Formula One: Bianchi brain injury severe, says family

In this Sunday, Oct. 5, 2014 photo, rescuers and others gather around the car of Marussia Formula One driver Jules Bianchi after crashing during the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan. AP

YOKKAICHI — Jules Bianchi is suffering from a serious brain injury sustained in his sickening crash at the Japanese Grand Prix, his family says, as specialists warn the chances of recovery from this kind of condition are slim.

The Formula One driver was Wednesday starting his third day in intensive care after the weekend smash, with his worried parents regularly by his bedside.

“Jules remains in the Intensive Care Unit of the Mie General Medical Center in Yokkaichi. He has suffered a diffuse axonal injury and is in a critical but stable condition,” said a statement issued by the family and the hospital.

“The medical professionals at the hospital are providing the very best treatment and care and we are grateful for everything they have done for Jules since his accident.”

The 25-year-old Bianchi was knocked unconscious in a horrific high-speed crash into a recovery vehicle during Sunday’s rain-sodden Japanese Grand Prix.

He underwent emergency brain surgery, with doctors saying he was critically ill.

A diffuse axonal injury describes trauma that is spread across the brain, rather than in one place, and is caused by the shockwave from the sudden impact of the crash travelling through the brain.

This causes bruising and kills cells.

The body’s response to the injury — swelling — exacerbates the problem because it restricts blood flow to the brain, causing more damage.

Experts say recovery rates from this kind of injury, which is frequently caused by vehicle crashes, are not encouraging.

Ichiro Miyao, who heads a support group in Japan for victims of traffic accidents, said those that do recover frequently suffer permanent impairment.

He explained that because the neural networks are disrupted, “it can have severe after-effects,” including spatial awareness or memory problems.

World class care

Bianchi’s parents Philippe and Christine, who flew to Japan after the race, spent some of Wednesday morning with their son.

Doctors at the hospital have waived normal restrictions on visiting hours, to allow them to see him at any time, a hospital source told AFP.

Japanese medical care is world class, and both the family and visiting clinicians have expressed their confidence in local physicians.

The family statement said Professor Gerard Saillant, who treated Michael Schumacher after his near-fatal skiing accident last year, and Professor Alessandro Frati, a neurosurgeon from the University of Rome La Sapienza, were there.

“They… met with the medical personnel responsible for Jules’ treatment, in order to be fully informed of his clinical status so that they are able to advise the family.

“Professors Saillant and Frati acknowledge the excellent care being provided by the Mie General Medical Center and would like to thank their Japanese colleagues.

“The hospital will continue to monitor and treat Jules and further medical updates will be provided when appropriate.”

The race on Sunday was stopped shortly after Bianchi’s accident with championship leader Lewis Hamilton, who was in front at the time, declared the winner.

Organizers have come in for criticism over both the timing of the race, which went ahead despite torrential downpours caused by an approaching typhoon, and because a recovery vehicle was on a circuit run-off area, not behind tyre wall, without a safety car.

The heavy-lifting vehicle was in trying to remove Adrian Sutil’s stricken Sauber, which had crashed at the same spot on the circuit a lap earlier.

Bianchi’s smash was captured on camera by a spectator, whose film shows the stomach-churning moment his Marussia ploughs into the recovery vehicle.

Sparks fly as metal is sheared and the driver’s head appears to bounce sickeningly off the tractor-crane.

Former world champion Alain Prost on Tuesday said the removal truck should never have been there.

“The entry of this crane (onto the circuit) without the safety car is totally unacceptable. It’s a real mistake that should not be repeated,” he said.