Doctors to bring Sharon out of coma
Hadassah Hospital director Dr Shlomo Mor-Yosef said Mr Sharon remained in critical condition, but his vital signs, including the pressure inside his skull, were normal.
"His condition is still critical but stable, and there is improvement in the CT picture of the brain," he said.
Bringing Mr Sharon, aged 77, out of the coma is an important step toward assessing the extent of any brain damage he suffered from a massive stroke last Wednesday.
Doctors initially planned to halt the coma-inducing sedatives yesterday but decided to wait another day after performing the scan.
Dr Mor-Yosef said the latest scan showed Mr Sharon's brain swelling had decreased, his blood pressure and the pressure inside his skull were normal, and his cerebral spinal fluid was draining well.
Mr Sharon did not have a fever, Dr Mor-Yosef said.
"In light of all these factors, the panel of experts decided to start the process of taking him out of the sedation tomorrow morning.
"This all depends, of course, on whether the prime minister makes it until tomorrow morning without any significant incidents."
On Saturday, one of Mr Sharon's surgeons ruled out the possibility he would resume his duties as premier. Dr Jose Cohen told Channel 2 TV that Mr Sharon's chances of survival are high, but that his ability to think and reason would be impaired.
"He will not continue to be prime minister, but maybe he will be able to understand and to speak," the Argentina-born Dr Cohen told Spanish-language reporters on Saturday.
His comments, which reinforced the widespread belief that Mr Sharon's days as prime minister are over, were published in The Jerusalem Post.
But a senior Hadassah Hospital official said it was too early to assess Mr Sharon's prospects for survival.
Dr Yair Birenboim said: "There was expression of hopes and thoughts ... in which some people expressed optimism.
"That was definitely an expression that we think was premature."
Mr Sharon, who experienced a mild stroke on December 18, felt weak on Wednesday and was rushed to Hadassah from his ranch when a blood vessel on the right side of his brain burst, causing massive cerebral hemorrhaging.
The stroke occurred the night before he was scheduled to undergo a procedure to close a hole in his heart that contributed to the earlier stroke.
Since Wednesday, Mr Sharon has undergone two rounds of surgery to stop bleeding in the brain and to relieve pressure inside his skull.
Doctors have placed him in what they call an induced coma - under heavy sedation and connected to a respirator - to give him time to heal.
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