MUMBAI, Jan 17 — Surgeons have removed a tip of a knife near the mid-spine region of 54-year-old Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan following the attack by an intruder at the actor’s Bandra home early yesterday
Neurosurgeon Dr Nitin Dange, who operated on Khan was reported by Times of India saying that if the knife tip had lodged a millimetre or so deeper, the wound would have been, “a major problem.”
According to the doctors, it could have caused a saline fluid leak, endangering the actor’s life.
“Khan is stable, in recovery mode, and out of danger.”
The surgical team also stopped leakage of spinal fluid from the wound.
Khan, along with his eight-year-old son, Taimur Ali, and a domestic helper, were sent to Lilavati Hospital, Bandra Reclamation where doctors revealed that the 2.5-inch knife lodged in his spine had narrowly missed causing life-threatening damage.
The Lilavati team operated on Khan for over five hours for three deep wounds including on the wrist and neck wounds.
Khan was wheeled out of the operation theatre and into the ICU before 11am and is likely to be there for at least another day, sources revealed.
Hospital trustee Prashant Mehta said, “Khan is recovering well, we assure the best medical services to the family by the Lilavati Hospital team.”Doctors said Khan could be discharged from hospital within the next couple of days
Khan has yet to regain consciousness post-surgery, according to India Today.
Medical staff at the Mumbai hospital are closely monitoring his condition and only close friends and immediate family members are allowed to visit him at this point.
In the incident at Saif Ali Khan’s Mumbai apartment — spread over four floors — in a twelve-storey building in Bandra West, a man armed with a stick and a knife broke in and made his way into the room of his four-year-old son Jehangir Ali where his nanny, Eliyama Philip, noticed the intruder around 2am.
The main who signalled to her to keep quiet, then demanded Rs1 crore (RM520,202) before attempting to stab her with a blade, injuring her hand as she tried to defend herself.
A second member of staff then, known as Junu, then alerted Saif and his wife, actress Kareena Kapoor Khan after witnessing the intruder’s struggle with Philip — leading the actor to confront the intruder, which then broke out into a physical scuffle between the two.
The attacker reportedly assaulted Saif with a wooden object and a hexa blade, inflicting multiple injuries, including wounds on his neck, shoulder, back, wrist, and elbow.
While the struggle continued, the family managed to flee to an upstairs room for safety. They later found out the intruder had fled after the attack.
Kareena then called Saif’s 23-year-old son, Ibrahim Ali from the actor’s previous marriage to Amrita Singh, who rushed over.
With no staff driver around to ferry Saif to the hospital, Ibrahim had to find an auto rickshaw to bring the actor to the hospital.
Mumbai Police meanwhile have launched a massive operation to locate the accused, deploying 20 dedicated teams as messages of support pour in for the Khan and his family from the Bollywood fraternity and politicians.
The attack on Saif Ali Khan comes nine months after two men on a motorcycle, allegedly belonging to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, fired four outside Salman Khan’s residence in Bandra before fleeing.
