Prime Minister Ariel Sharon briefly opened his eyes Monday in response to a recording of his grandson's voice, relatives told doctors, though hospital officials warned there were no signs that the comatose Israeli leader was any closer to regaining consciousness. With Sharon still incapacitated 12 days after a massive stroke, Monday's media excitement over the reported eye movements showed how even the slightest change in his condition is capturing the nation's attention.The 77-year-old prime minister has been lying unconscious at Hadassah Hospital since the Jan. 4 stroke. Although doctors say his condition remains "critical but stable," outside experts have said Sharon's failure to regain consciousness in recent days bodes poorly for his recovery. Monday's reports seemed to spark hopes that Sharon, perhaps the country's ultimate political survivor, would prove the experts wrong again. After scaling back coverage of his condition in recent days, TV newscasts and radio programming eagerly reported the latest developments.
Israeli TV said the prime minister opened his eyes as his son, Gilad, sat at his bedside playing a tape recording of Sharon's grandson. A Sharon aide in touch with the family said the report was accurate. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not at Sharon's bedside at the time. The Yediot Ahronot newspaper reported on its Web site that Sharon opened his eyes twice, becoming teary at the sound of his grandson's voice. It said Sharon closed his eyes before doctors reached his room.
The heavy media interest prompted the hospital to issue a statement playing down the reports. It said Sharon's relatives reported "impression of eyelid movement whose significance is unclear." Outside medical experts warned against reading too much into the reported eye movements. "I would take nothing from it," said Dr. Maurizio Miglietta, a coma expert at New York University's School of Medicine, especially because there were no other signs of reported progress Monday. "It can be anything from him waking up to having a seizure, or it could be involuntary," he said. The next thing to look for would be "purposeful movements," such as responding to voices, Miglietta added.
Dr. Anthony Rudd, a stroke specialist at St. Thomas' Hospital in London, said coma patients often involuntarily flutter their eyelids or even open their eyes momentarily. "Often families misinterpret reflex twitching for voluntary movement," he said.
After the stroke, Sharon underwent three operations to stop the bleeding in his brain. Medical officials said last week that he showed some movement on both sides of his body in response to pain stimuli, but he has shown no signs of improvement since then. Doctors have given little insight into his prognosis. Sharon has been on a respirator, and he underwent a tracheotomy Sunday in which surgerons inserted a plastic tube in his windpipe to help him breathe. He has been taken off sedatives.
Sharon's Kadima Party enjoyed a strong lead in opinion polls at the time of the stroke, and analysts warned the party might disintegrate without its founder and leader. But under acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Kadima has strengthened its lead. With Sharon unlikely to return, Kadima on Monday chose Olmert to stand in as party leader in the March 28 election. The decision put Olmert in a strong position to be the next prime minister.