Lebanese doctor races to save the eyes of those hurt by exploding tech devices
BEIRUT: For nearly a week, ophthalmologist Elias Jaradeh has tirelessly worked around the clock to manage the influx of patients whose eyes were injured when pagers and walkie-talkies exploded across Lebanon. He has lost count of the eye operations performed in various hospitals, surviving on just two hours of sleep before starting the next procedure. While he has managed to save some patients' sight, many others will never see again.
“There is no doubt that what happened was extremely tragic. The overwhelming number of patients with eye injuries arriving at the hospital most of them young men, but also children and young women has been heart-wrenching,” he told The Associated Press at a Beirut hospital last week, struggling to hold back tears.
Lebanese hospitals and medical staff were inundated after thousands of handheld devices belonging to the Hezbollah militant group detonated simultaneously, killing at least 39 people and injuring around 3,000, some suffering life-altering disabilities. Israel is widely believed to be behind the attack, though it has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.
While the explosions seem to have targeted Hezbollah fighters, many victims were civilians. Most of those injured sustained damage to their hands, faces, and eyes, as they were looking at the devices when they exploded. Authorities have not disclosed how many people lost their eyes.
Veteran Lebanese eye doctors, who have faced the aftermath of numerous wars and civil unrest, report never having seen anything like this before. Jaradeh, also a reformist lawmaker representing southern Lebanon, noted that most patients in his specialized ophthalmology hospital were young individuals with severe damage to one or both eyes, often containing plastic and metal shrapnel.
Four years prior, a devastating blast at Beirut’s port killed more than 200 people and wounded over 6,000, caused by the detonation of improperly stored ammonium nitrates. That explosion shattered windows and doors for miles, resulting in horrific injuries.
While Jaradeh treated victims of the port explosion, he found the experience with those injured by the recent detonations far more intense due to the sheer volume of eye injuries. “The shock from the Beirut port blast lasted about 48 hours; we haven't reached a point of containment now,” he said.
He also expressed the challenge of separating his role as a doctor from his emotions in the operating theater. “Despite what they teach in medical school about distancing yourself, it’s incredibly difficult in a situation like this when faced with such a high number of wounded. This is linked to a war on Lebanon and a war on humanity,” Jaradeh stated.