BENGALURU: Cases streamed into Bengaluru's eye hospitals of children who had injured themselves in yesterday's Diwali activities, some some benignly, some grievously.
The saddest case was of ten-year-old Akash P, who is likely to be blinded in his left eye after a cracker hurt his eye Sunday evening. He was brought to Narayana Nethralaya in Bommasandra and underwent surgery Monday afternoon. Doctors confirmed that there was only a one per cent chance he would regain full vision in the eye.
The boy is the son of a granite quarry worker, Puttaraju D. They live in Yaduvanahalli in Anekal taluk.
Dr Narendra P, the CEO of Narayana Nethralaya, said, "Initially we decided to remove the injured eye because there was no hope but then we decided to give it a shot. He is likely to lose his vision."
Dr Himanshu Matalia who operated upon Akash said Akash was only watching as his brother was bursting a cracker placed on a stone. The force of the blast flung the stone into Akash's face.
Dr Bhujang Shetty, the chairman of Narayana Nethralaya said 38 patients were brought in with Diwali eye injuries, 26 of them children below 15 years. Apart from Akash, two others needed surgery.
At Dr Agarwal's Eye Hospital, Dr Amod Nayak said they received the case of a 14-year-old at the Padmanabhanagar branch with 47 per cent facial burns. Though his eyes were okay with minor injury to his eyelids, his face suffered burns.
At Sankara Eye Hospital, another unfortnuate Diwali bystander ten-year-old Mohamed Tameez was wheeled in with a corneal tear. Luckily, surgery can salvage the boy's vision. Dr Pallavi Joshi, a consultant for Cornea & Refractive Services, said the cornea was badly damaged with multiple abrasions. "For now, we have stitched it up. But if he develops traumatic cataract, we will have to do a second surgery," she said. Tameez is now able to see with his injured eye, albeit hazily.
Tameez's father Jahir Mussain said, "There should be designated sites for bursting crackers. People burst crackers anywhere, on the streets, in apartment complexes, anywhere. Who will compensate for the child's trauma? This should not happen to any child, anywhere."