Soon after the case of botched-up eye surgeries which left 16 people blind in Gurdaspur came to light, the doctor, Dr. Vivek Arora, who performed the surgeries has been arrested. A case against Sri Krishna Eye Hospital in Mathura where the doctor works has also been registered.
The patients from Amritsar had undergone a cataract surgery at the eye camp that was organised by an NGO last week. Soon after the unsuccessful operations, the victims were admitted to the ENT hospital in Gurdaspur on Wednesday.
An investigation has been ordered into the incident. Meanwhile, the Punjab government has banned holding any eye camp without an approval of the civil surgeon.
Around 60 people signed up for the eye camp in the Gurdaspur district on November 4. They were given eye drops and asked to report back on November 29 for cataract removal. On removing their bandage, over a dozen said they could not see properly.
The camp is believed to have taken place in “severely unhygienic conditions” with poorly sterilized equipment.
“Some 6-7 people have lost their sight permanently. It will take a week to know whether the sight of the others can be saved,” said Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat.
Ranjeet Kaur, whose mother Sapuran also had eye surgery, said surgeries were performed through the night and there was no post-operative care. “Patients complained of pain after operation, but doctors did not pay attention,” she said.
More people will come for check-up today and officials fear the number of those affected could rise.
“The organisers did not follow rules. They didn’t mention what medicines they would use and which doctors would perform the surgeries. We are investigating who the doctors were and whether faulty medicines were used,” said Mr. Bhagat.
