Gujarat HC Seeks Report From Govt As 17 Patients Complain Of Vision Loss After Cataract Surgery

Seventeen people have complained of partial or complete loss of vision after undergoing cataract surgery at a hospital in Ahmedabad district.

Seventeen people have complained of partial or complete loss of vision after surgery.

New Delhi: Taking suo motu cognisance, Gujarat High Court sought report from state government on Wednesday after about 17 persons reportedly suffered loss of vision after undergoing cataract surgery.

As per news agency PTI report, bench of Justices AS Supehia and VK Vyas called the incident “glaring and deplorable”. The division bench issued notices to the secretary of state health and family welfare department and superintendent of police of Ahmedabad Rural, directing them to file a preliminary report by February 7. 

PTI quoted Justice Supehia of the division bench as saying, "We take suo motu cognisance of the news article published on January 17 since it raises an issue of grave concern which has a direct impact on the well-being of elderly patients who have suffered vision loss". “It is also essential to know whether a substandard drug was issued while undertaking the surgery or there was lack of facility or maintenance of medical protocols which are necessary to observe before undertaking any eye surgery,” he further added.

“The incident requires a thorough and sincere investigation for fixing the liability of the erring persons and also to pay suitable compensation to the victims who have ultimately lost their vision," the court observed.

Notably, 17 persons have complained of partial or complete loss of vision after undergoing cataract surgery at a trust-run hospital in Ahmedabad district, prompting authorities to order a probe. The Gujarat health and family welfare department has formed a nine-member expert committee to conduct an inquiry and also asked the eye hospital at Mandal village not to carry out any more cataract surgeries until further orders, reported PTI.

The matter came to light when five people who underwent surgery at Ramanand Eye Hospital in Mandal on January 10 were referred to the ophthalmology department at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital on Monday for treatment, the report said. 

"Twenty-nine persons had undergone cataract surgery at the Mandal hospital on January 10, and of these, 17 developed complications and complained of loss of vision. Five seriously affected patients were referred to Ahmedabad, while 12 were admitted to the same Ramanand Eye Hospital," PTI quoted Satish Makwana, Deputy Director (Health and Medical Services) for the Ahmedabad region as saying.

Medical experts were roped in at Ahmedabad and Mandal-based hospitals to treat the affected patients and conduct an inquiry, officials said.