Chennai:
Eleven people lost their vision in one of their eyes after a free cataract surgery went horribly wrong in Andhra Pradesh's Nellore district. The operated eye had to be removed after these patients developed infection a few days after the surgery.
They are now being treated in a private hospital in Chennai. The free eye surgery camp was conducted by hospital at Bollineni, in Nellore district. The condition of a few other patients who left the hospital without informing is raising concerns.
The surgery was conducted a week ago. Doctors say the infection may have been due to contamination of drugs or the instruments used.
For the family of the patients, it's a nightmare. One such victim if Dhivya whose father paid Rs 12,000 and was operated along with those who got the service free of cost. But now he is paying a heavy price.
"Doctors say my father may lose the vision in the other eye too if the infected eye is not removed," Dhivya said.
Another victim, who had vision in one eye before the surgery, has now completely lost her vision.
"Only when we work we can feed our stomach. I don't know what we can do," she said.
The hospital that conducted the free surgeries says it has no idea what went wrong. They are now 'waiting for a report'.
Tamil Nadu had banned such free eye surgery camps after a similar tragedy last year. Doctors here are now concerned about the condition of a few patients who have left the hospital without informing them.