What really ails Bachchan? - The Times of India

What really ails Bachchan?
Wednesday, November 30, 2005 08:38:00 amTIMES NEWS NETWORK

MUMBAI: The suspense over superstar Amitabh Bachchan's illness continued on Day 2 as the first family of Bollywood made no announcement to fans and media.

A family friend told TOI that his condition was more serious than they had thought it was. "We thought it was just a stomach ache, but it seems more serious," said the friend without elaborating.

Even as the actor was put through a battery of tests at Bandra's Lilavati Hospital, there were rumours of Bachchan's "old problem'' resurfacing.

The doctors only admitted to keeping him back for a day more. Bachchan, 63, was admitted to Lilavati after being flown to Mumbai from New Delhi on Monday night.

The hospitalisation and images of a weakened Bachchan flashing across newspapers and TV screens revived memories of 1982 when the star ruptured his intestines after falling on a table while shooting Coolie.

On Tuesday evening, hospital vice president Dr Narendra Trivedi told reporters there was no need to worry. "He has colitis and needs to rest," he said.

Earlier in the day, he had said that Bachchan had been subjected to routine blood, urine and stool tests. A CT scan was also done.

Unofficial sources, however, mentioned that his family wanted him to rest and had insisted on an extra day in hospital. "They are worried he will leave for shooting if discharged," said doctors.

Unofficial verdict: Colitis with 'query of diversiculitis'

The lay person has been flummoxed with the official answer—colitis. After all, this is a term synonymous with stomach ache and weeping babies.

But in medical parlance, colitis relates specifically to an inflammation of the colon, the extreme portion of the stomach.

Even here, in medical terms, the stomach is only used to denote the part attached to the food pipe. The other parts of the stomach are referred to as the small intestine and the large intestine or colon.

The Big B's medical report on Tuesday evening read "colitis, with a query of diversiculitis".

It is this suspected condition of diverticulosis or diversiculitis that is the cause of some worry. This tongue-twister describes a condition in which the large intestine's walls are weakened and develop balloon-like pouches.

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