Sources said that Arun Jaitley had complained of respiratory distress about a month ago, following which physicians asked for an X-ray of his lungs which yielded “no abnormalities”.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is suffering from kidney problems and is likely to undergo surgery soon, with a kidney transplant on the cards, sources have said. The sources added that AIIMS, New Delhi, has been put on standby, and doctors are making preparations for his admission.
Jaitley tweeted on Thursday, “I am being treated for kidney related problems & certain infections that I have contracted. I am therefore currently working from controlled environment at home. The future course of my treatment would be determined by the doctors treating me”.
Sources said that Jaitley had complained of respiratory distress about a month ago, following which physicians asked for an X-ray of his lungs which yielded “no abnormalities”. Following the X-ray, doctors ordered an MRI that indicated the build up of fluid in Jaitley’s lungs, an indication of kidney disease, the sources said.
The source said, “Initially, the X-ray didn’t pick up anything. After that, his doctor advised an MRI that showed fluid build-up in his lungs. Basically, if the kidney isn’t working properly, it could lead to fluid build-up in the body that would result in fluid build-up in lungs.” The source added that since Jaitley has had a heart surgery, dialysis was ruled out and transplant recommended. AIIMS refused to comment officially.
Jaitley suffers from chronic diabetes and underwent bariatric surgery for weight loss in September 2014. Although the surgery was a success, there were complications after he was discharged. He was hospitalised later for a “respiratory infection”.