Slight setback in Pramod Mahajan's condition

Mumbai, Apr 28: The condition of senior BJP leader Pramod Mahajan continued to be critical and suffered a slight setback overnight with his dependence on ventilation and drugs to support blood pressure increasing marginally.

After conducting a CT scan to assess the injuries and collection of fluids in his body today, the Hinduja hospital, in its medical bulletin, said ''over the night, his requirement of blood pressure-support drugs and ventilation has marginally gone up.'' Mr Mahajan's dependence on BP-support drugs had been gradually coming down since the past two days, after doctors performed an emergency surgery on Sunday when the 56-year-old BJP leader was put on dialysis and packs to stop bleeding in his liver were replaced.

Reading out the bulletin this afternoon, hospital Director (administration) Dr Anupam Verma said the conditon of Mr Mahajan, being treated for grievous gunshot injuries, remained critical for the seventh day. ''Mr Mahajan is still critical.'' However, he ruled out any surgery as of now, saying the bullets lodged in his body were not of immediate concern.

As revealed in the CT scan, one bullet each was lodged in the muscles and tissue of his back, while the third was embedded in the thoracic vertebra but had not crossed into the spinal canal, Dr Verma said.

The hospital, in its first bulletin immediately after a four-hour surgery on Mr Mahajan on Saturday morning, had said the bullets had shattered his liver, head of pancreas and duodenum (small intestine).

Dr Verma said the scan today also revealed fluid on the left side of his chest but added it was being drained out by a team of doctors led by Dr Gustad B Daver.

He further said injuries of liver and pancreas, seen in the CT scan, ''correlate with the earlier noted findings of (the first) operation'' conducted on Saturday morning, soon after Mr Mahajan was admitted in the hospital with gunshot wounds, allegedly inflicted by his younger brother Pravin.

UNI

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