Aishwarya Rai's manager Archana Sadanand to remain hospitalised

Archana Sadanand with friends at the Diwali party at Jalsa

Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's long-time publicist Archana Sadanand may need to stay in Nanavati hospital for a few weeks as doctors treating her decide on further wound management depending on how she responds to the treatment in coming days. Highly placed sources within the hospital informed mid-day that Archana is showing signs of improvement. She is being made to walk inside her hospital room. She sustained burn injuries to the back of her right leg. The wound has been dressed to prevent any infection. She has also sustained minor burns to her wrist.

mid-day had reported about how actor Shah Rukh Khan came to Sadanand's rescue when her lehenga caught fire when it came in contact with a diya at Amitabh Bachchan's Diwali bash at his Juhu residence in the wee hours of Monday. It is also learnt that Sadanand does not have any other health issues and is responding well to the treatment. "In the coming days, the decision for any surgical intervention or skin grafting would be taken on the basis of 'eschar' around the wound. The burnt scar would be removed as per the treatment protocol, which is to be decided by the treating doctor," said the source.

The hospital and treating doctors are taking the utmost precaution by keeping her isolated on the second floor ICU of the main building. This is being done to keep infections at bay. The treating doctors are using disposable gowns and caps while entering Sadanand's isolated room. Also, private nursing staff has been deployed outside the ICU to ensure that no one other than the treating doctor enters the room.

Dr Ketan Vagholkar, Professor of Surgery at Dr D Y Patil Medical College, who has handled many burn cases, opines that a 15 per cent burn surface (on the extremities) area is fully salvageable with an excellent outcome. But depending on how deep the burn wound is, the healing will take its own course. It usually takes four to six weeks for a patient to completely recover and get discharged.

Dr Vagholkar further added, "In burn patients, the percentage of the burn surface area is a very crucial factor in determining the outcome. Larger the area of the burn, more the chance of infection. Initial intravenous fluid therapy on admission is an important factor, which prevents the development and spread of infection within the first 24 hours. The second factor is to make sure that such patients are isolated to prevent cross-infection and third is antibiotic therapy and wound care. Some patients may show rapid recovery, while there are cases where some patients take time to heal."

Usually, in case of burns, our body's natural healing mechanism called 'eschar' is formed. If fluid therapy and wound care are adequate, then the eschar will automatically fall off after the underlying area is healed. In cases of infection, this eschar may prematurely get loose and fall off giving rise to wound complication, which may lead to bad scaring in the future.

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