Ahmedabad, Jan 17 (IANS): The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday took suo moto cognisance of reports regarding post-surgical complications faced by patients at the Mandal Ramanand Trust Hospital in Viramgam taluka of Ahmedabad district.

The Bench, comprising Justices AS Supehia and Vimal Vyas responded to the reports and issued a notice to the Health Secretary and the Ahmedabad Rural Superintendent of Police.

The court emphasised the need for appropriate care of the affected patients and mandated the government to submit a preliminary enquiry report. The case is scheduled for a hearing on February 7.

In response to these developments, all surgical operations at the Ramanand Trust Hospital have been temporarily halted.

A thorough investigation into the matter revealed that 74 individuals underwent eye surgery between January 1 and January 10 at the facility.

Of the 29 patients who underwent cataract surgery on January 10, a total of 17 subsequently reported a decrease in vision post-surgery.

Currently five individuals are receiving treatment at Asarwa Civil Hospital and 12 at the Ramanand Trust Hospital, which the Sevaniketan Trust manages.

Of the affected patients, nine are from Ahmedabad district, 12 from Surendranagar district, and eight from Patan district.

Medical professionals at Asarwa Civil Hospital indicated that prima facie it looks like the vision impairments may be linked to an infection caused by the eye drops used post-surgery. None of the patients have suffered complete vision loss.