India cataracts scandal: Arrest over 'botched' surgery

  • 6 December 2014

A man sits on a bed while waiting for treatment at a hospital after undergoing cataract removals from a free eye surgery camp, in the northern Indian city of Amritsar December 5Image copyrightREUTERS
Image captionDoctors have not established the cause of the eye infections

A charity owner who organised cataract surgery in India has been arrested after 10 of his patients were left at risk of partial sight loss.
Officials suggested the patients had contracted infections at the charity's medical camp in Amritsar, Punjab state.
Manjit Joshi, who set up the camp, was detained by police.
India's medical infrastructure is under intense scrutiny after 15 women died following sterilisation surgery in the central Indian state of Chhatisgarh.
Tens of thousands of older people are operated on for cataracts in charity-run camps and government hospitals every year.
The operations are generally considered to be low risk and easy to perform.
The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Amritsar says all of the cataract patients who claim to have lost their sight were poor villagers attracted by the offer of free treatment.

Close-up of the eye showing a cataract, an opacity in the lens of the eye that results in blurred visionImage copyrightSCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Analysis: Philippa Roxby, health reporter, BBC News

Cataracts are the main cause of impaired vision worldwide. They are cloudy patches that develop in the lens of the eye and can cause blurred or misty vision, which can become worse over time. Cataracts are very common, especially in older people.
Surgery to remove cataracts is a relative straightforward procedure, which is usually carried out under local anaesthetic. During the operation, the surgeon makes a tiny cut in the eye so the affected lens can be removed. The surgeon then inserts a small plastic lens in its place.
The risk of serious complications as a result of cataract surgery is small. The most common complication is vision becoming cloudy again. This can happen when a skin or membrane grows over the back of the lens implant months or years later.
Other complications are much rarer. There is a very small risk of permanent sight loss in the treated eye from the operation.
Mr Joshi organised the cataract surgery in the Gurdaspur district of Amritsar on 4 November.
Before his arrest, he told the BBC that 49 people had been treated and all had received proper care.
However, some 20 patients later said they had not been able to see since removing their bandages.
Our correspondent says 10 of those patients are in danger of losing sight in one eye, and one patient who had already lost sight in one eye was in danger of going blind.
Earlier reports had indicated that a doctor who carried out the surgery had also been arrested.

Indian patients Gurbachan Singh, (L), Sampuran Kaur (C) and Pooro Kaur, who lost their eyesight after undergoing surgery at an eye camp, show their damaged eyes at a government hospital in Amritsar on December 5Image copyrightAFP
Image captionIt is not yet known whether the patients have permanently lost their sight
An Indian doctor checks the eye of patient Shinder Kaur, (R), who lost her eyesight after undergoing surgery at an eye camp, at a government hospital in Amritsar on December 5Image copyrightAFP
Image captionThe patients are now being treated by doctors in an Amritsar hospital

The cause of the problem was not clear, with officials suggesting the patients had contracted infections either as a result of a lack of proper equipment, or because the equipment was not sterilised.
Dr Rajiv Bhalla, Amritsar's chief medical officer, said the charity did not have proper permission to set up the camp.
It is not the first time cataract surgery has hit the headlines in India.
Between 2008 and 2009, 14 patients lost their sight after contracting infections in northern Uttar Pradesh state.
And in August 2008, eight patients lost their eyesight and 21 became partially blind after free eye surgery in Tamil Nadu.

Hope for 20 Indian men and women blinded after 'botched' cataract surgery at camp
Doctors believe they may be able to restore some patients' sight

Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden
Saturday 6 December 2014 17:43 

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The Independent
An elderly Indian patient who went blind following cataract surgery receives treatment at a hospital in Amritsar, India
An elderly Indian patient who went blind following cataract surgery receives treatment at a hospital in Amritsar, India ( AP )
People who were blinded by botched cataract surgery in India have new hope of getting their sight back with specialist treatment.

At least 20 people lost their sight after undergoing free operations in the northern state of Punjab and local estimates put the number as high as 60.

The organiser of the “eye camp” in Amritsar, where more than 150 people were reportedly treated, has been arrested and one of the doctors who performed surgery is being questioned while patients are traced.

Specialist doctors believe they can restore normal eyesight for “at least six” of the victims, Ravi Bhagat, a Punjabi official, told AFP, adding that the doctor being questioned carried out 30 procedures in a day.

The operations were performed on 4 November on dozens of patients over 50 years old from Amritsar and nearby Gurdaspur, an official said.

But last week patients started reporting they had lost their eyesight or were suffering infections, some of which caused blindness.

Authorities ordered an investigation after at least 20 poor and elderly people went blind after visiting the charity-run camps.

One in Mathura was reportedly set up without permission from authorities and is being treated as “illegal”.

Health camps are established for a variety of health conditions across India and many poor members of society and those without health insurance resort to using them for treatment.

Cataract-camp-3.jpg
Indian patients who lost their eyesight after undergoing free cataract surgery at a government hospital in Amritsar
The eye initiative, which was partly funded by London-based charities as well as supporters worldwide, aims to prevent blindness by offering cataract operations to people who otherwise could not afford the surgery.

It is the latest scandal involving medical treatment in India - last month, 15 women died after undergoing simple sterilisation surgery as part of a government-run population control programme in the state of Chhattisgarh.

An independent investigation into their deaths found that a doctor at the medical camp reportedly used the same needles for every patient and some died of blood infections. A probe by the local government suggested that tainted drugs were responsible.

Indiahopsital.jpg
A nurse tends to a woman who underwent a surgery at a government mass sterilisation "camp"
Cataract removal is considered a simple procedure and usually carried out under local anaesthetic, replacing the clouded over eye lens with a clear artificial one, but complications can occur. It is the most common operation performed in the UK, with more than 300,000 procedures a year.

Between 2008 and 2009, 14 patients lost their sight after contracting infections in Uttar Pradesh state, the BBC reported, and in August 2008, eight patients lost their eyesight and 21 became partially blind after free eye surgery in Tamil Nadu.