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Michael Schumacher shows 'slight improvement' but remains critical Michael Schumacher shows 'slight improvement' but remains critical
(35 minutes later)
The former Formula one champion Michael Schumacher has undergone a second operation to treat brain injuries sustained in an off-piste skiing accident, as his doctors said they had seen a "slight improvement" in his condition. Doctors battling to save Michael Schumacher from the life-threatening injuries which the racing driver sustained in a skiing accident said on Tuesday they had seen a "slight improvement" in his condition following a second operation to ease the pressure on his brain.
In a press conference at the university hospital in Grenoble where the seven-times world champion was airlifted on Sunday, doctors said they had decided, in conjunction with the Schumacher family, to carry out more surgery following a modest improvement in his condition and a brain scan on Monday afternoon. But, as the seven-times Formula One world champion prepared to spend a third night in a medically induced coma in the University hospital, Grenoble, his medical team stressed that his condition remained critical and "very fragile".
The medical update came as the prosecutor's office in the Alpine resort town of Albertville, which is overseeing the investigation into Schumacher's accident, confirmed that his helmet had split in two when he fell. "It broke apart in two pieces," an official from the prosecutor's office told the Guardian. "The situation is under better control than yesterday [Monday]," said chief anaesthesiologist Jean-François Payen. "We cannot say he is out of danger but … we have bought ourselves a bit of time. The hours ahead are crucial for our treatment strategy."
However, the official said it was too early to infer that the helmet had broken because of the high speed at which Schumacher was skiing downhill. "It's too early to draw conclusions about excessive speed," said the official. "It will take two or three more days to know exactly what happened." News of Schumacher's second operation came as fresh details emerged concerning the 44-year-old's crash, which occurred shortly after 11am on Sunday in the Alpine resort of Méribel.
During the operation, which began at 10pm and lasted two hours, a haematoma was removed from Schumacher's brain and the intracranial pressure further decreased. A fresh scan carried out on Tuesday morning had confirmed "signs … of slight improvement," said Jacqueline Hubert, director of the hospital. The prosecutor's office in the resort town of Albertville, which is overseeing the investigation into the accident, confirmed that Schumacher's helmet had split when he fell and hit a rock. "It broke apart in two pieces," an official said.
But the doctors warned that the driver's condition remained critical, with more bruising and more lesions that had yet to be treated. He remains in a medically induced coma following the accident, in which he fell and hit his head on rocks in the ski resort of Méribel. However, amid speculation that the German racing driver had been travelling at speeds of up to 100km/h before hurtling into the rock, the official added that it was too early to infer that the helmet had broken because of the speed at which Schumacher was skiing downhill.
"The situation is better controlled than yesterday," said chief anaesthesiologist Jean-Francois Payen. "We cannot say he's out of danger but today … we have bought a bit of time." "It's too early to draw conclusions about excessive speed," said the official. "It will take two or three more days to know exactly what happened."
The decision to go ahead with the operation had been taken in conjunction with the Schumacher family. His wife, Corinna, two children and brother are all at the hospital with him, said Gérard Saillant, a leading brain surgeon and friend of the German driver. Sabine Kehm, a spokesman for Schumacher, rejected the suggestions outright. From what she had understood from speaking to witnesses, she said, he had not been travelling at high speed and had in fact stopped shortly before the accident to help a friend who had fallen over on the slopes.
Saillant, with the Grenoble medical team, refused to enter into prognostics and said any attempt to predict Schumacher's future, even over the next few days, was pointless. He had been skiing not only with his son, Mick, 14, but also with a group of friends, she clarified.
He said: "We cannot say it's over. We can say there are highs and lows … but it's a bit better than it was yesterday." As Schumacher set off again, Kehm said, he appeared to hit a rock and was "catapulted in the air", falling "apparently head down" on to another rock.
Emmanuel Gay, chief of neurology at the hospital, said the medical team had been "a bit surprised" by their patient's modest improvement. "But, careful," he added, "there is still a long way to go." "[It] was an extremely bad and unfortunate circumstance and not because he was speeding too much," she said. "I have spoken with several people, also ski teachers, and they tell me that that can happen even at 10km/h. It was just very, very unfortunate."
Schumacher, 44, has been in the hospital in the eastern French city since Sunday at 12.40pm, when he was airlifted from a smaller hospital in the Alpine town of Moutiers. He had been skiing down an unmarked slope near Méribel with his 14-year-old son when he fell and hit his head. On the fifth floor of the hospital, meanwhile, the fight to limit the impact of the devastating accident continued. Late on Monday afternoon, said doctors, a "surgical window of opportunity" had opened due to a "transitory improvement" in Schumacher's condition that allowed them to carry out a brain scan – a process which requires a certain level of stability in patients as it involves them being moved.
On Monday the doctors treating him said his condition was "life-threatening" and said they were working on an hour-by-hour basis to save him. On Tuesday, despite the signs of improvement and a second successful operation, they insisted it would be premature to say the battle was over. The results, which showed a large haematoma on the left side of Schumacher's brain as well as others in different places and continuing lesions, indicated however that his condition was stable enough to undergo surgery.
The scan had revealed multiple haematoma on Schumacher's brain. The second operation had been carried out to remove one of them which, on the left of the brain, was accessible and removal of it did not present large risks. The doctors were suddenly presented with an unexpected possibility – that of operating a second time to try to relieve some of the intracranial pressure.
For the moment, the doctors said, there was no question of Schumacher being woken from the medically induced coma, which is designed to ease the swelling on his brain. Equally, added Payen, there was no immediate possibility of his being transferred to another hospital nearer to home. As they continued to wait at his bedside, Schumacher's family – chiefly his wife, Corinna, who is in Grenoble with their two children, Mick and Gina-Maria, 16 – were consulted about the plan. Emmanuel Gay, the hospital's chief of neurology, said it was a "difficult decision" despite the medical evaluation that it could be done without incurring big risks.
The gravity of the retired champion's condition has prompted figures from across the sporting world to express their shock at the accident and solidarity with a man regarded as one of the greatest racing drivers in Formula One's history. At 10pm, an operation to remove the large haematoma began and, two hours later, had been successfully carried out, said the doctors. On Tuesday morning, another scan confirmed "signs … of slight improvement", said Jacqueline Hubert, director of the hospital.
The current world champion, Sebastian Vettel, a fellow German who has been dubbed "Baby Schumi" by his country's media, led a chorus of support and concern. "I am shocked and hope that he gets better as quickly as possible. I wish his family much strength," he said on Monday. But, while agreeing that the situation had changed, the doctors refused to speculate about Schumacher's prognosis. Gérard Saillant, a leading brain surgeon who rushed to Grenoble as a friend and former doctor to Schumacher, said such an exercise, even concerning the next few days, was "stupid".
The British driver Jenson Button, another former world champion, said: "My thoughts are with Michael Schumacher at this tough time. Michael more than anyone has the strength to pull through this." "We cannot say it's done … but it's a bit better than it was yesterday," he said.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said she was "extremely shocked along with millions of Germans". Gay admitted that the team had been "a bit surprised" by the patient's modest improvement. "But, careful," he said. "There is still a long way to go."
Schumacher is thought to have been skiing downhill between two marked pistes below the jagged peaks of the Dent de Burgin when he fell, hitting the right side of his head. His colleague Payen added: "In intensive care things can change very quickly, in a good way and in a bad way. We have bought a bit of time."
Investigators from the Gendarmerie based in the resort of Bourg St Maurice were on the mountainside on Monday attempting to establish the exact circumstances of the accident, which occurred at an elevation of 2,100 metres. In the immediate future, Schumacher appears certain to stay in the induced coma which is aimed at reducing the swelling on his brain.
On Monday the prosecutor Patrice Quincy, based in Albertville, the home of the 1992 Winter Olympics, told the Guardian: "The victim lost his balance and banged his head extremely violently on small rocks concealed by the snow." The doctors said it was too early to start thinking of what came after that. Payen also said that, for the moment, transferring Schumacher to another hospital closer to home would be too dangerous due to his fragility.
His family look likely to remain at his side. On Tuesday his father Rolf, who introduced Schumacher to go-karting when he was just a small boy, was pictured entering the hospital.
Kehm declined to comment on how the racing driver's relatives were coping with the crisis. But she said messages of support had poured in from fans all over the world.
• This article was amended on Tuesday 31 December 2013 to correct the spelling of Gérard Saillant's name and the attribution of a quote by Saillant.• This article was amended on Tuesday 31 December 2013 to correct the spelling of Gérard Saillant's name and the attribution of a quote by Saillant.
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