Five shifted to Jaipur's SMS Hospital from Kuchaman after eye infection post cataract surgery

Jaipur, July 30 (AHN) Even at a time when the postpartum crisis is yet to defuse, another alleged case of medical negligence in Rajasthan has once again raised serious concerns after five patients developed severe eye infections following cataract surgeries at the Government Hospital in Kuchaman City.

The patients were rushed to Jaipur's Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital after their condition deteriorated within a day of the procedures.

According to Dr Deepak Maheshwari, Principal of SMS Medical College, all five patients underwent cataract surgery on Tuesday. Within nearly 24 hours, they began showing signs of serious post-operative eye infections, with their eyes turning white due to the infection.

Doctors at the Kuchaman hospital referred the patients to SMS Hospital for specialised treatment as soon as the complications were detected. Treating the incident as a medical emergency, SMS Medical College constituted a high-level medical board overnight to supervise the treatment of the patients.

The board is now headed by Dr Nagendra Singh Shekhawat, Head of the Ophthalmology Department, and includes Dr Mahendra Agarwal, Head of the Medicine Department, along with senior ophthalmologists Dr Manish Sharma and Dr Pankaj Sharma.

Dr Shekhawat said that all patients are being treated according to standard medical protocols. He described their condition as serious but said every possible effort is being made to save both their eyesight and vision.

Patients include three women and two men. The patients have been identified as Ghasiram (65), Heeraram (73), Gokul (70), Meera Devi (68) and Narayani (67). All five underwent cataract surgery at the Government Hospital in Kuchaman City on Tuesday.

Shortly after the procedures, they developed severe eye infections, prompting doctors to refer them to SMS Hospital in Jaipur for advanced treatment.

The incident comes amid growing scrutiny of healthcare services in Rajasthan, where allegations of medical negligence have surfaced in recent weeks, raising fresh concerns about patient safety in government hospitals.