's absence would slow momentum toward peacemaking with the Palestinians and leave a major vacuum at the head of his new Kadima party, which was expected to head a government after the March 28 vote.

In a written statement, President Bush praised Sharon as "a man of courage and peace," saying he and first lady Laura Bush "share the concerns of the Israeli people ... and we are praying for his recovery."

Israeli Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger called on Israelis to read Psalms and pray for Sharon. "We are very, very worried," he said, and prayed for "mercy from Heaven."

Pan-Arab satellite television broadcasters beamed out largely straightforward, nonstop live coverage from outside the hospital where Sharon - a particularly despised figure among many Arabs - struggled for his life.

A radical Palestinian leader in Damascus, the Syrian capital, called the stroke a gift from God.

"We say it frankly that God is great and is able to exact revenge on this butcher. ... We thank God for this gift he presented to us on this new year," Ahmed Jibril, leader of the Syrian-backed faction Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, a small radical group, told The Associated Press.

Speaking to reporters outside the hospital, Sharon aide Raanan Gissin warned Israel's enemies: "To anyone who entertains any notion to try and exploit this situation ... the security forces and IDF (Israeli military) are ready for any kind of challenge," he said.

But a Palestinian commentator on the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya network offered Sharon unexpected praise as "the first Israeli leader who stopped claiming Israel had a right to all of the Palestinians' land," a reference to Israel's recent withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

"A live Sharon is better for the Palestinians now, despite all the crimes he has committed against us," said Ghazi al-Saadi.

Sharon's personal physician said early Thursday that he expects Sharon to emerge from surgery "safely."

"The prime minister is currently in surgery, it is proceeding properly," said Dr. Shlomo Segev. "We need to wait patiently. I expect him to emerge from it safely."

Doctors said chances of recovery were slim.

"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 at Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans.

"The fact that he's on a respirator means it's extremely serious," said Dr. Philip Steig, chair of neurosurgery at Weill-Cornell Medical Center in New York.

Dr. Larry Goldstein, director of Duke University's stroke program, said much depends on the extent, location and duration of the bleeding.

"Bleeding in some areas of the brain, if it's caught early enough, you can actually have not a bad outcome," he said.

Sharon was put in an ambulance at his ranch in the Negev Desert after complaining about feeling unwell. The stroke happened during the hourlong drive to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, Dr. Shmuel Shapira of the hospital told Channel 10 TV.

Doctors checking Sharon late last month said he weighed 118 kilograms (260 pounds) at the time of the first stroke but had since lost more than 2 1/2 kilograms (six pounds) and was otherwise in good health. Sharon is about 170 centimeters (5-foot-7).

The prime minister had been taking blood thinners since the first stroke to prevent another clot, but such drugs also raise the risk of cerebral hemorrhages, which 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.

Security agents and police spread out around the Jerusalem hospital before Sharon arrived, setting up a security perimeter. Later, they surrounded Olmert's residence in Jerusalem.

Cabinet Secretary Yisrael Maimon said Sharon's authority was transferred to Olmert because the prime minister was under general anesthesia. Under Israeli law, he will serve as acting prime minister until Sharon can resume his powers.

On Dec. 18, Sharon was taken to Hadassah Hospital from his office after suffering the mild stroke. Doctors said he would not suffer long-term effects, but they discovered a birth defect in his heart that apparently contributed to the stroke.

Sharon had been scheduled to check into the same hospital Thursday for a procedure to repair a tiny hole between the upper chambers of his heart. Doctors said the blood clot that briefly lodged in Sharon's brain last month, causing the mild stroke, made its way through the hole and from there to a cranial artery.

Sharon first came to prominence as an army officer, setting up a unit that fought Palestinian infiltrators in the 1950s. Advancing through the ranks of the army, he served as commander of the Gaza region after Israel captured the territory in the 1967 war, launching punishing raids.

After serving in the 1973 Mideast war, Sharon left the military and entered politics, forging the hardline Likud Party, which came to power in 1977.

As defense minister, he directed Israel's ill-fated invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and was forced to step down by an Israeli commission of inquiry, which found him indirectly responsible for a massacre of Palestinians in two refugee camps by Christian Phalangist soldiers.

Sharon re-emerged as prime minister in 2001, and two years later he reversed his course of decades of support for Jewish settlement construction and expansion in the West Bank and Gaza, promoting a plan for unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and part of the West Bank. The pullout was completed in September.

The withdrawal fractured his Likud party, and he left it to form Kadima with a platform of seeking a compromise for peace with the Palestinians. He was putting together a list of candidates for the parliamentary election when he fell ill Wednesday.

In the March 28 election, Sharon had been expected to face off against Benjamim Netanyahu, the tough-talking former prime minister who recently won the Likud primaries, and Amir Peretz, the union leader who recently unseated veteran Israeli politician Shimon Peres as head of the liberal Labor Party.

Olmert, who could emerge as Sharon's successor in Kadima, would likely have a far tougher time beating either Netanyahu or Peretz than Sharon would have.

According to Israeli law, Olmert as deputy premier assumes the post of prime minister for 100 days if Sharon becomes incapacitated. Then, Israel's ceremonial president would meet with political leaders and choose someone to form a coalition government.

--


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Israel; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: israel; sharon
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1 posted on 01/04/2006 10:30:57 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach; Alouette; Salem; SJackson

Ping!


2 posted on 01/04/2006 10:35:24 PM PST by Slings and Arrows ("MOO...BANG...MOOO!")
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To: CAluvdubya

This thread has been pulled.

Pulled on 01/04/2006 10:32:09 PM PST by Admin Moderator, reason:

bogus source

THAT STORY ON THE MARINE ACCIDENT, YOU CAN'T POST TO IT
ANY FURTHER---SEE ABOVE. For sure going to watch the 11:00
news to see what is what.


3 posted on 01/04/2006 10:36:47 PM PST by SoCalPol (Cowards Cut and Run, Marines Never Do)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

The prime minister had been taking blood thinners since the first stroke to prevent another clot, but such drugs also raise the risk of cerebral hemorrhages, which account for only about 10 percent of strokes.

---

probably taking Heparin or Coumadin


4 posted on 01/04/2006 10:38:01 PM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Monthly Donor spoken Here. Go to ... https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: SoCalPol

i just asked the mod about that thread and waiting for a reply. I get The North County Times so I don't understand why it is called a bogus source.


5 posted on 01/04/2006 10:38:50 PM PST by CAluvdubya (The ignorant defeatocrats have declared war on the War On Terror!)
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To: NormsRevenge

Doesn't look good!!


6 posted on 01/04/2006 10:39:15 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: SoCalPol
This thread has been pulled.

What's that about?

7 posted on 01/04/2006 10:40:01 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
This sounds a little strange. The mild stroke was supposed to have been caused by the small hole in his heart which would spin off clots, now he's having massive hemorrhaging in his brain. What did they do put him on blood thinners?
8 posted on 01/04/2006 10:40:52 PM PST by Eva
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To: Eva; NormsRevenge
Norm thinks he was on a medication to prevent clots....
9 posted on 01/04/2006 10:43:23 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: All
Another item:

**********************************

Today: January 04, 2006 at 22:1:58 PST

Analysis: Sharon's Condition Causes Turmoil

By STEVEN GUTKIN
ASSOCIATED PRESS

JERUSALEM (AP) -

Ariel Sharon's massive stroke threw Israeli politics and Mideast peacemaking efforts into turmoil, threatening momentum for a deal with the Palestinians and enhancing the position of hard-liners.

The Israeli prime minister broke away from the Likud Party of Benjamin Netanyahu in November, and the new centrist party he formed had been the favorite to win March 28 elections. But Kadima was largely a one-man show which would have an uncertain future without the 77-year-old Sharon.

Medical experts said the chances are slim for Sharon to make a full recovery from the sort of massive stroke he suffered Wednesday.

In recent months, many Israelis have placed high hopes on Sharon as the politician best positioned to draw Israel's final borders in a settlement with the Palestinians.

The prime minister - once his country's foremost champion of Jewish settlement-building in the West Bank and Gaza - in September became the first Israeli leader to relinquish land the Palestinians claim for a future state when he led Israel out of the Gaza Strip.

Sharon's transformation from hawk to pragmatist - combined with last year's death of longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat - has given the Middle East a chance for a return to peacemaking after five years of relentless bloodshed.

In March, Sharon had been expected to face off against Netanyahu, the tough-talking former prime minister who recently won the Likud primaries, and Amir Peretz, the union leader who recently unseated veteran Israeli politician Shimon Peres as head of the liberal Labor Party.

None of Sharon's possible successors were seen as having his ability to pull together the next ruling coalition.

Sharon's deputy, former Jerusalem mayor Ehud Olmert, has already taken over the reins of power after the stroke and could emerge as Sharon's successor heading the Kadima, or Forward, party.

Olmert, although a familiar face in Israeli politics, would likely have a far tougher time beating either Netanyahu or Peretz than Sharon would have.

After losing to Peretz in the Labor primaries, Peres, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, joined Sharon in Kadima, and it was not clear if he would seek leadership of the new party. The 82-year-old Peres, though serving briefly as prime minister three times, has never won an Israeli election outright and lost to Netanyahu in 1996.

At the time of his stroke, Sharon was still in the process of coming up with a list of candidates to run under the Kadima banner. Now both Kadima's parliamentary lineup and its electoral future have been thrown into question.

Sharon had indicated that he expected significant progress toward peacemaking in 2006, despite continued violence and growing chaos in the Palestinian territories. Nonetheless, no major peace moves had been expected until after the Israeli elections in March and Palestinian parliamentary elections scheduled for Jan. 25.

Though Sharon made history by pulling Israeli troops and civilians out of the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank, most Palestinians regard the ex-general as an enemy because of his bloody military campaigns against Palestinian guerrillas in Lebanon, Jordan and elsewhere.

Sharon's exit from the political stage would scramble Israeli politics but also redraw personal relations that are key to Mideast diplomacy.

Sharon and President Bush forged close ties after a rough beginning and the Israeli leader has been a frequent visitor at the White House. Bush warmly embraced Sharon's withdrawal from Gaza and backed his tough policy against Palestinian militants, echoing Sharon's demand that the Palestinians take steps to stop attacks on Israel.

---

EDITOR'S NOTE - Steven Gutkin is the Associated Press bureau chief in Jerusalem.

--

10 posted on 01/04/2006 10:44:09 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

What?

Did the FISA court get up in the middle of the night?


11 posted on 01/04/2006 10:44:50 PM PST by 308MBR (Definition of Political Correctness; manners dictated by law)
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To: Admin Moderator

Please delete my post #3. Posted on wrong thread, Thank You

Sharon Sent Back Into Operating Room

Posted by Ernest_at_the_Beach
On 01/04/2006 10:30:56 PM PST · 7 replies · 109+ views


12 posted on 01/04/2006 10:45:28 PM PST by SoCalPol (Cowards Cut and Run, Marines Never Do)
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To: All
Another earlier item off the Sun's AP wire stories:

*************************************************

Today: January 04, 2006 at 20:18:44 PST

Doctors Doubt Full Recovery for Sharon

By EMMA ROSS and MARILYNN MARCHIONE
ASSOCIATED PRESS

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."

Steig said that depending on the severity of the stroke, doctors may be able to sustain Sharon on a respirator for weeks.

---

Emma Ross is based in London; Marilynn Marchione is based in Milwaukee.

--


13 posted on 01/04/2006 10:45:34 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
My husband had a couple of strokes due to a hole in his heart, and they over dosed him on cumadin too, but he only started hemorrhaging through his kidneys.
14 posted on 01/04/2006 10:45:55 PM PST by Eva
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To: Eva

see post #4, per article, Yes he was on some blood thinners which can raise holy heck.


15 posted on 01/04/2006 10:46:27 PM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Monthly Donor spoken Here. Go to ... https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: All
Today: January 04, 2006 at 21:31:34 PST

Israel's Olmert Is Seasoned Politician

By ARON HELLER
ASSOCIATED PRESS

JERUSALEM (AP) -

Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who took over after Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke Wednesday, is a seasoned operator and Sharon confidante who is comfortable in cutthroat local politics and in world capitals alike.

Like Sharon, his mentor in recent years, Olmert underwent a political transformation from hawk to moderate, from backing Israeli control of all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip with constant settlement expansion to helping Sharon lead Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and part of the West Bank in the summer.

Olmert, 60, a longtime ally of Sharon in the hardline Likud Party - which both quit in November - gained governing experience in his decade as mayor of Jerusalem, one of Israel's most sensitive jobs, balancing conflicting Jewish and Palestinian interests and wrestling with constant budget shortfalls by raising money abroad.

Olmert was born in 1945 in the town of Binyamina in northern Israel. His military service included a stint as an officer in an infantry unit and later as a reporter for the Israeli army journal.

He earned his bachelor's degree in psychology and philosophy and later a law degree from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and worked briefly as a lawyer before entering politics.

He was first elected to parliament in 1973, at the age of 28. In 1988, he became a minister without portfolio in Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir's government and in 1990 was promoted to health minister.

In 1993, he was elected mayor of Jerusalem, defeating the legendary Teddy Kollek, who had run the city for nearly four decades.

In 1999, he challenged Ariel Sharon for leadership of the Likud Party. He lost badly, but since his defeat became increasingly closer to Sharon and in recent years has generally been considered the prime minister's most loyal political ally.

In 2003, he left Jerusalem City Hall to serve in Sharon's second government. He was appointed vice premier and minister of industry, trade and labor. Following the resignation of Benjamin Netanyahu in August, he took over as finance minister.

Married and a father of four, Olmert lives in Jerusalem and is known to be a die-hard fan of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer club.

--


16 posted on 01/04/2006 10:47:07 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: NormsRevenge

You would think that someone as powerful as Sharon, would have been monitored more closely. I guess I didn't realize how serious the problem was, when it happened to my husband.


17 posted on 01/04/2006 10:49:31 PM PST by Eva
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

He should have been off the blood thinners, in preparation for the surgery. You don't do surgery on someone on coumadin. The doctors have almost killed him. I just don't get it.


18 posted on 01/04/2006 10:55:31 PM PST by Eva
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To: Eva
Warfarinnew windowshow in clusters
Wikipedia image

Warfarin (also known under the brand name Coumadin®) is an anticoagulant medication that can be administered orally. It is used for the prophylaxis of thrombosis and embolism in many disorders. Its activity has to be monitored by frequent blood testing for the international normalized ratio (INR).

19 posted on 01/04/2006 10:58:14 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: All
Low molecular weight heparin is used as a prophylaxis in hospital patients, as they are at risk for several forms of thrombosis due to their immobilisation.

**************************************

Hmmm!

20 posted on 01/04/2006 11:01:01 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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