Surgeon: Emilio showing slight improvement

HOUSTON, March 27 (UPI) -- A Texas neurosurgeon treating Emilio Navaira said the Tejano singing star has shown slight improvement since undergoing a second brain operation.

"I'd say he's improved," Dr. Alex B. Valadka told the Houston Chronicle. "He is better off than he was a few days ago." The second surgery was performed to relieve pressure on Navaira's brain.

Navaira was thrown through the windshield when his tour bus crashed Sunday morning.

"The skull is a closed box; it has no room to accommodate swelling. After the surgery, the pressures in the brain were lower and Emilio tolerated the surgery well," Valadka explained.

Navaira remained in critical condition at Memorial Hermann Hospital in a medically induced coma, the newspaper said. It will not be possible to say what permanent effects Navaira might have until he comes out of the coma, Valadka said.

"Some patients who are very, very severely injured will just amaze you," he said.

Raul Navaira said fans have offered his family overwhelming support.

"It's phenomenal how many people loved my brother. We can't have nothing but hope," he said. "He's a strong man. He don't like to lose."