Schumacher's condition improves - doctors hopeful

Michael Schumacher underwent a second surgery last night to remove further brain hemorrhages, doctors announced during a Tuesday morning press conference at the Grenoble Hospital trauma center.

Jean-Francois Payen, the doctor in charge of the hospital's intensive care unit, said scans of the seven-time World Champion's brain on Monday afternoon showed "slight signs of improvement," leading doctors to make the decision to operate.

"Yesterday a window of opportunity opened and with the approval of the family, we performed a second intervention," said Dr. Payen.

The two-hour procedure was deemed a success according to doctors, evacuating several hematomas from the 44-year-old's brain, however several lesions are still present.

Schumacher remains in an artificial coma while doctors continue to monitor the swelling in his brain.

"We remain in a fragile situation," said Dr. Payen. "We can't say he is out of danger but... we have gained a bit of time. The coming hours are crucial."

Although doctors were more upbeat following the second surgery, they refused to give any prognosis regarding Schumacher's recovery.

"We cannot talk about things that will happen, it's stupid, and we will not answer such questions," said Gerard Saillant, a trauma surgeon who operated on Schumacher when he broke his leg in a 1999 race crash. "We cannot predict what will happen."

In the meantime, doctors said they will continue to monitor the driver's condition on an hourly basis with further updates coming as necessary.