Sixteen individuals who underwent cataract surgeries at a state-run hospital in Garden Reach have reportedly experienced vision loss in the operated eye.
Doctors at Garden Reach State General Hospital and Metiabruz Super Speciality Hospital, where the surgeries were performed, contacted the patients earlier this week, instructing them to return to the hospital.
Upon their return, the patients were referred to the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology (RIO) at the Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, due to suspected infections in their eyes, according to relatives of four patients now admitted at the Medical College and Hospital.
“My mother had surgery on her left eye last Wednesday (June 26) and was discharged the following day. She has since complained of vision loss and continuous fluid leakage from the eye,” stated Mukul Adhikary, whose 62-year-old mother Malati is currently receiving treatment at the Medical College.
“When we visited the hospital for a check-up on Monday, the doctors prescribed eye drops and ointment. On Tuesday, we received a call from the hospital requesting us to come in,” Adhikary explained. “Upon arrival, the doctors informed us of an infection in my mother’s eye and referred her to the Medical College.”
Rizwana Parveen, 50, also reported vision loss after her cataract surgery on her right eye at the Garden Reach hospital on Friday. “We took her to the emergency department at SSKM Hospital on Sunday, where doctors advised us to first visit the Garden Reach hospital and return to SSKM if necessary,” said her daughter, Saba Afreen.
Before they could visit Garden Reach hospital on Monday morning, the family received a call from the hospital. “They asked us to bring my mother in. At the hospital, they confirmed an infection in her eye and referred her to the Medical College,” Saba added.
Both Malati and Rizwana underwent additional procedures upon arrival at the Medical College.
Narayan Swaroop Nigam, Bengal’s health secretary, confirmed that 16 individuals have experienced similar issues. “Sixteen people are currently admitted at RIO and receiving conservative treatment,” he stated.
Siddhartha Niyogi, the state’s director of health services, mentioned that samples of the materials used during the surgeries have been sent to a laboratory for contamination testing. “We expect the results in a week,” Niyogi noted.
It remains unclear whether any investigation has been initiated against the doctors at the Garden Reach hospital or if any actions have been taken against them.
An ophthalmologist from a private hospital, speaking anonymously, suggested that a fluid called “BSS” and a “visco-elastic device” used during cataract surgeries might have been contaminated, causing the eye infections. “Post-surgical infections could be a possible explanation for the issues,” the ophthalmologist said.
