Hostage teen stable after brain surgery
The condition of teenager Jason Leung Song-xue has stabilised after brain surgery in Tuen Mun Hospital and he has been placed in a deep coma to conserve his strength while he recovers.
The 18-year-old - the sole surviving child of his widowed mother, who lost her two daughters and husband in the Manila siege - had the front of his skull removed temporarily to relieve pressure on his swollen brain.
Separately, doctors said two other injured victims were well on their way to a full recovery.
Leung is in a medically induced coma that keeps his bodily functions at three on the coma scale, the lowest level. 'In brief, it's a resting phase ... for how long I cannot predict,' the hospital's neurosurgery chief Dr Dawson Fong To-sang said yesterday. 'If there are no complications, if everything goes smoothly, the swelling in the brain should stabilise within a week or 10 days.'
The teen suffered a blow to the head from an unknown object while aboard the hijacked Hong Thai Travel tour bus on Monday. He was flown back to Hong Kong on Thursday with his mother Amy and underwent surgery that night. He moved his fingers a little when someone called his name on the flight.
Fong said the pressure on his brain fell to an acceptable level after the surgery.
But to stop pressure increasing, doctors minimised the impact of external influences on the patient by taking over his bodily functions, including breathing and blood pressure, the surgeon said. If they were convinced he was recovering, they would reduce sedation slowly.
In the meantime, strong antibiotics would be used to control infection. Leung has had a fever since Thursday, and his temperature rose after the operation. Fong said fever was common on comatose patients due to lower resistance to disease.
Two veins in Leung's brain were cut during an earlier operation in Manila - possibly affecting limb control. Fong said the veins were sacrificed to stop bleeding in the brain and believed it was the best the doctors there could have done.
People familiar with the situation said last night that inadequate wound care in Manila was a possible reason for the infection, including mild pneumonia. One person said Philippine doctors had not given Leung priority. 'The [Hong Kong] medical team felt a heavy responsibility to bring Jason back to Hong Kong safely; no one can afford any mistakes,' the person said.
The microbiology chief at the University of Hong Kong, Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, has joined the Tuen Mun Hospital team treating the teenager.
Some broken skull pieces will have to be retrieved in further surgery when Leung's condition stabilises.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen extended a get-well wish to Leung. He vowed that the government would offer the best medical care and other help to the siege victims and their families.
'Many medical staff in the hospital are working around the clock to take care of Jason,' he said. 'We hope he will overcome the current hurdle so that he can recover soon.'
Tsang said Leung's mother appeared tough and composed. 'I tried to comfort Mrs Leung and impress on her that other than taking care of Jason, she also had to take good care of herself. She was very calm and even asked me not to worry.'
Meanwhile, Yik Siu-ling and Joe Chan Kwok-chu are in stable condition after surgery at Prince of Wales Hospital. Yik, 34, had an operation to remove dead tissue after her thumbs and lower jaw were shattered by a bullet. Chan, 45, had hand surgery.
Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen said after visiting the pair that they were in good spirits.
'We will offer them the best medical care,' Tang said. 'For their families and relatives, I also tell them not to worry. We have case officers following up the situation.'
