Jyoti Basu continues to be in a critical condition. On Monday, there was no improvement in the former West Bengal chief minister’s condition, with complications in the heart, lungs, kidneys and liver continuing, doctors said.
To add to that, Basu developed fever on Monday. Doctors
at Kolkata’s AMRI hospital plan to perform a tracheotomy on his respiratory tract either on Wednesday or Thursday. Following the surgery, an air tube can be inserted through the throat.
“There’s no encouraging improvement in his lung condition though he is being treated with a wide range of drugs including broad spectrum antibiotics,” said cardiologist Dr Ajit Kumar Maiti, who is heading the eight-member medical board monitoring Basu’s health. “Infection may spread in his respiratory tract if he is kept on conventional ventilation,” he said. Doctors are unhappy at the lack of improvement in his condition.
“His vital organs continue to worry us. His immunity test report is not satisfactory,” said critical care specialist Susrut Banerjee. “It is a very rare case when a 96-year-old patient is fighting multi-organ complications.”
Basu’s friend and once political adversary Siddhartha Shankar Ray visited him on Monday. “Jyoti is a good friend... and he is ever a good fighter,” said an emotional Ray, a former chief minister of West Bengal. “He continues to fight,” he said.