Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director general of Hadassah Hospital said that SHARON’s blood pressure rose and one of his brain lobes expanded slightly.

"It was decided to bring the prime minister to the operating room in order to deal with these two issues - to drain the bleeding and to decrease the intracranial pressure."

An rise in intracranial pressure can be a severe medical problem. It can lead to compression of important brain structures and the restriction of blood through the vessels that supply the brain.

The surgery Friday followed a seven-hour operation SHARON underwent Thursday morning to stop bleeding in his brain after he suffered a massive stroke.

After the surgery, doctors decided to keep him sedated for three days to give him time to heal. But medical experts expect that his chances for recovery were slim.

The Israeli PM was admitted to hospital on December 18 following a minor stroke, but was released two days later.

He has been receiving blood thinners since the first stroke to prevent a recurrence of the clotting that caused it.

The sudden downturn in SHARON’s health comes as the Israeli Premier runs for re-election on March 28 at the head of a new party, Kadima, the strength of which is centered on SHARON himself.

Thursday’s developments made it unlikely that the 77-year-old leader would return to power. His duties were transferred to Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Analysts expect Israel's political scene to be thrown into turmoil if SHARON died.

"The gravity of SHARON’s condition reshuffles all the political cards", an article on Israel's newspaper Yediot Ahronot said.

http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=10363



*(repost by Sheepdog)**********************************************************

The Gates of Hell are wide and welcome, ready, after having waited so long.