DHAKA: Former Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher, who suffered a serious head injury in a skiing accident, is showing a "slight improvement" in his condition, doctors in France said Tuesday.

On Monday night, doctors carried out a surgical intervention on Schumacher that allowed for some pressure to be relieved on his brain in a way that was "gradual and effective," said Jean-Francois Payen, head of anesthesiology at the University Hospital Center of Grenoble, reports CNN.

The surgery, which took about two hours, involved the removal of a large hematoma, he said. Schumacher remains in a medically induced coma.

"The situation is better under control than yesterday," Payen told reporters. "We cannot say that he is out of danger, but we`ve gained a little time in his development. But the hours to come are hours that are crucial in our strategy."

The surgery came after a scan showed a surprising improvement in Schumacher`s condition Monday afternoon, Payen said.

After consulting with the driver`s family, Schumacher`s doctors decided to seize the "window of opportunity" and operate, he said.

But Payen warned that it was too soon to speculate on Schumacher`s prognosis. "There is still a long way to go," he said. The driver is still in too fragile a state to be moved to another hospital.

Schumacher, the most successful driver in Formula 1 history, suffered severe head trauma after falling while skiing Sunday in Meribel, in the French Alps.

`Catapulted onto his head`

His manager, Sabine Kehm, recounted more details Tuesday of how the accident happened, gleaned from friends and family members who were present at the time.

The party was skiing in an area of deep snow when Schumacher helped a friend who had fallen, she said. As he set off again and went to make a turn, he seems to have hit a rock hidden under the snow.

This catapulted him into the air and he fell head down with all his weight onto another rock, she said, resulting in severe injuries to his head.

Schumacher was not traveling fast at the time, Kehm said, so those with him were initially shocked by how badly he was hurt. "It`s not a question of speed but of the angle that you hit the rock," she said.

Kehm also cautioned against reading too much into the doctors` latest report.

"They made it very clear that they are not optimistic, that ... there was a slight improvement compared to the situation yesterday, which doesn`t mean we can be optimistic yet," she said. "It`s much too early to say."

Kehm declined to comment on the emotional state of Schumacher`s family.

But she said "heartwarming" messages of support have come flooding in via e-mails, text messages and letters from people around the world.

In a statement released Tuesday, Schumacher`s family expressed thanks for the outpouring.

"They are giving us great support. We all know he is a fighter and will not give up," the statement said.

Kehm said a journalist tried to sneak into Schumacher`s hospital room disguised as a priest.."

BDST: 1008 HRS, JAN 01 , 2014
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