Maran still critical, back in Chennai

Immediately thereafter, Maran was rushed to the Intensive Coronary Care Unit at the Apollo Hospitals, where his condition continued to be ‘‘critical’’. While the hospital authorities refused to issue any official statement on his health, one of the doctors attending on him said: ‘‘He is on ventilator support and requires kidney and liver dialysis. He is conscious but not coherent. He is emaciated.’’

DMK chief Karunanidhi, who visited the hospital this morning, told reporters that the condition of his nephew was ‘‘satisfactory.’’ Asked why Maran had not been taken to the Sri Ramachandra Medical College Hospital as he had announced earlier, Karunanidhi said the hospital lacked certain facilities and therefore Apollo was chosen.

When reminded of his own allegation earlier that Maran had not received ‘‘proper treatment’’ in Apollo last year, Karunanidhi said he was satisfied with the explanations offered by the hospital authorities in a letter they wrote to the Prime Minister on the matter.

Earlier in April 2002, Maran underwent a Mitral valve replacement at AIIMS, New Delhi, and was subsequently shifted to Apollo Hospitals, Chennai with a complaint of high fever on September 23, 2002. Doctors said the valve had a fungal infection and a team of cardio-thoracic surgeons performed a nine-hour surgery to replace it.

After consulting several international experts, doctors at the hospital also put Maran on low toxic fungal drug. However, his condition deteriorated due to the severity of the infection. Despite ventilatory support for lungs and continuous hemo-filtration for kidney and liver dialysis with MAARS machine, he suffered multi-system organ failure, secondary to the infection.

His family then decided to shift him to the Methodist Hospital in Houston, which specialises in infectious diseases. He was taken to Houston in an air-ambulance along with a team of doctors.