Channel 4 News
Next on TV
Tonight 7.00pm
Menu
31 Dec 2013

‘Slight improvement’ for Michael Schumacher after operation

The condition of the former Formula One champion Michael Schumacher has improved slightly after an operation to relieve pressure on his brain. Reports he was going at speed have been denied.

Doctors at the University Hospital of Grenoble were able to operate to remove a haematoma – a collection of blood clots – after a scan revealed that it would be safe to undertake the procedure.

The German Formula One champion remains in a medically-induced coma after he hit his head on a rock during a skiing accident in the resort of Meribel on Sunday, three days before his 45th birthday.

This morning, his friend, Sabine Kehm, said that he had just gone to the aid of a friend before the accident.

“Many people who were there have described the situation to me,” she told Die Welt newspaper. “Michael had helped up a fallen friend shortly before and was therefore not going at high speed. He then went over a boulder, which he had not seen, and as a result lost control. That he then hit his head against another rock is a great misfortune.”

The accident would have killed him had he not been wearing a helmet, doctors said on Monday.

Surgeons admitted they were “surprised” at the improvement in his condition. They said that one scan was carried out on Monday night, and that revealed a slight improvement which enabled them to carry out a two hour operation to relieve pressure inside his skull.

‘Signs of stability’

“Michael Schumacher’s intra-cranial pressure improved and we were able to carry out the scan without taking a risk,” one of the doctors treating him said.

“That scan showed a few signs that were relatively stable. There were no signs that implied there was a worsening.

“Talking to my colleagues, we felt at the moment that it was possible, taking into consideration his state had slightly improved, to carry out a surgical intervention that we had not thought possible.

“This was carried out in the night. This allowed us to do a new scan and see new images and see the haematoma has been evacuated in a good fashion.

“We have seen a few signs to show the situation is better controlled than it was [on Monday].”

Jacqueline Hubert, the director general of the hospital, added: “Late on [Monday] evening a new brain scan was carried out and there was a slight improvement. The scan allowed us to suggest we could have a new intervention (on the brain) and that took place overnight.

“A new scan was carried out this morning and this shows slight improvement.”

However, despite the advance in his condition, Schumacher remains seriously ill. Doctors said they could not yet say he was out of danger, and the coming hours and days are still crucial.

His wife, Corinna, 44, and their two children Mick, 14, who was with Schumacher when he had the accident, and Gina Marie, 16, are at his bedside in hospital, alongside Gérard Saillant, a leading Paris brain surgeon who was his former doctor and friend.

A number of clots remain in his brain, Professor Emmanuel Gay said, “with little bits everywhere”. “The situation can still evolve, but we won’t be able to evacuate the other haematomas at the moment because they are not accessible. They are not as big as the one we removed yesterday,” he added.

“In intensive care things can go well or badly very quickly,” doctors said. “We’re just gaining a bit of time … the whole family is well aware of the situation and very sensitive to everything that is done.”

Doctors also said that it would not be possible to determine, at this stage, how much permanent damage Schumacher may suffer after any recovery.

They have been keeping him in a coma with a body temperature of between 34 and 35C, and he has been under a general anaesthetic to reduce exterior stimuli that could use oxygen in his brain.

“He still remains in a coma and for the moment there is absolutely no question of evaluating him from a neurological point of view and seeing how he will be when he wakes up,” they said.

Schumacher slammed his head on a rock while skiing off-piste on Sunday morning in the French Alpine resort of Meribel, where he has a holiday home.

A seven-times F1 champion, he retired from F1 for the final time in 2012 after a three-season comeback with Mercedes. He won the last of his world titles in 2004, among 91 career wins over his career.

Unesco

Off-track, he is an ambassador for UNESCO and a spokesman for driver safety.

His racing career has not been without controversy, however. In the Australian Grand Prix in 1994, his Benetton slid wide and into the wall while trying to stay ahead of title rival Damon Hill.

There was another collision at the European Grand Prix in 1997, when he turned in on Jacques Villeneve as he attempted to pass him in the closing stages of the race.

His car was left beached in gravel, and F1’s governing body later stripped him of his second place in the championship.

Since his accident, tributes have been paid from across the sporting world and beyond, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying that she was “extremely dismayed” when she heard about the accident.

However, his family, who have asked media to respect his privacy, were disappointed after a journalist reportedly dressed as a priest to try and gain access to his room. “I wouldn’t have ever imagined something like this could happen,” Ms Kehm said.