KASARGOD: A pickup van driver lost vision in his left eye after a needle pierced in an IV bag for airflow fell on his pupil at the Taluk Hospital in Bedadka. Binoy Pulingalayil D, 42, of Paduppu in Kuttikol panchayat, said doctors told him that there was no guarantee of him regaining his sight after surgery.
The incident happened on June 12, when he was admitted to the taluk hospital with dengue fever. As there was no IV or intravenous stand, the nurse hung the IV bag on the mosquito net pole, he said.That day, his platelet count was dropping, and was shivering because of fever.
“I was leaning back and looking up when my hand hit the mosquito pole and the needle fell on my eye,” Binoy told TNIE. The doctor immediately attended to him and gave him antibiotic eye drops to use every hour.
But the doctors also advised him to shift to the District Hospital because he needed platelet transfusions. “There was a mild irritation in the eye. I ignored it as the doctor said it will heal with the use of eye drops,” he said. By evening, he was shifted to the District Hospital. Though he got a bed in the ICU, by late evening he was told to vacate it as there were no beds available. Binoy’s wife Abina shifted him to the Kannur Government Medical College Hospital in Pariyaram the same night. After four days of treatment, he recovered and returned home on June 16. The next day, he went to the District Hospital to show his eye as his vision was blurring.
The doctor told him he had a cataract and would need surgery. He went to a private hospital for a second opinion and the doctors there also said the same and set June 23 as the date for surgery. However, his blood sugar level shot up on June 21 and the surgery was postponed to another date. On June 22, Binoy and Abina tested positive for Covid. By then, he lost vision in the left eye. “It was pitch dark,” he said. After recovering from Covid, Binoy visited the private hospital on Monday.
“The doctor said there was a lot of pus in the eye and the abrasion in the cornea was big,” Binoy said. They also said that the surgery did not guarantee that he would regain his eyesight. A doctor in District Hospital said there was a possibility of a traumatic cataract.
The doctor said the infection can leave a scar on the cornea, which can affect the vision. They also wondered if Binoy already had a cataract. But Binoy said he had his eye tested last month to renew his commercial driving licence and that his vision was perfect. “I will be filing complaints against doctors in Taluk Hospital. But I’m more concerned about my eyesight,” he said.