Officials and victims say that several victims of suspected botched cataract surgery performed at a private eye hospital in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, now refuse to refer them to the state-run Indira Gandhi Medical Science Research in Patna (IGIMS) to resolve postoperative complications.

“Many patients are unwilling for some reason. Let’s see how many of them show up,” said a government doctor in Motihari, referring to at least 21 patients from the West and East Champaran regions on Monday. Affected plans to send patients to a government hospital in Patna for further treatment. Dr. Anjani Kumar, a civil surgeon in East Champaran, said that despite being referred to Patna Hospital, 13 of the 15 such patients in his area were Has returned to their respective villages. The civilian surgeon in the area, Birendra Kumar Choudhary, said that the remaining six such patients were from Western Champlain.

Between November 22 and 27, nearly 328 patients underwent cataract surgery at Muzaffarpur Eye Hospital. Some of these operations were reported to have failed, causing many patients to lose an eye due to severe infections. The Brahmpura Police Department in Muzaffarpur filed an FIR with 14 people including secretaries, managers and hospital doctors on Thursday, but stated that he would not go to IGIMS anyway.

“I would prefer to go to Parvanipur (an eye hospital in Nepal). If I go there (IGIMS), they will remove my eyes,” Ram told HT on the phone.

Ram is not the only one suffering from mistrust and fear. His three co-villagers, Dhurva Choudhary, Algu Sah and Laxmina, also underwent cataract surgery at Muzaffapur Eye Hospital in November this year, and they were unwilling to be referred to IGIMS. Laxmina underwent the operation on November 23. He said that the visibility in her eyes after the operation had shrunk sharply after the operation. “My eyes were better before the operation. Everything is blurred now,” she said, adding that she would not go to IGIMS. “No, we are not going anywhere. We will manage our treatment at our own expense,” Laxmina said.

Dr. Rajeev Kumar Singh, director of the ophthalmology department, said that at the same time, at the Shri Krishna School of Medicine and Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur, 12 victims who had to remove one of their eyes were recovering well. “They all responded well and may be discharged from the hospital within a day or two.”

News Source : Hindustan Times