7,000 Patients Examined in Civil's Laser Eye Surgery Drive

AHMEDABAD: Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad conducted a state-wide doorstep laser surgery drive for diabetic retinopathy where doctors checked 7,000 patients and carried out 789 surgeries for retinopathy cases at 83 camps.

Gujarat has a large number of diabetics and many of them have developed a complication - diabetic retinopathy - and require Lasik Eye Surgery. For better treatment of diabetic retinopathy, Eye Hospital of Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, had started a doorstep laser surgery ambulance three years ago.

In these three years, centres have organized 83 camps in Central Gujarat, Saurashtra, Godhra and South Gujarat. The team of doctors checked around seven thousand patients for diabetic retinopathy and eight hundred surgeries were carried out at these camps. The team conducts the camps using an AC ambulance which carries retinopathy laser treatment machinery and a team of 8 doctors and staff. The team holds camps after tying up with local institutions or any social organization in the locality. The team also held lectures and presentations on retinopathy and prevention.

The doorstep laser treatment concept was implemented in the state and won the first prize at an international conference at Kolkata this year. The ambulance van was provided by the government and started service in 2010. Read More...