Veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee undergoes vascular surgery; internal bleeding stopped

Veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee's condition improved on Monday night after doctors treating him at a private hospital in south Kolkata conducted a vascular surgery and successfully stopped the internal bleeding which was leading to loss of haemoglobin.

"We have successfully stopped the bleeding. We had to go for a vascular intervention. It lasted for about an hour. For all certainty, it (the bleeding) will not happen again. Now we would be in a better position to manage the overall situation. There should not be any drop of haemoglobin or platelets or any derangement in the physiology," Dr Arindam Kar, head of the team of doctors treating Chatterjee, said around 10 pm on Monday.

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner was admitted on October 6 after he tested positive for Covid-19. Chatterjee tested negative for Covid-19 on October 14 but his neurological system was affected by Covid encephalopathy. As a result, Chatterjee's condition deteriorated drastically over the past week. The noted actor has been in a drowsy state since last Monday.

"In the coming two or three days we will try to recover the ground that had been disturbed and correct most of the things. Once all the organ functions start recovering we will focus on making his consciousness improve by some way or the other," said Dr Kar.

"This could be a good news for him but once again I am reiterating the fact that having been inside a hospital Intensive Care Unit for 26 days with a prolonged period of unconsciousness or reduced consciousness with life support, it would be difficult for an octogenarian person to have a very favourable outcome. But he is putting up a valiant fight," Dr Kar added.

"We have rarely seen someone with such a good physiology. We really hope that if the consciousness level returns he still has the vigour, energy and same organ functions," Dr Kar added.

Millions of people in Bengal and beyond have been praying for Chatterjee's recovery ever since he was admitted.

In a bid to offer a holistic treatment, the doctors initially made Chatterjee listen to music and literature of his choice. He even communicated with his daughter Poulomi Basu.