Recently came to know about the story of my neighbor He is 59 years old, living a peaceful retired life with his wife here in Tirunelveli. He is an know diabetic with very tight control of blood sugar level with oral hypoglycemic drugs. He went to his daughter’s residence at Chennai for last year summer. His daughter is an Engineer at Infosys. She wanted to do something regarding her father’s defective vision. So, she took her to the top promoted ‘Naanga Irukom’ eye hospital at Chennai. Welcomed warm at the reception by ‘charming’ receptionist. He was examined and found to have ‘Senile Immature Cortical Cataract’ in both eyes with more defective vision in left eye.
Great ophthalmologists always suggest that, if the cataract is without any possible immediate complications and disabling to the patient, you don’t operate on it. But, ‘Naanga Irukom’ corporate girls have misguided that old man than his cataract will become very severe in few weeks itself and advised him to undergo Phacoemusification surgery at their hospital. Reason is that, Phaco surgery is the most costliest cataract procedure and can be done successfully in very early stages of cataract only. I don’t have much complaints about this suggestion because sometimes silent cataract can complicate as Phacomorphic glaucoma is some patients.
But, the problem is that they didn’t inform his retinal status and optic nerve status which is very important regarding the prognosis of vision post-surgically. He is having Age-related macular degeneration which is not going to improve by cataract surgery. Without informing this and getting ‘GVP’ (Guarded Visual Prognosis), Naanga Irukom Hospital operated on him with roll-able IOL. The total money spent on this single cataract surgery is 1.45 lakhs Indian rupee. (Normal SICS would have cost him anywhere near 10k Indian rupees only). Surgery was done and the vision as expected is not improved as expected.
When he agains consulted with the hospital, he was said that he was having problem in Retina and that could be relieved by Laser surgery. He underwent that. After that too, vision didn’t improved. Later, same hospital said that he need to under vitreous surgery for vitreous hemorrhage. He underwent that too… (Shabaaaaa….!) . Still vision is not so good. Then the hospital convinced him that he is not having a good control of diabetes and referred him to a diabetologist in Chennai. He returned with worse vision inspite of spending Rs. 2.5 lakhs Indian rupees totally.
I am not blaming the shortcomings of surgery in certain patients, the problem is that Eye Network fails to explain the possible complications with their patients, sorry ‘customers’, in order to steal their money.
I advised my old man to go with COPRA !