Doctors Invited by the Public Defender Asses Saakashvili’s Health
On April 4, the expert group invited by the public defender to monitor the health condition of imprisoned ex-president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, published a conclusion stating that Saakashvili’s condition had “deteriorated” since their last visit in February.
On April 2, doctors visited the former president at the “Vivamedi” clinic, where he has been receiving treatment since May of last year. However, since it was a non-working day, they were unable to interview the patient’s attending physician or check his medical records on the spot.
According to the doctors Saakashvili has severe sarcopenia, muscle loss, severe stage 4 cachexia and orthostatic hypotension. He also has peripheral and autonomic neuropathy, which causes a critical drop in blood pressure on standing. In addition, “a significant deterioration of mental functions and depression must be noted.”
Doctors report that Saakashvili has lost an additional 4 kg of weight, mostly due to significant muscle loss, making it difficult for him to move due to weakness. When he stands up, his blood pressure drops sharply from 120/90 to 78/40, causing a loss of balance and impaired coordination, the conclusion reads.
According to the doctors, the patient has entered the active catabolic phase, and his critical weight is between 52-53 kilograms. After this point, “irreversible changes in the body will begin.” The doctors also warned that if Saakashvli loses any more weight, he will be bedridden because the muscles in his lower limbs will be completely gone, and he will be unable to move due to weakness.
“At present, unsupervised movement of the patient is dangerous because due to the risk of falling and damage/fracture to the body is very high. In the latter case, the resources of the cachexic body to heal the wound or fracture are very low, leading to the cascading development of other critical complications with a high probability of a fatal outcome,” the doctors concluded.
Also Read:
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
