Brain surgery. No one even requested such a thing. And again, this was all out of Michael's hands, anyway. The 5 doctors, tests, and exams were court-ordered to accommodate the requests of all 5 doctors (including the 2 her parents chose).
And, all neurologists agree that no single test is conclusive of PVS. It is a diagnosis made by observing the patient clinically, the patient's history, the cause of the injury, and various scans.
The totality is what they use. Karen Ann Quinlan's brain was fine, except for damage to her thalamus (or hypothalamus - I forget.) Yet, no one would dispute that she was PVS.
Keep in mind, I'm not saying I know whether she is PVS or not. I'm only answering specific aspects of who said and did what and why. lol
When they say that part of her brain has turned to liquid they are saying something that's impossible to know without an MRI.
Here is Terri's ct brain scan from 2002:
Here is a normal ct brain scan:
(I couldn't find a bigger one - in a rush here - sorry)
The testimony at that trial focused in large part on how much tissue was left. What they all agreed to, was that there was extremely little.
The only thing they could not tell was whether what little was left was comprised of living neurons, or just gliotic tissue that holds them together, and whether any living neurons left could benefit by vasodilation or hyperbaric oxygen. That was the dispute.
And, according to Hammesfahr himself, her EEG showed "no activity". Dr Bambakadis used less dramatic words calling it severely abnormal and consistent with PVS, even when they applied painful stimulation to her.
(again - I wish they'd bring in a dozen doctors selected by some neutral standard and settle this question.)