Saif Ali Khan undergoes four-hour surgery for multiple stab wounds, on road to recovery

Actor Saif Ali Khan at a trailer launch in Mumbai in September of last year. File pic/Shadab Khan

Actor Saif Ali Khan, 54, will be shifted to the special suite of Lilavati Hospital, Bandra West, on Friday and may get discharged on or before Monday. The actor had to be shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital after he underwent a four-hour-long (5 am to 9 am) supra-major surgical intervention for multiple stab wounds. The actor was stabbed six times by an intruder who had barged into his house in the wee hours (around 2.30 am) of Thursday and was rushed to Lilavati Hospital by his caretaker.

Dr Nitin Dange, consultant neurosurgeon, who operated on the actor's spinal wound, said, "The actor had sustained a major injury to the thoracic spine due to the broken piece of knife that was lodged. The surgery was done to remove the piece and also fix the Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) leakage. Luckily, it was a dural spinal injury (the outermost layer of tissue that covers the spinal cord) and did not impact the spinal cord. The actor is responding well to the treatment and we have kept him in the ICU for observation. He will be moved out of ICU by tomorrow (Friday) and should be discharged on or before Monday."

The actor had sustained stab wounds to his chest, left hand, and neck, of which two injuries were deep wounds - right side of the neck and the injury on the left hand - which were repaired by the plastic surgery team led by Dr Leena Jain. He was also monitored by Dr Srinivas Kudva, the cardiologist. "He is completely stable now, recovering and out of danger," he said.

Dr Niraj Uttamani, chief operating officer of Lilavati Hospital, said, "Fortunately, the surgery has been done very well. He is on a recovery path; the operation is over and he has been shifted to the ICU. He will be shifted to the normal ward in a day or two. After that, he can be taken care of. The injuries were deeper but our doctor and medical team have managed well." A senior police officer revealed that the actor's statement is crucial to know the exact happenings and it will be recorded in the coming days.

Sources within the hospital revealed that a 3D CT scan was done prior to the surgery and a broken metal piece lodged in the spinal area was visible in the image. The neurosurgeon surgically removed the metal foreign body, which was later confirmed to be the tip of a broken knife piece. The actor was conscious when taken for the scans.