*UPDATE* Michael Schumacher Injured in Skiing Accident in France

[Faline]

Originally Posted by Clubhouse

Michael Schumacher at critical stage in treatment for head injury
Doctors treating ex-F1 champion are keeping him in a state of hypothermia to cool his brain and reduce pressure from swelling


Doctors have reached a critical stage in their treatment of Michael Schumacher who suffered a serious head injury while skiing off-piste at the Méribel resort in the French Alps.

The former Formula One motor racing champion has been moved to an intensive care unit at the University Hospital of Grenoble where the priority is to prevent a dangerous build-up of pressure in his brain. Severe swelling stops blood flowing into the brain and starves it of oxygen, causing damage that can be fatal.

Schumacher was able to speak directly after the accident, but became agitated and fell into a coma soon after he arrived at Grenoble by air ambulance. He is now under anaesthetic to keep him in a coma and give his brain the best chance of recovery. Doctors performed emergency surgery on Schumacher to remove a blood clot that was pressing on his brain. They are now keeping him in a state of hypothermia, which cools the brain to 34 to 35C, to reduce pressure caused by the swelling of his brain.

Peter Andrews, professor of intensive care at Edinburgh University, who is leading the world's largest trial of hypothermia to reduce brain pressure, said a head injury that was severe enough to cause a coma was fatal in about 25 to 30% of cases, though other experts said the figure was closer to 15%.

"The problem with any acute brain injury is that the brain is a very delicate organ. The skull cannot expand, so when the brain swells, the pressure goes up, and it constricts its own blood supply. It cuts the oxygen to the brain and worsens the damage, and that could potentially kill him," he said.

Brain scans showed that Schumacher suffered bruising on both sides of his brain. Whether the damage is permanent, and how severe it may be, will be clear only once he has come out of coma and doctors can assess his condition more fully.

To induce hypothermia, doctors inject patients with saline solution chilled to 4C. The patients are covered with a cooling blanket to hold them at a few degrees below normal body temperature. The cooling lowers the brain's demand for oxygen, which in turn reduces the volume of blood flowing into the organ. Cooling may also reduce inflammation in the brain.

But the swelling may not reach its peak for a few days yet. If doctors cannot control the pressure by cooling alone, they may perform an operation called decompressive craniectomy, which removes a large section of bone from the front or side of the skull to relieve pressure on the brain. The procedure is controversial, though, and can cause patients more harm than good.

"The goal now is to control the brain pressure, that is the critical stage they are at," said Peter Hutchinson, a reader in neurotrauma at Cambridge University. Inducing hypothermia puts patients at greater risk of infections, especially chest infections, which intensive care staff will be watching for. The next 48 to 72 hours would be crucial for Schumacher's recovery, Hutchinson said.

When Schumacher's brain pressure returns to normal, doctors can start to warm him up again. This is done very slowly, at about 0.25C per hour, to avoid the brain swelling up again. Doctors can then stop administering the anaesthetic that is keeping him in a coma and wait to see if he comes round.

"When you stop the anaesthetic, you look for the time of emergence from the coma. It will be a gradual process of recovery. It can take hours for a minor injury, or it can take days or weeks," Hutchinson said. Patients who are still in a coma after six months are said to be in a persistent vegetative state.

The bruising on Schumacher's brain is similar to that seen in victims of road traffic accidents, when the head stops suddenly but the brain keeps moving inside the skull. The blow causes shearing forces that damage the brain tissue. If Schumacher survives, as many surgeons believe he will, his recovery depends on how serious these injuries are, and which parts of the brain are affected.

"When nerves get damaged or torn, the brain has very limited capacity to repair itself. So it depends where the lesions are and whether you have reserves. Some parts of the brain are less important than others," said Hutchinson.

"Everyone is trying to speculate about an outcome, but that is very difficult. The trouble with brain injuries is that they are all so different. The worry is, if you are going to survive, what is the quality of survival? The potential for disability may be severe," said Hutchinson.

Tony Belli, a consultant neurosurgeon and reader in neurotrauma at Birmingham University, said that Schumacher's age, fitness and psychological strength would help his recovery. "He's got a lot of factors in his favour. He's more likely than not to make a good recovery, despite all the concerns that have been raised. From the description of his injuries, it will take weeks, even months to recover, but I do expect him to make a good recovery."


http://www.theguardian.com/sport/201...nt-head-injury

The part about his brain continuing to bounce in the skull makes me shudder

[Azimuth]

Oh poor guy, he and his family have a long road ahead of them.

I had my tbi, subdural hematoma, brain swelling and coma in October 2009 and I'll never be the same. The only reason they didn't have to remove part of my skull to relieve pressure of the brain swelling was due to the skull fractures I had.

He'll be learning to walk, read, write, yeah pretty much everything again. If he lives at all.. Lucky he had the helmet on.

[Illusion]

I hope Michael makes out okay... As a skier I have seen many people get hurt, some really bad, even killed.

Problem is, as a former F1 racer, he's in love with speed. It's tragic that the things we love often are our downfall. Hopefully he can recover and be fully functional again.

[durt]

Originally Posted by invertigo

I don't even know what a 'piste' is

It's French for 'trail', 'Path', 'track', or 'runway' (aviation)
Skiing 'off piste' means skiing off of the groomed/marked trails, in unprepared areas. Some facilities forbid it, some encourage it.

[Morc]

Apparently a pro skier had a similar injury not so long ago and spent 3 weeks in a coma but is now back to skiing again. The brain is an amazing organ!

[kellyhound]

hope he pulls through

[Faline]

Thanks to those keeping the thread updated

[durt]

From 2hrs ago:


GRENOBLE, France (Reuters) – French doctors treating Michael Schumacher for brain injuries sustained in a ski fall said the seven-times Formula One world champion was in slightly better condition on Tuesday after an overnight operation, but that he remained fragile.
The 44-year-old German is battling for his life after slamming his head against a rock while skiing off-piste in the French resort of Meribel on Sunday, an accident which triggered an outpouring of concern among fans around the world.
Doctors treating him at a hospital in the eastern city of Grenoble said his condition had stabilised enough by late Monday to carry out a new operation to treat the effects of internal bleeding within Schumacher’s skull.
“The situation is more under control than yesterday but we cannot say he is out of danger,” Jean-Francois Payen, head anaesthetician, told a news conference at the CHU hospital in the eastern French city of Grenoble.
“We have won some time but we must continue an hour-by-hour surveillance… It is premature to speculate on his condition,” he said, adding that Schumacher was still in a critical state and suffering from severe lesions and contusions.
Emmanuel Gay, head of the hospital’s neurosurgery service, said the operation carried out around 10.00 pm (2100 GMT) on Monday had successfully removed a large hematoma – the medical term for a build-up of blood – from his brain.
“It was larger and more accessible (than others) ... We judged we could remove it without taking any risks,” Gay said.
He said the operation was designed to reduce, within Schumacher’s skull, the pressure on the brain.
Doctors said the fact that the retired motor racing champion was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident had at least enabled him to make it to the hospital alive.
Payen said the medical team in Grenoble had discussed the operation with Schumacher’s family. He added that the condition of the motor racing great was still too fragile to consider transferring him to another hospital for the time being.
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Schumacher is under the care of Professor Gerard Saillant, a brain and spinal injury expert who is also president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) Institute.
Saillant said it was still impossible to say how Schumacher’s condition would progress in coming days.
“We are a little less worried than yesterday but I’m sure you understand that the situation could change this evening or tomorrow,” he told the news conference.
Schumacher, who lives in Switzerland with his wife and two children, is the most successful Formula One driver of all times with a record 91 race victories in a career spanning more than two decades.
Schumacher left the sport last year after a less successful three-year comeback with Mercedes following an earlier retirement from Ferrari at the end of 2006.
French authorities have opened an investigation into the accident, which took place as Schumacher was out skiing with his teenage son.
Ferrari always used to have an annual January gathering with their drivers in the Dolomites and Schumacher, a fitness fanatic, impressed with his skiing ability.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel had been deeply shocked to learn of his accident, her spokesman said on Monday as expressions of concern poured in from fans, former team-mates and rivals.
Former British Formula One driver David Coulthard said he believed Schumacher had not won the full recognition he merited for taking his sport to new heights.
“I only hope Michael Schumacher pulls through so that he can see all the nice things people are saying about him,” he wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper

[gatagato]

Michael Schumacher's manager has scrapped the press conference, she says Michael has been supervised overnight and his condition has stabilised, and therefore there is no need for the press conference.

[invertigo]

Good news for the family, but I'm sure he'll be out smashing his head into rocks in the future. There's just no stopping an adrenaline junkie, no matter how close a shave they had with death.