Doctors carry out Sharon's skull surgery

JERUSALEM: Doctors successfully carried out surgery to restore part of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's skull Wednesday, a day after the operation was delayed because of an infection, the hospital said.   

"The operation Mr Sharon was supposed to undergo yesterday was conducted today and was successfully completed a short while ago," the Hadassah hospital said in a statement.   

"The prime minister is being taken back to his room in the intensive care unit," it added, providing no further details.   

Sharon has been treated at the Hadassah since suffering a massive brain haemorrhage three months ago. He was then induced into a coma but he has still to regain consciousness despite responding to initial pain stimulus tests.   

The part of the skull which was restored was removed in an initial bout of brain surgery three months ago. Doctors are understood to be preparing long-term care plans for Sharon.

Discussions continue on where the premier would have to reside in the future but a final decision has not been taken yet. The medical team had postponed the skull operation after detecting a slight infection in his respiratory tract, with the hospital saying the surgery would only be carried out only after the infection cleared up.   

Sharon's former deputy Ehud Olmert has been heading the government in Sharon's absence and is set to be tasked with the role on a permanent basis on Thursday after their centrist Kadima party won last week's general election.