“Currently, for people who are blighted by blindness and other ophthalmic issues. It prevents them from participating in society and for many it means being cast out due to their lack of ability to contribute financially. We must not allow this to continue in the 21st century. It is our duty to step in and support with passion, pride, hard work and guarantee of financial commitment.”
"We are proud of our long standing history and global reputation in the area of ophthalmology. We have spent over 27 years working with leading specialists in their given field, to deliver the best possible outcomes for our patients. This is a vital opportunity to extend this work as new technologies can be implemented to help in reducing corneal blindness. L V Prasad Eye Institute has created history in the field of Corneal Transplantation by becoming the first single Institute ever in the world to achieve 20,000 corneal transplants across its network. Through the new Tej Kohli Cornea Institute we hope to enhance our activities significantly both directly and indirectly as well as developing a Global Resource Centre for corneal blindness. This means being able to increase the number of surgeries we can undertake and work towards our own goal of eliminating avoidable blindness. This philanthropic gesture of Mr Kohli opens up all these possibilities."
"There is an estimated 23 million individuals worldwide who have unilateral corneal blindness while 4.9 million are bilaterally blind. Corneal blindness may be treated by donor cornea transplantation but there is a severe shortage: 53% of the global population has no access to human donor corneas; 12.7 million individuals are awaiting transplantation, and only one out of 70 individuals are transplanted. The Tej Kohli Cornea Institute’s efforts to eliminate cornea blindness range from community health and prevention, expansion of eye banking efforts, excellent medical care, to development of regenerative medicine technologies such as stem cell therapy to bioengineered corneas to supplement the huge shortage of donor corneas and treat patients who cannot be helped by conventional donor transplantation."
Sheikh Abdul Hameed was compelled to seek voluntary retirement from his job at a dairy factory, owing to his failing vision. After a local doctor in Kurnool referred him to LVPEI, he underwent glaucoma surgery in his left eye that allowed for the restoration of some vision, and diligently sought follow up care with Dr Anil Mandal for nearly a decade. Unfortunately, his only seeing eye was hit by a stone as he was watching some children at play.
The injury led to infection and cataract (loss of transparency in the eye lens) and he had to be operated upon for cataract removal. Dr Mandal also referred him to Dr Muralidhar Ramappa to see if anything could be done about his right eye that had developed a white opacity for over 10 years. Dr Ramappa performed two surgeries to Hameed’s right eye; corneal replacement and cataract removal respectively. To Hameed and his wife’s sheer delight, vision was indeed restored in his right eye. Hameed is thrilled to be able to lead an independent life in his autumn years, even as he wonders as to his premature decision to seek voluntary retirement, losing 11 earning years!
Soniya Kishanlal is a young woman from Punjab. On her first visit to LVPEI, she underwent eyelid surgery performed by Dr Tarjani Dave and her team to separate her eyelids that had fused after acid was thrown on her face by an irate neighbour over an argument. She underwent a second surgery by Dr Sayan Basu and his team for an Auro Kpro, a corneal prosthesis used to replace a small, round portion of the patient's damaged cornea.
Soniya today is a transformed woman; a far cry from the tantrum-throwing, haunted woman constantly wailing about her loss. Today she acknowledges that she is lucky. With vision restored a little in her left eye, hope has stirred once again of a new future with her ever attentive and affectionate husband Kishanlal whom she is now able to see again. She is grateful for that and very thankful to her doctors at LVPEI.
Krishna, 25, from a humble family in Madhya Pradesh has an MBA in Finance. His preparation for a banking career suffered a blow due to eye injury and subsequent vision loss. Krishna has hemophilia, a rare genetic disorder in which the blood does not clot and results in excessive bleeding. At LVPEI, a team effort by his doctors first focused on controlling his hemophilia before treating him - completely free of cost.
From Dr Archana Bhargava's persistent efforts to convince the Delhi Hemophilia Society to provide the expensive Factor VIII injections to Krishna free of cost, to Dr Pavan Karla's diligence in administering these injections twice daily for seven days at 2pm and 2am, and to Dr Bhupesh Bagga's skill in performing the Hyphema drainage surgery early in February, everything went like clockwork. “I came to LVPEI with high expectations and it has lived up to its reputation. The pain has subsided drastically; my vision is still blurred but I have been told further course of treatment will be planned. I am hopeful the doctors save my vision and I can resume my preparation for bank exams,” says a grateful Krishna.