Seven Fear Loss of Vision After Botched Surgery in Rajkot

Seven patients are feared to have lost their vision after undergoing surgeries at a charitable hospital in Rajkot.

Five of the seven victims of the botched surgery. (Photo: ANI screengrab)

At least seven patients are feared to have lost vision in one of their eyes while four others developed serious complications after undergoing cataract surgeries at a charitable hospital in Rajkot last week.

Confirming the incident, District Health Officer Dr Rupali Mehta said,

<p>It has come to our notice that some people after undergoing cataract operation at the trust hospital are complaining of losing vision. The district health department has launched an investigation to find out the truth. </p>

Eleven out of 25 persons who underwent the operation have developed complications, an official from the Sadhu Vasvani Trust Hospital where the surgeries were conducted on December 21 said. He added that the loss of vision could be temporary.

Most of the patients are either middle aged or senior citizens and belong to the lower middle class.

While seven persons have complained of loss of vision in one eye, four others have developed complications like irritation and blurring vision.

Sadhu Vaswani Hospital in Rajkot where the surgeries were conducted. (Photo: ANI screengrab)

One of the victims, Bhiku Pathan (55) said he started experiencing irritation in his operated eye three-four days after the surgery. When he went to the hospital for a follow-up he learnt that he has lost vision in that eye.

When contacted, one of the trustees of the hospital, BB Gogiya said, “the seven who are complaining of loss of vision are being treated”.

<p> There are many reasons for the reaction – they may not have followed the doctor’s instructions on the eye drops to be used and other individual physical parameters. </p>

He said the hospital had sent the laser machine used for conducting the surgeries for testing at a laboratory.

Gogiya said Dr Hetal Bakhai who performed the surgeries was a qualified ophthalmologist and that it was the first such incident to have happened in the hospital.