Dilip Kumar is currently 'on oxygen support, not on ventilator'
Veteran actor Dilip Kumar is currently "on oxygen support, not on ventilator," his doctors have confirmed. The 98-year-old is known to be "stable" now, and physicians are going to "perform pleural aspiration" once a few test results come in. The Mughal-E-Azam actor was taken to PD Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai yesterday morning, after he had been complaining of breathlessness for the past few days.
The official Twitter handle of the actor quoted Dr. Jalil Parkar, the pulmonologist who is in charge of treating Kumar, to state that he is not on ventilator support. "He is stable. Waiting for few test results to perform pleural aspiration," the tweet further said. Notably, the actor was admitted to the Khar Road hospital, a non-COVID-19 one, around 8:30 am yesterday.
Pleural aspiration is a simple medical procedure, where a needle/tube is inserted into the space between the patient's lungs and chest wall. This is done to remove any fluid that has accumulated around the lungs. These fluids cause cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain.
Now that the doctors have specified Kumar is on oxygen support and not on a ventilator, let's know the difference: -While ventilation involves pushing air in and out of the lungs of the patient, oxygen is artificially provided to the organs/tissues of someone during oxygenation. -A ventilator helps patients in breathing, but one needs to breathe on their own, while on oxygen supply.
After some hours of his hospitalization, the Tragedy King of Bollywood was said to be stable, as per the update on his Twitter account. It was said that he might be discharged in two-three days. Later, TOI reported that Kumar was diagnosed with bilateral pleural effusion, along with a drop in oxygen saturation. "He isn't in ICU," the portal quoted his doctor as saying.
Confirming the news of his hospitalization, Kumar's wife Saira Banu had said, "Doctors are treating him and we have got a few tests done, we are awaiting reports. Please pray for him that he feels better and we can take him home quickly."
The Twitter handle, which is mostly operated by Kumar's family friend Faisal Farooqui, assured the star's well-wishers that they will be regularly updated through the platform, so nobody should believe WhatsApp forwards. Earlier, Farooqui requested the media to verify their facts from the official account before publishing anything. "Please verify from this Twitter handle instead of calling anybody who may not have direct knowledge."
