Pranab Mukherjee remains critical, still on ventilator

NEW DELHI: The condition of former President Pranab Mukherjee remains critical and he remains on ventilator support, hospital sources said. Mukherjee, 84, was admitted to the Army’s R&R Hospital on Monday in a critical condition. The hospital said investigations had revealed a large clot in the brain for which he underwent an emergency surgery.

He was also found to be Covid-19 positive. “Post-surgery, he continues to remain critical on ventilator support,” the hospital said. “Mukherjee who underwent life-saving emergency surgery for brain clot on August 10 has not shown any improvement.”

Sources said the complications had not been caused by Covid-19. There is a bleeding in the brain, perhaps because of the blood thinners that Mukherjee has been taking for long. “For his condition to improve, bleeding in the brain has to stop,” a source said. “On a visit to the hospital for a separate procedure, Ihave tested positive for Covid-19,” the former President said in a tweet on Monday. “I request the people who came in contact with me in the last week, to please self-isolate and get tested for Covid-19,” Mukherjee, who was the President from 2012 to 2017, had said.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh visited the Army hospital and enquired about the former President’s health on Monday. Doctors say normally removal of clot in the brain is not a cause of worry. But in this case, complications have arisen due to Mukherjee’s advanced age and the presence of Covid infection.