SALT LAKE CITY — Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke remained in critical condition Thursday after a successful operation to repair a tear to an artery that caused bleeding in her brain.
Doctors put her into a coma to decrease swelling and pressure on her brain after her accident Tuesday, and she had surgery the next day.
“With injuries of this type, we need to observe the course of her brain function before making definitive pronouncements about Sarah’s prognosis for recovery,” said Dr. William Couldwell, the neurosurgeon who performed the operation. “Our neuro critical care team will be monitoring her condition and response continuously over the coming hours and days.”
Burke, a four-time Winter X Games champion in halfpipe skiing and one of the leading pioneers of her sport, injured herself while practicing on the halfpipe in Park City, Utah.
She tore a vertebral artery, which is located in the neck and supplies blood to the brainstem and the back part of the brain. Those parts control many critical functions, including balance and vision.
Peter Judge, CEO of the Canadian freestyle team, said those who were near the superpipe when Burke fell told him it didn’t look like a major accident. Kevin Pearce, an American snowboarder, suffered a serious brain injury in a training run on the same halfpipe Dec. 31, 2009. He returned to the sport last month.
Denver Post wire services
