A Rewarding Experience for the Patient, Family, & Team

‘Healthy Ageing = Happy Ageing’, and LVPEI is committed to providing the best of eye care to elderly people. 90-year-old Mrs Yennu Rukma Bai could perceive light, but beyond that, she had no vision. Her daughters brought her to LVPEI’s secondary centre in Mudhole – Bhosle Gopal Rao Patil Eye Centre. She was diagnosed with a white cataract in her left eye, and her right eye showed signs of complicated ocular surface tumour and tear drainage duct infection.

The dilemma was whether to manage the tumour first (but that would not restore vision) or treat the cataract that could potentially restore eyesight for this elderly lady. The treatment plan had to be meticulously thought-through – as she had hypertension, diabetes mellitus and coronary artery for the last ten years. Based on clinical advice from the specialists at the Hyderabad campus and in consultation with the patient, her family, and the cardiologist, cataract surgery was planned.

The day of surgery arrived, and Rukma Bai was assigned the highest priority. The preoperative medication was given to her as prescribed by the physician at the Hyderabad campus. The entire team at the centre was on high vigil. Dr Arjun Desai doubled up as an anaesthetist and physician and monitored the vitals, while Dr Pratima Vishwakarma performed the cataract surgery. When the eye patch was removed two hours later, Rukma Bai could see everything clearly! Within one week, she regained 60% vision. With a beautiful smile on her face, she told us, ‘Now I can see very well! I can see that the object you are holding is blue and black in colour.’ Nothing could have been more rewarding for us. Her family and the entire team celebrated her recovery. The collective teamwork and seamless coordination between the secondary and tertiary centres made this possible.