Lilavati’s COO on Saif’s discharge after stabbing incident: ‘Surgical wounds will take time to heal’

Saif Ali Khan. Pic/Satej Shinde

Actor Saif Ali Khan, 54, was finally discharged from Lilavati Hospital on Tuesday. Accompanied by his wife Kareena and family members, the actor was spotted wearing jeans and a white shirt, paired with black sunglasses, as he walked out of the hospital and got into his vehicle amidst heavy police bandobast.

The actor underwent a supramajor spinal surgery (5 a.m. to 9 a.m. on January 16) to remove the broken metal piece (knife) and cosmetic surgery for multiple stab wounds on his neck and hand. He was admitted to the hospital in the early hours of January 16 with multiple stab wounds on his neck, hand, and spine.

Chief Operating Officer at the hospital on Saif's case

Speaking to MiD Day, Dr. Niraj Uttamani, Chief Operating Officer at the hospital, said, "The actor's health is good, though the surgical wounds will take some time to heal. From the hospital's end, the actor is absolutely fine at the time of discharge."

When asked if the actor had been called again to the hospital for follow-up, Dr Uttamani replied in the affirmative, stating, "The actor will be in touch with Dr Nitin Dange, Consultant Neurosurgeon, who operated on him for the removal of sutures."

On whether any post-operative physiotherapy has been suggested, the COO said, "The treating neurosurgeon or the actor's family will decide if required."

Attempts to contact Dr Nitin Dange did not yield any results. Meanwhile, the investigating police team will be recording the actor's statement in the coming days. The statement will be corroborated with the arrested accused's submissions, and if required, the accused can be further confronted on any new leads that emerge from the actor's statement, said a police officer requesting anonymity.

About Saif Ali Khan's stabbing case

Saif Ali Khan was stabbed six times by an intruder who barged into his house in the early hours (around 2:30 a.m.) of Thursday. He was rushed to Lilavati Hospital in an autorickshaw by his elder son and 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 foreign body 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 the ICU by tomorrow (Friday) and should be discharged on or before Monday."

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 a broken knife piece.