Nearly two weeks after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was admitted at the Apollo Hospital in Chennai, three doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi were flown into the city for further treatment. Sources have told The News Minute that pulmonologist Dr GC Khilnani, anaesthetist Dr Anjan Trikha and cardiologist Dr Nitish Naik, who was the personal phyisician of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, are the experts who will assist the team of doctors at Apollo Hospital. While one of the doctors flew in from New Delhi on Wednesday, the other two arrived in Chennai on Thursday.
The latest developments come even as Tuesday’s health bulletin on the Chief Minister stated that Jayalalithaa “continues to improve” and that the same line of treatment is being continued. The last bulletin released by the hospital also stated that she was under “close observation” by a team of doctors.
Last week, Dr Richard Beale, a consultant in intensive care medicine from the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London was flown in on September 30 to assess the Chief Minister’s condition. Dr Beale, whose area of expertise includes acute lung injury, sepsis and multi-organ failure, had a detailed discussion with the expert group of doctors treating her. The current treatment plan and other allied clinical measures were initiated based on the discussion which Jayalalithaa’s team of doctors had with Dr Beale. The London doctor, however, returned to England two days later.
Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospital late on September 22 with “a fever and dehydration”. A health bulletin released by the hospital on Monday stated that she was being treated for an infection and “the treatment plan includes appropriate antibiotics, respiratory support and other allied clinical measures”.