A hospital in this north Bihar district is in the eye of a storm over alleged botched-up cataract surgeries at a free camp held by it recently which has resulted in complete loss of vision in the operated eye of at least 15 patients.
According to Muzaffarpur civil surgeon Vinay Kumar Sharma, a three-member team has been set up to look into the matter involving Muzaffarpur Eye Hospital, a well-established medical center located in the town.
"I have asked the management of the hospital to provide me with a complete list of the patients who underwent surgery at the camp", he said, adding that so far eyes of at least 15 patients were lost after they developed post-surgical complications.
A member of the hospital's managing committee told PTI on condition of anonymity that altogether 65 people were operated on at the eye camp held on November 22. "Of them, some complained of symptoms. Four people's eyes were lost because of infection and as a measure to save the other eye".
He claimed that the cataract surgery was performed by a competent surgeon but was tight-lipped when asked about hygiene at the camp and the number of operations that each doctor performed on that day.
Unconfirmed reports put the number of operations at about 250 and the affected patients are poor villagers from within the district as well as adjoining ones.
Controversial former MP Pappu Yadav visited the hospital and demanded a CBI inquiry into the whole episode, besides Rs two lakh compensation to each patient who has lost their vision.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)