Srinagar, Sep 25 Doctors from the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) carried out over 200 sight-restoring surgeries during a two-day camp near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district, an official spokesman said on Friday.
The spokesman said surgeons of the AFMS carried out 220 sight-restoring surgeries during the 10th edition of the mega eye surgery camp, held under Operation Drishti, at an underground operation theatre in Tangdhar in Kupwara — a shelling prone zone, along the LoC in north Kashmir on Thursday and Friday.
Most procedures were cataract surgeries, along with selective retinal procedures and minimally invasive glaucoma surgery, he said.
The spokesman said Chief of the Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth visited the camp during the period and interacted with patients and distributed medicines and gifts.
AFMS Director General Air Marshal Sandeep Thareja also visited the camp, appreciating the surgeons and the local team for their exceptional skills and efforts.
The camp was led by Head of Ophthalmology at Army Hospital (Research and Referral), Delhi Cantonment, Brigadier Sanjay Kumar Mishra, whose team carried advanced phacoemulsification (cataract-removal), vitreoretinal and glaucoma equipment across mountainous terrain, the spokesman said.
He said patients from Khawarpora, Tangdar, Tadd, Bagbela, Yangdar and neighbouring hamlets came after screening and a broadcast on Radio Rooh-e-Karnah, with the Army guiding each one from arrival to recovery.
AFMS’ series of mega surgical eye camps envisaged by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh have, so far, screened over 1.50 lakh patients. Over 3,500 surgeries have been conducted across 10 cities, he said.
The spokesman further said the 11th camp in this series will be held in Srinagar from September 27 to 29. The formal closing ceremony will be attended by J-K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on September 30.
(PTI News)
