Sharon to come out of coma tomorrow

Doctors will start bringing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon out of his medically induced coma tomorrow – provided there are no changes in his condition, hospital officials said today.

Dr Shlomo Mor-Yosef said Sharon remained in a critical condition, but his vital signs, including intracranial pressure, were normal.

Bringing Sharon out of the coma is an important step toward assessing the extent of brain damage he suffered from a massive stroke last Wednesday.

Doctors had initially planned to halt the sedatives that induced the coma today, but decided to wait another 24 hours after performing a new brain scan.

Dr Mor-Yosef, director of Hadassah Hospital, said the latest brain scan showed brain swelling had gone down, intracranial and blood pressure were within normal range, and that cerebral spinal fluid was draining well. He also said the prime minister did not have a fever.