11 Patients Blind and 20 More Hospitalized After Free Cataract Surgery

Patients in India who signed up for a free cataract surgery clinic are facing the worst possible outcome: blindness.

Low-income patients signed up for free, or very inexpensive, cataract surgery to improve their vision.  Now an infection has affected 31 of them, with horrifying results.  At least five have already had the infected eye removed, 20 are hospitalized and a further 6 will never see again.

Initially, officials blamed the patients for not taking proper precautions to prevent infections after surgery, but are now promising an investigation to see if negligence was responsible, or possibly prescribed eye drops .

Preventing Infection After Surgery

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