Delhi gang-rape victim battles on, undergoes fifth surgery

The 23-year-old paramedical student, who was gang-raped and tortured in a moving bus on Sunday night, on Wednesday underwent fifth surgery and "continues to be critical but stable", doctors attending on her said.

Doctors at the Safdarjung hospital where she is undergoing treatment performed an elective abdominal surgery -- gastronomy and duodenustromy -- and surgeons had to remove her gangrenous small intestine. They said she has lost most of her intestine.

"This was a planned surgery and at this juncture she is responding to treatment fairly well, she is stable but she continues to be critical," Dr B D Athani, Medical Superintendent of the hospital, said.

The girl, who remains on ventilatory support, was taken to operation theatre at 10 am and was shifted to ICU at around 1 pm after surgery. Doctors said she had withstood the operation fairly well.

"She is fairly stable at this juncture and we have to wait and watch. We would observe for the stability for next few hours," she said.

"Before going for surgery, she was quite alert and spoke to her mother and brother as at that time there was no tube so she utilised that opportunity but her father didn't go inside," doctors said.

Athani said that on Tuesday also her level of alertness was good but today since she is recovering from anaesthesia, she is "not communicating nor are we are trying to communicate".

"Her abdomen has been cleaned and it has been closed. Because most of the intestine, almost all portion, I would say, because of the initial loss and subsequent gangrene is not existent," he said.

Doctors said that Duodenum, which is the first part of the intestine, has been brought out of the stomach and a tube has been put into drain out whatever secretions are there.

She is being fed intravenously. She is getting feeding as well as antibiotics and all her essential drugs through intravenous route.