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Ariel Sharon undergoes emergency surgery
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-11 21:47

A comatose Ariel Sharon underwent four hours of emergency surgery Saturday afternoon to remove part of his badly damaged intestines, an aide and hospital officials said.

The Israeli prime minister's condition was good after part of his intestines was removed, the aide said. Hadassah Hospital said he was returned to the intensive care unit. Before the surgery, doctors said Sharon's life was in danger.

Ariel Sharon's condition has worsened and his life is in danger, a spokeswoman for the hospital caring for the Israeli leader said Saturday.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon spreaks during the weekly cabinet meeting at his Jerusalem office, Sunday, July 17, 2005. [AP]

The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss Sharon's medical condition.

Hospital officials said they would update reporters on Sharon's condition at 10 a.m. EST. The prime minister underwent his seventh operation in five weeks after an abdominal scan revealed severe damage to his digestive tract.

Hospital officials said before the surgery that Sharon's life was in danger. It was not clear whether surgeons were able to stabilize him.

Sharon has been in a coma at Hadassah Hospital for five weeks, attached to breathing and feeding tubes, since suffering a devastating stroke Jan. 4.

The premier's condition deteriorated early Saturday. An abdominal scan revealed that blood was not reaching parts of his intestines and that his digestive tract had suffered severe damage, Hadassah spokeswoman Yael Bossem-Levy said.

The restricted flow raised the possibility of necrosis, or death of cells or tissue, in the intestines, she said. Necrosis has many possible causes, including restricted blood flow to tissue.

"Sharon's life is in danger," Bossem-Levy said before the surgery.

Sharon's sons, Omri and Gilad, rushed to the hospital Saturday morning. Later, several of his political confidants arrived.

Israel's political system has been surprisingly stable despite the sudden disappearance of its most popular politician and the campaign for elections being held in just six weeks.

Sharon's deputy, Ehud Olmert, quickly took over as acting prime minister and leader of Sharon's new centrist party, Kadima, which has held steady in the polls.

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 to close a hole believed to have contributed to that first stroke.
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