Baby Falak critical, may undergo another brain surgery

New Delhi - Two-year-old abandoned and battered baby Falak, who continues to be critical, was put on the ventilator as she developed complications, a doctor said Monday, adding that she has developed respiratory problems and may have to undergo another brain surgery.

"Her condition is critical. She developed respiratory problems, so we put her back on the ventilator around 10.30 last (Sunday) night," Deepak Agrawal, assistant professor (neurosurgery) at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Trauma Centre, told IANS.

"She might require another surgery in the brain. But as her condition is critical, her chances of survival are slim. Already we have done a brain surgery and have conducted a tracheostomy and she is being fed through a pipe via the nose," Agrwal said.

Falak was taken off the ventilator Friday.

“We cannot predict how long Falak will have to remain on the ventilator. There is infection in her chest and pain is recurring and she has severe head injuries as well,” a doctor told reporters.

The doctors put Falak's chances of survival at “50-50".

The baby was admitted to AIIMS here Jan 18 with multiple injuries, including a fractured skull, human bite marks on her tiny frame and a clot on the right side of her brain.

She was brought to the hospital by a teenaged girl who claimed to be her mother.

Police have launched a massive hunt for the child's parents and have constituted several teams to locate them as also those who had handed over the baby to the teenaged girl, who is currently in a juvenile home.