16 lose vision after eye surgery

In what appears to be yet another botched free eye surgery, 16 patients, including 12 women, aged above 45 years, who underwent free cataract surgery at the government hospital at Mettur in Salem district have lost their vision.

“The affected patients have been admitted to private hospitals for treatment. In Tamil Nadu, six lakh free eye surgeries are being performed every year. We do not know how this problem arose. It is really shocking. We are looking into whether the medicine administered to the patients were wrong or if there was an issue with the operation theatre,” state health secretary J. Radhakrishnan told this newspaper.

Samples of the medicines given to the 16 patients have been sent to the lab in Chennai for examination. “The doctors who performed the surgery at the Mettur government hospital are being questioned,” joint director of health service M.R. Inbasekaran told this newspaper.

Every month, at least 25,000 free surgeries are performed in various government hospitals in Salem district under the National Blindness Control Programme.

As many as 23 patients underwent free cataract surgeries at the Mettur government hospital by a team of ophthalmologists led by Dr Subha from June 14 to 16. Surgeries were performed on seven patients on June 14, eight persons on June 15 and another eight patients on June 16. The patients were sent home after the surgery. After they took the eyedrops given by the hospital, 16 patients were unable to see. They rushed to the Mettur government hospital from where all the 16 were sent to a private hospital. The doctors there said that the vision of eight was severely affected while eight have suffered minor loss of vision.

All the patients are poor workers above 45 years of age. Eight patients from Mettur government hospital are being treated at Aravind Eye Hospital in Coimbatore. Doctors say that all these patients are aged between 55 and 70 years and they had developed infection in the operated eye. They reported to the government hospital three days after the surgery.

“They all reached here last week on Saturday and Sunday. Right now, we cannot say whether they are going to lose their vision permanently or going to get cured totally. They are responding to the treatment we are giving, but we cannot come to any conclusion now. It will take another a week or two say anything,” Dr V. Narendran, chief medical officer at Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore, told this newspaper.