Pune: A private hospital here has, in a first for the city, performed a microinvasive eye surgery on a 59-year-old woman diagnosed with glaucoma, allowing for rapid rehabilitation of the patient. Due to micro-incision, the wounds from the surgery could heal much faster, and the woman could resume routine work the very next day — this is compared to the 15-20 days of healing usually required after a conventional glaucoma trabeculectomy procedure. The surgery was performed at the Deshpande Eye Hospital and Laser Centre in June this year.
The patient is a schoolteacher, who had been suffering from glaucoma for the past seven years. The patient, requesting anonymity, said, "Due to blurry vision and low eyesight, I was recommended five different eye drops to be taken thrice every day just to maintain regular vision. It was difficult for me to maintain this routine daily, given that I am a working woman.
However, I was scared that if I did not maintain this schedule, I might lose my eyesight forever." The US-based National Eye Institute defines glaucoma as a group of eye diseases that can cause vision loss and blindness by damaging a nerve in the back of your eye, called the optic nerve. Although there is no cure for glaucoma, early treatment can often stop the damage and protect your vision.
The World Health Organization (WHO) lists glaucoma as the leading cause of vision impairment and blindness, which is more common in high-income countries. It is estimated that about 7.7 mill.