Freestyler Burke remains critical after surgery
AP
FILe - In this Jan. 23, 2009 file photo, Sarah Burke, of Canada, holds her gold metal after winning the Women's Superpipe event at Winter X Games 13 at Buttermilk Ski Area, near Aspen, Colo. Burke remains in a coma, a day after she was airlifted from the mountains of Utah to a Salt Lake City hospital with serious injuries after a training accident in the superpipe. Peter Judge, CEO of the Canadian freestyle team, says Burke's family is at the hospital, and an update on Burke's condition is expected later Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Nathan Bilow, File)
FILe - In this Jan. 23, 2009 file photo, Sarah Burke, of Canada, holds her gold metal after winning the Women's Superpipe event at Winter X Games 13 at Buttermilk Ski Area, near Aspen, Colo. Burke remains in a coma, a day after she was airlifted from the mountains of Utah to a Salt Lake City hospital with serious injuries after a training accident in the superpipe. Peter Judge, CEO of the Canadian freestyle team, says Burke's family is at the hospital, and an update on Burke's condition is expected later Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Nathan Bilow, File)
This Jan. 16, 2010 photo shows Sarah Burke reacting after a run during the women's ski halfpipe finals in Huntsville, Utah. Burke remains in a coma, a day after she was airlifted from the mountains of Utah to a Salt Lake City hospital with serious injuries after a training accident in the superpipe. Peter Judge, CEO of the Canadian freestyle team, says Burke's family is at the hospital, and an update on Burke's condition is expected later Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Jim Urquhart)
This Jan. 16, 2010 photo shows Sarah Burke reacting after a run during the women's ski halfpipe finals in Huntsville, Utah. Burke remains in a coma, a day after she was airlifted from the mountains of Utah to a Salt Lake City hospital with serious injuries after a training accident in the superpipe. Peter Judge, CEO of the Canadian freestyle team, says Burke's family is at the hospital, and an update on Burke's condition is expected later Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012.(AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Jim Urquhart)
This Jan. 16, 2010 photo shows Sarah Burke competing in the women's ski halfpipe finals at Snowbasin in Huntsville, Utah. Burke remains in a coma, a day after she was airlifted from the mountains of Utah to a Salt Lake City hospital with serious injuries after a training accident in the superpipe. Peter Judge, CEO of the Canadian freestyle team, says Burke's family is at the hospital, and an update on Burke's condition is expected later Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Jim Urquhart)
FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2010 file photo, Sarah Burke, of Canada, competes during the women's skiing superpipe final round at the Winter X Games at Buttermilk Mountain outside Aspen, Colo. ,Burke remains in a coma, a day after she was airlifted from the mountains of Utah to a Salt Lake City hospital with serious injuries after a training accident in the superpipe. Peter Judge, CEO of the Canadian freestyle team, says Burke's family is at the hospital, and an update on Burke's condition is expected later Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) ? Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke remained in critical condition Thursday after a successful operation to repair a tear to an artery that caused bleeding into her brain.
Burke was placed into an induced coma to relieve stress on her brain after her accident Tuesday and 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 William Couldwell, the neurosurgeon who performed the operation, in a statement released by Burke's publicist. "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.
She tore a vertebral artery, which are located in the neck and supply blood to the brainstem ? the back part of the brain which controls consciousness.
Tears can cause bleeding that disrupts blood flow to the brain, which in serious cases can lead to brain damage or death, said Dr. Andrew Naidech, medical director of the neuro-spine intensive care unit at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
He said those tears can be caused by severe twisting motions or impact causing sudden up-and-down movement of the head. Outcomes depend on how badly the damage interrupted blood flow to the brain or caused extensive bleeding.
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 at the time.
Burke tried many of the toughest tricks in her sport and was the first woman to land a 1080 ? three full revolutions ? in competition. It was not known what move she was performing when the accident happened.
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