A 69-year-old man from Kalyan VDC in Surkhet, who lost vision of his left eye following a cataract surgery, have accused Surkhet Eye Hospital of negligence. 

Tul Bahadur Gaha went blind in his left eye a couple of days after the operation. He said when he started to suffer from headache and dizziness after the surgery, he revisited the hospital only to find out that his eye had damaged permanently.

A team led by Dr Pradip Bastola had performed the procedure to remove the cataract from Gaha’s eye during an open eye camp at the hospital.  

He is among the eight cataract patinets of the hospital to lose their vision after undergoing the surgery.

Hospital Manager Ghan Bahadur Thapa dismissed the claim of negligence and said the blindness was caused by post-surgery infection. 

He said there is a high chance of infection during the 72 hours period after surgery if one does not keep their eyes protected.