Alex Zanardi

Zanardi doctor issues update on the Italian's 'serious' condition

Zanardi was involved in a serious accident on Friday evening

Sam Hall

Saturday 20 June 2020 22:46

Former Formula 1 driver Alex Zanardi remains in a 'serious but stable' condition after undergoing a lengthy neurological surgery.

Zanardi was involved in an accident with a 'heavy vehicle' while competing in a handcycling race in Italy.

After being airlifted to hospital on Friday, Zanardi underwent a two-and-a-half-hour surgery.

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The associated press quote Dr. Giuseppe Olivieri as saying, "The condition of Alex Zanardi is serious but stable.

"He arrived here with major facial cranial trauma, a smashed face, and a deeply fractured frontal bone [forehead]. The numbers are good, although it remains a very serious situation.

"We won't see what his neurological state is until he wakes up — if he wakes up. Serious condition means it's a situation when someone could die. Improvement takes time in these cases.

"Turns for the worse can be sudden. The operation went according to the plan. It's the initial situation that was very serious."

Outlining the next steps of the 53-year-old's treatment, Dr. Olivieri added: "The next step is to try and stabilise him over the next week or 10 days. Then if things go well, he could eventually be woken up and re-evaluated.

"As I told his wife, he's a patient who is worth being treated. As far as a prognosis of how he'll be tomorrow, in a week or in 15 days, I don't know.

"But I'm convinced that he should be treated."

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