The health of Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli has improved significantly and he has started to walk on Thursday. Doctors say he would be fed solid food in form of rice-lentil porridge from today.
"He has started to move. We will also gradually increase his food intake now," a doctor involved in his treatment told Setopati.
Oli was fed black tea and juice on Wednesday.
Oli suffered peritonitis and was kept on a ventilator following appendectomy on Tuesday.
He reached Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Center inside the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) premises Tuesday morning after abdominal pain. He was diagnosed of appendicitis and peritonitis and underwent laparotomy (incision on abdominal wall) and appendectomy (removal of appendix).
Peritonitis is an inflammation of the peritoneum, the tissue that lines the inner wall of the abdomen and covers and supports most of the abdominal organs and is usually caused by infection from bacteria or fungi.
Peritonitis, if untreated, can rapidly spread into the blood causing sepsis and to other organs resulting in multiple organ failure and death. The fact that PM Oli's immune system is compromised after the kidney transplant, doctors say, significantly increased the risk of sepsis and organ failure.
Doctors had started antibiotics since Tuesday to prevent spread of that infection. PM Oli had regained consciousness after surgery but had not been able to speak. He would move his eyes to communicate. He started to talk Wednesday morning and the ventilator was removed after improvement in his health.
Oli, whose transplanted kidney has stopped functioning, is on regular dialysis in recent times. He underwent fourth dialysis on Sunday.
He underwent the fifth dialysis at Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Center Wednesday evening.
He underwent plasmapheresis seven times in Singapore in August. Plasmapheresis is a term used to refer to a broad range of procedures through which blood components are filtered outside the body.
It was done on PM Oli, who had a kidney transplant 12 years ago, to remove antibodies for immunosuppression.
PM Oli is now said to be mulling another transplant as the transplanted kidney has stopped functioning.
