CPI-M leader Surjeet discharged from hospital

Veteran Marxist leader Harkrishan Singh Surjeet was discharged from a Noida hospital on Tuesday, nearly a month after being admitted there following a cardio-respiratory attack. Admitted to the Metro Heart Institute on May 6, the 93-year-old Surjeet had continued to remain critical for some time and also slipped into coma on May 16. He recovered slowly, coming out of coma on May 19 and was finally taken off the ventilator on May 21.

"Surjeet suffered from multiple organ failure. He had convulsions, pneumonia and fluid in the lungs, liver and kidney dysfunction and myocardial infarction. Along with this, he developed a picture of septicaemia," said Purushottam Lal, chief cardiologist, Metro Heart Institute, who was monitoring his condition. "Looking at his condition, we felt he was now fit to be discharged. He is no longer being fed from a pipe and he is also not dependent on the ventilator," Lal said. Surjeet is currently bed-ridden and has to be on liquid diet. 

Lal said the veteran Communist Party of India-Marxist leader had undergone surgery for kidney cancer three years ago. "Generally, the recovery of such patients is rare. But with intensive care, we have such patients coming out of critical state," the cardiologist said.

Several leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani and CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat had visited Surjeet in hospital.