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Bundesliga's "Hoffenheim" football club defender Boris Vukcevic is currently in the hospital where he was induced into an artificial coma. The player was involved in a serious accident on Friday afternoon.
The incident occurred when the 22-year-old footballer's car collided with a truck on the road near the player's training ground.
According to the club's statement, after the accident he was urgently airlifted to the hospital. The footballer's head injury is described as "life-threatening."
Surgery was performed immediately upon arrival at the hospital and the player is currently in critical condition, showing no signs of improvement.
He has played 78 matches for the "Hoffenheim" club, as well as represented Germany in the under-21 national team.
The club's coach Andreas Muller said, "all club employees are shocked and shaken by this news."
An artificial coma is a coma induced by medications - a radical type of general anesthesia where doctors essentially shut down the brain, and the patient cannot wake up or respond to any stimuli. During an artificial coma, heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing are artificially maintained - mechanically or with medication. Artificial coma can be induced with barbiturates or by lowering the body temperature to around 33 degrees. This condition is reversible, meaning doctors can awaken the patient from the coma by discontinuing the procedure.
An artificial coma is a fully controlled process that allows the brain to rest, which is often beneficial. Just as other unhealthy organs need rest when being treated, the brain also requires quiet and rest. The brain can be damaged, for example, due to lack of oxygen while drowning, due to a blood clot, increased pressure in the brain after a strong head injury, or a chemical imbalance in the brain's nerve cells from overdosing on drugs.
