GRENOBLE, France (AP) – Michael Schumacher underwent a second surgery after a brain scan showed small, “surprising” signs of improvement, but grim doctors said today they could offer no insight into the prognosis for the Formula 1 champion.
Schumacher, who turns 45 on Friday, suffered critical head injuries when he fell and struck a rock Sunday while skiing on a family vacation in the French Alps. His manager confirmed that the accident cracked his helmet, which doctors credited for giving him a chance at survival.
Schumacher’s condition stabilized somewhat after the second surgery, but he remains in a medically induced coma – and doctors gave no prediction on how long that would last.
“We cannot tell you any more about the future,” said Gerard Saillant, a surgeon and friend of the family who is in Grenoble. Saillant said it would be “stupid” to make any predictions about Schumacher’s recovery.
Schumacher and his 14-year-old son were skiing in the French Alpine resort of Meribel, where the family has a chalet, when he fell and hit the right side of his head on a rock. He was taken first to a local hospital, then to Grenoble University Hospital, which is recognized as having one of France’s best neurology teams.
Dr Emmanuel Gay, the hospital’s chief neurosurgeon, said a brain scan performed late yesterday showed bruising “a little bit everywhere” in Schumacher’s brain – but also an unexpected easing of pressure.
“The brain scan was, I must say, surprising,” he said.
But he and other doctors cautioned that Schumacher’s condition was still grave after the successful surgery to eliminate the largest and most accessible bruise, on the left side of his brain.
