Knife removed from Saif Ali Khan’s spine, he’s out of danger: Doctors

Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan on Thursday, 16 January, underwent a surgery at a hospital in Mumbai to remove a knife from his spine after he was repeatedly stabbed by an intruder at his Bandra home, and is now "out of danger", doctors said.

Khan, 54, was on the path of recovery following the emergency surgery, said doctors at the Lilavati Hospital where he was rushed following the incident that took place around 2.30 am at his house in 'Satguru Sharan' building.

Speaking to reporters, Lilavati Hospital's chief operating officer Dr Niraj Uttamani said, "We removed a 2.5-inch piece of knife from the spine."

Asked about the actor's injuries, he said there were two severe, two intermediate injuries and two abrasions.

"We wish to inform you that fortunately Saif Ali Khan's surgery has been done very well. He is on the recovery path. He has been shifted to the ICU. Maybe in a day or two he will be shifted to the ward," Dr Uttamani told reporters.

The injuries were deep, however, doctors at the hospital managed to do the surgery well, he said, adding that a neurosurgery and a plastic surgery have been performed.

"Khan is looking fine and is on 100 per cent recovery path as per our initial understanding," Dr Uttamani said.

Dr Nitin Dange, neurosurgeon at the Lilavati Hospital, said Khan had sustained a major injury to his "thoracic spine."

"He sustained a major injury to his thoracic spine due to a knife lodged in his spine. Surgery was performed to remove the knife and also to repair the leaking spinal fluid. There were two other deep wounds on his left hand and right side of the neck which were repaired by the plastic surgery team," he said.

"Khan is completely stable now. He is in recovery mode and is completely out of danger. We will shift him out of the ICU tomorrow morning and maybe plan a discharge in a day or two," he added.

Meanwhile, CCTV visuals of the unidentified intruder who repeatedly stabbed actor Saif Ali Khan have been traced and 10 teams have been formed to investigate the offence, police said.

As per the preliminary probe, the intruder did not force his entry or break into the actor's 12th floor flat in Satguru Sharan building, but possibly sneaked in at some point earlier in the night, a police official said.

After the incident that took place around 2.30 am, the attacker took the staircase to escape. His CCTV visuals were traced on the sixth floor, police sources said.

Khan's house-help, who raised initial alarm, suffered a minor knife injury during the scuffle. She later visited the police station to lodge a complaint for alleged attempted murder and trespassing. Police, however, did not confirm the sections under which the First Information Report was registered.

The actor's representatives, in a media statement, said it was a "burglary attempt."