Seve shows improvement

Ballesteros: improvement

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Seve Ballesteros has showed signs of improvement as continues to recover from brain surgery in Madrid's La Paz hospital.

The 51-year-old underwent a third procedure last week to alleviate pressure on the brain caused by an edema and to remove remaining tumour tissues.

Doctors announced themselves satisfied with how that operation had gone and have now confirmed the Spaniard is continuing to show some signs of progress.

"The patient Mr Severiano Ballesteros has a favourable trend in his neurological status, but needs to be further controlled in the Intensive Care Unit," read a statement from the hospital.

Indeed, Spanish sports daily Marca has also reported that on Tuesday doctors carried out their first reanimation exercises on Ballesteros, to check his level of consciousness, and obtained encouraging results.

"During several minutes Ballesteros, a man who has always had an extraordinary physical strength, was removed from sedation and he responded coherently to the basic instructions which he was given," the newspaper stated.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the hospital has confirmed that Ballesteros had undergone a tracheotomy to help him breathe.

"It is true that he has a tracheotomy but, like many other procedures, it is customary and is part of the protocols established for similar cases."

The five-time major winner was diagnosed with a brain tumour earlier this month having lost consciousness at Madrid Barajas airport.

He had already had two operations prior to Friday's lengthy procedure, the first to remove part of the tumour and the second to relieve a build up of pressure on his brain.