Kolkata, Nov 11 (PTI) Tracheostomy was successfully performed on legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee on Wednesday at the private city hospital where he is admitted and doctors treating him are planning to conduct plasmapheresis to improve his overall condition, a senior official of the hospital said.

The doctors are also mulling to put the 85-year-old thespian off ventilation after the successful tracheostomy.

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Tracheostomy is an opening surgically created through the neck into the windpipe to allow direct access to the breathing tube.

The doctors treating Chatterjee said plasmapheresis has been planned for him on Thursday.

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"Our next step will be plasmapheresis which we have planned for tomorrow. That might hopefully bring back his consciousness towards normalcy, a doctor treating him said.

Plasmapheresis is a process in which the liquid part of the blood, or plasma, is separated from the blood cells and replaced with another solution such as saline or albumin, or treated and returned to the body to treat autoimmune disorders.

He said that Chatterjee has no fever or hypertension. "But he is very weak due to the prolonged stay in the hospital.

The legendary actor, who debuted in Satyajit Ray's masterpiece 'Apur Sansar', has been under treatment since the first week of October after testing positive for COVID-19.

He later tested negative for the infection but COVID- 19 encephalopathy set in and various other complications surfaced.

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