Sharon Close to Death After Emergency Surgery

Israel’s Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, underwent emergency surgery today after an abdominal scan revealed severe damage to his digestive tract, and hospital officials said his life was in danger.

It was the seventh surgery for Mr Sharon, 77, since he suffered a devastating stroke on January 4. He has been in a coma since then, attached to breathing and feeding tubes.

"Sharon’s life is in danger," said Yael Bossem-Levy, the spokeswoman for Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem where he is being treated. His condition is now "very serious, or critical" she said.

An abdominal scan today revealed problems with the blood flow to Mr Sharon’s intestines and that his digestive tract had suffered severe damage, Dr Bossem-Levy said. The restricted blood flow raised the possibility of necrosis, or death of tissue, in the intestines, she said.

Mr Sharon was taken to the operating theatre at about 11am (0900 GMT), and surgery began some time after that. The operation would last between three and six hours. The prime minister’s sons, Omri and Gilad, rushed to the hospital this morning, followed later in the day by his confidant Dov Weissglass, bureau chief Ilan Cohen and adviser Lior Horev. After Mr Sharon’s stroke his deputy, Ehud Olmert, took over as acting prime minister and leader of the new centrist party, Kadima, formed by the prime minister. The party has held steady in polls ahead of general elections scheduled for March 28.

The health of the overweight Israeli leader first became an issue in December when he suffered a minor stroke. Two weeks later, he was to check in to Hadassah for a minor heart procedure.

On January 4, the eve of that procedure, he suffered a massive stroke. Since then, he had remained unconscious and critical, but stable, undergoing occasional brain scans to check whether there was bleeding or swelling in the brain.

His condition deteriorated before dawn today.

Doctors admitted that huge doses of anticoagulants he received after the first stroke made it more difficult for them to stop the bleeding from the later haemorrhagic stroke.

The extensive bleeding and the lengthy operations the prime minister has undergone have led experts to conclude that he must have suffered severe brain damage and was unlikely to regain consciousness. If he does awaken, most say, the chances of his regaining meaningful cognition or activity are slim.

Weeks before his stroke Mr Sharon left the Likud party and formed Kadima to gain a free hand for drawing Israel’s final borders, whether unilaterally or in negotiations with the Palestinians.

He had fought Likud hardliners to carry out the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, which was completed in September.

The pullout angered hawks who believed that the architect of Israel’s settlement expansion had betrayed them. Polls suggest Kadima will win at least 40 of the 120 seats up for election next month.

Mr Sharon had for years opposed concessions to the Palestinians. He came to accept the idea of giving land to the Palestinians and allowing them to form a state only during his most recent term as prime minister, which began in 2003.