Cartoonist RK Laxman on Ventilator Support, but Stable: Doctors

Celebrated Indian cartoonist RK Laxman has been kept on ventilator support after his health deteriorated on Sunday evening. The doctors said he is critical but in stable condition.

Laxman, 94, was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune after he suffered a urinary tract infection and multiple organ failure on Saturday. He underwent dialysis before being shifted to the ICU.

"He had severe urinary tract infection following which he developed kidney failure, sepsis and then multi-organ failure," The Times of India quoted the hospital's medical director and surgeon Dhananjay Kelkar as saying.

"He was given medication to improve his blood pressure. Renal replacement therapy (a modified version of dialysis) was started along with standard ICU care," Kelkar added.

The doctors at the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital said Laxman is stable as he is responding to the treatments but he is yet to gain consciousness.

"His medical condition is presently critical but he is holding on to vital parameters like pulse, blood pressure, oxygen, carbon dioxide, electrolytes and glucose concentration in his blood. However, he is not in a conscious state," Kelkar said.

Laxman already had several health issues before and had also suffered a stroke in 2010. "He has other underlying medical conditions like diabetes and hypertension," Kelkar said.

Despite his poor health condition, Laxman had continued sketching for his five-decades old prominent work "You Said It" for the The Times of India until recently when his condition started to deteriorate.

India's eminent cartoonist, illustrator and humorist, Laxman, is known for his iconic creation of the character The Common Man and for his satirical works targeting politicians.

Among his several noted creations, includes the sketches for the television adaptation Malgudi Days, written by his elder brother RK Narayan.