Latest news with #RetinopathyofPrematurity
Express Tribune
11-07-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
'Prevent blindness in premature babies'
Mayor Murtaza Wahab directed all hospitals under the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to implement Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and clinical guidelines related to Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), a preventable eye condition that can lead to lifelong blindness if not diagnosed and treated in time. The directive follows formal communication from the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) calling for preventive measures.
Hindustan Times
27-06-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
45-day-old baby's vision saved by doctors in Pune, Amravati
In an example of care and compassion, doctors and hospital staff from Amravati and Pune came together to save the eyesight of a 45-day-old baby girl from a remote tribal village in Temru village in Chikhaldara tehsil of Melghat. This was a more aggressive form of ROP. Usually, we have three to four days to operate, but in such cases, even a delay of one or two days can lead to blindness. The swift action by the Amravati team ensured that didn't happen, says doctor. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO) Born on May 10 at the District Women's Hospital in Amravati, the baby weighed just 990 grams. She was admitted to the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) for over a month. On June 12, doctors diagnosed her with Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), a potentially blinding eye condition that affects premature babies. Left untreated, ROP can lead to irreversible vision loss. Realizing the urgency—ROP in such cases requires surgical intervention within two to three days—the doctors at Amravati swung into action. But multiple challenges stood in their way. The baby's parents were in deep financial distress. They spoke a tribal dialect that many couldn't understand and lacked the necessary documents to avail of government health schemes. Above all, they had no means to travel to Pune, where the required treatment was available. Despite this, Dr Preeti Ingle, head of the SNCU in Amravati, contacted Dr Sucheta Kulkarni, medical director at PBMA's HV Desai Eye Hospital in Pune. Dr Kulkarni immediately agreed to perform the surgery free of cost, but the question remained—how would the baby reach Pune, nearly 600 km away? Initially, the baby's father refused to travel, citing a complete lack of money—he couldn't even afford the journey back to his own village. Recognising the gravity of the situation, hospital staff began counselling him. Meanwhile, district official Prakash Khadke contacted senior health officers Dr Tilottama Wankhede in Melghat and Dr Aishwarya Wankhede of the Primary Health Centre in Katkumb. Together, they arranged ₹ 5,000 to fund the family's travel. On June 12, the family was supposed to catch a train at 10:45 pm, but they missed it. Undeterred, hospital and district staff arranged fresh tickets for June 13 and personally accompanied the father and child to the station to ensure they boarded safely. They reached Pune the next day, June 14, at 7 am. Waiting at the railway station was Vishnu Gaikwad, an optometrist from the retina department at HV Desai Eye Hospital. He received the duo and took them straight to the hospital. The baby underwent surgery the same day. Later that evening, Gaikwad escorted the father and child back to the station and saw them off on their return journey. The baby was readmitted to the District Women's Hospital in Amravati for follow-up care. Doctors there confirmed her condition is stable and, most importantly, her eyesight has been saved. 'This was a more aggressive form of ROP. Usually, we have three to four days to operate, but in such cases, even a delay of one or two days can lead to blindness. The swift action by the Amravati team ensured that didn't happen,' said Dr Kulkarni. She also underlined the importance of early screening in rural areas. 'We conduct regular ROP screening in Pune, Satara, and Alibaug, but such programmes need to be expanded to remote districts like Melghat,' she added. From a tribal hamlet in the Melghat hills to a high-tech eye hospital in Pune, this journey was powered by urgency, empathy, and institutional coordination. For a 45-day-old baby girl, it was not just a medical intervention—it was a second chance to see the world.
Calgary Herald
23-06-2025
- Health
- Calgary Herald
David Parker Around Town: Operation Eyesight
Article content There's no doubt that the more than 15,000 members of Rotary International and their families — who are visiting Calgary this week from over 120 countries for a global convention — are enjoying dialogue, cultural exchanges and action on issues ranging from peace to public health. Article content Many would also be interested to learn that an organization more than 474 Rotary clubs have supported over the past 62 years was founded and is headquartered in Calgary – Operation Eyesight. Article content Article content It is an international development organization working to eliminate avoidable vision loss and to bring quality eye health care to communities where it is needed most. Founded in Calgary in 1963, it has grown to become a global organization that spans four continents and includes health workers and volunteers, physicians and ophthalmic personnel. Article content Article content It was founded by Art Jenkyns, a member of Rotary Club of Calgary West a local businessman who was inspired by Dr. Ben Gullison, a Canadian physician working in India. In 1986. Jenkyns and fellow Rotarian Bill Tapuska — who served as former chair and president of Operation Eyesight — led a team of six Rotarians to India to visit several of the projects sponsored by Operation Eyesight and Rotary, and were hosted by Rotary members in their homes as they travelled throughout the country. Article content Since then, Rotary clubs have collectively contributed $3.88 million, a figure that does not include Rotary grants that went directly to its partners. Rotary visitors should know how thankful Operation Eyesight is for their support. Since 2020, 23 clubs have provided over 3,100 gifts, totalling $748,565, and in addition its projects have also been supported by the Rotary Foundation. In 2005, Rotary International celebrated its 100 th anniversary by supporting Operation Eyesight, through its Partners in Vision project set out to finance 100,000 sight-restoring surgeries, over and above Rotary's regular contributions. Article content Rotary continues to provide support for key areas of the organization's works that incudes eye surgeries, building vision centres, mobile eye units, clean water and community outreach. Article content A good example of the way in which Rotary supports programs is with a program in India to help prevent blindness in babies. Launched in 2024, in partnership with the CL Gupta Eye Institute, Operation Eyesight expanded its Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) program in Moradabad to include five additional districts, thanks to Rotary International, the Rotary Club of Calgary Stampede Park, and the Rotary Club of Moradabad East, India.
Hindustan Times
10-05-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Mothers' day: Supermoms embrace challenges to care for kids with special needs
: Mothers with nerves of steel and hearts of gold have taken on the challenge of raising children with special needs and redefined their lives with a never say die spirit, not letting the difficulties deter or shatter them. Putting their careers aside, some of them became homemakers to give complete attention to their children. Others began learning about various therapies and conditions. They are now helping other such mothers through social initiatives. Take the case of Swati Sharma whose priorities changed when her son Antriksh was diagnosed with the rarest combination of congenital abnormalities which made him deal with autism and cerebral palsy. 'After Antriksh was born, I believe I received a re-birth when I discovered several new things. However, when life felt like a struggle, I chose to be a survivor instead of being a victim. When I enrolled Antriksh into a special school, I joined the school myself to also learn therapies and later worked as in-charge and principal before starting a society for differently abled kids. I studied again after quitting formal education long back just to provide the utmost care and fulfill requirements of my child,' said Sharma. Antriksh passed away about a year back, but Sharma continues to run the society in his memory. Dr Garima Verma, who was a paediatrician at a government hospital in Chandigarh and a gold medallist throughout her academic career, gave up her dreams and plans just to provide all her attention and care to her son Krishang, now 13-years'-old, who is dealing with autism spectrum disorder. 'I prioritised Krishang over everything. The support from my family helped me give all my attention to him. Initially, I used to sit outside his classroom just to see he did not get engaged with himself, which could have been harmful at his age and condition,' said Verma, who now works as a medical consultant at Reserve Bank of India. Shweta Chawla was a teacher but became a homemaker just to support her daughter Baani who deals with vision impairment. 'I was carrying twin daughters, and we lost Baani's sister at the time of their birth. Doctors had kept Baani under active oxygen for 25 days which led to Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) which led to her losing vision. I chose to be with my daughter and got her admitted in a normal school. From nursery to class 10, I used to sit by her side after she returned from school and read out all the chapters and notes for her – as if I studied with her all over again,' said Chawla. She said she enjoyed working hard with her daughter. Mala Nigam was a teacher till her son Rakshit was born with autism. Her life changed forever and eventually she become a special educator. 'We were questioned and judged at times. I had a financial crunch at home. Affording expensive therapies was difficult. So I chose to volunteer at various organisations just to learn them for my son. Now, I work as a full-time special educator,' Nigam said.
Time of India
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Visually impaired girl lights up ICSE results with 94% marks
Lucknow: Ruk jana nahin tu kahin haar ke, kaanton pe chalke milenge saaye bahaar ke. It was this inspirational song from the 1974 movie 'Imtihan' that kept visually impaired Baani Chawla motivated during her ICSE preparation. And the fruits of labour were visible on Wednesday when the Class 10 girl scored 94% marks in her imtihan. Baani, also a talented singer, is visually impaired since birth. The Lucknow girl has performed in more than 1,000 musical stage shows across the country. If one is hardworking then complaining about one's physical constraints is merely an excuse, says the student of Lucknow Public College , Jankipuram, who aspires to become a civil servant. "I was confident of a good score. Studies are my only enjoyment and music my stress buster. Of all the subjects, I found it challenging to let my scribe write mathematics and physics because while dictating the answers I would often get mental calculations wrong," said the eleated girl who will now pursue humanities. Asked about the success mantra, she said it was thorough revision of every chapter until all concepts were clear."Baani has been a fighter since birth. We had premature twins but we lost one of them. Baani was put on ventilator for 1.5 months after birth; she fought and survived. But unfortunately she suffered from Retinopathy of Prematurity and lost vision in eyes," said Baani's father Vishal Chawla, who is into construction business. "My wife Shweta and I always knew that our daughter could turn the impossible into possible through her grit and diligence. We got her admitted to Lucknow Public College. With the support of the school, she used to attend classes, and then her mother, her younger sister Guneet and her tutor Anju Mishra used to read text to help her memorise subjects. The National Association for the Blind in Indiranagar also guided us on how to teach her," shared Vishal. "This is not the first time she has surprised us with her excellence. She is gifted with a beautiful voice. She became interested in music from the age of three. We got her a keyboard and without any formal training, she began doing stage shows at the age of 8. She has won over 100 awards and has even been felicitated by Governor Anandiben Patel," said the proud father. Though overwhelmed with their daughter's academic feat, Baani's parents profusely thanked her paper writer Ridhima Sharma, a Class 9 student, calling her an angel, who agreed to write the examination for Baani. Vishal said the biggest challenge for them to find a scribe as parents usually don't allow their wards to be a writer since they have to write for over 4 hours for students like Baani, as the board gives extra 90 minutes to specially-abled students. But Ridhima did it for us, after writing her Class 9 exams she would write pre-board and then board examinations of Baani, said Vishal.
