SALEM: Sixteen of the 23 patients who recently underwent cataract surgery at Government Mettur Hospital have allegedly contracted infection and fear vision loss.
Doctors were unable to explain the reason for the infection and the Joint Director (Medical) felt that poor personal hygiene could have been the spoiler. However, bewildered patients have sought government help to deal with the issue.
Every week, doctors at Mettur GH perform cataract surgery free-of-cost. Last week — June 14 to 16 — 23 people from Mettur and Kolathur underwent the procedure in one of their eyes. They were discharged on June 18. Within two days, 16 patients reported pain.
They were given eye drops. Soon, they developed vision problems and approached the hospital on June 20. Doctors found that they had an infection and referred them to private eye hospitals in Salem and Coimbatore.
On Friday, relatives of four patients gathered before the hospital. “The government should bear the expenses for treatment and also take action against the doctors,” they said. However, they did not lodge a police complaint.
Mary, now admitted to a private hospital in Salem, said her surgery was on June 15. “After three days, I was discharged. But I could not see properly. When I asked around, I found that other patients were also struggling,” she said.
District Joint Director (Medical) incharge Inbasekaran maintained that there was no fault in the hospital’s part. “There were no problems in the first three days, when the patients were in the hospital. We suspect unhygienic conditions caused infection,” he said.