Pocket Guide 

Ariel Sharon

Sharon tracheotomy successful

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon underwent a tracheotomy Sunday evening to help wean him off a respirator as he lies in a coma, Hadassah Hospital said.

The hospital announced the procedure was successful, and a CT scan showed the same results as a scan conducted Thursday, which indicated to doctors that Sharon no longer needed a tube to drain excess blood from his brain.

Sharon, 77, has been comatose for 11 days since suffering a massive stroke that resulted in brain hemorrhaging on January 4.

A tracheotomy is a surgical incision of the windpipe through the neck to make an opening for a breathing tube.

Doctors said last week that Sharon might have to undergo the procedure because the plastic tube that was connecting his windpipe with the respirator would start to cause him damage if it remained in for too long, The Associated Press reported.