AFMS surgeons perform 220 sight-restoring surgeries at underground eye camp in Kupwara
New Delhi, Sep 25. Surgeons of the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) performed 220 sight-restoring procedures at a two-day mega eye surgical camp conducted at an underground operation theatre in Tangdhar, a shelling-prone area of Kupwara district along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
Held on September 24 and 25 under Operation Drishti, the 10th edition of the AFMS mega eye camp involved primarily cataract surgeries, besides selected retinal procedures and minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries.
The initiative enabled patients in remote areas close to the Line of Control to access advanced ophthalmic treatment without having to travel to major medical centres.
Chief of Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth visited the camp during the two-day programme, interacted with patients and distributed medicines and gifts. Director General Armed Forces Medical Services Air Marshal Sandeep Thareja also visited the facility and commended the surgical teams and local personnel for their efforts in conducting complex procedures in a challenging environment.
The camp was led by Brigadier Sanjay Kumar Mishra, Head of Ophthalmology at Army Hospital (Research & Referral), Delhi Cantonment. His team transported advanced equipment required for phacoemulsification, vitreoretinal and glaucoma procedures across difficult mountainous terrain to establish the surgical facility in Tangdhar.
Patients from Khawarpora, Tangdhar, Tadd, Bagbela, Yangdar and neighbouring hamlets were brought in after screening and outreach through Radio Rooh-e-Karnah. The Army facilitated the patients through the entire process, from their arrival at the camp to post-operative recovery.
The AFMS mega eye surgical camps, initiated as part of an initiative envisaged by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, have so far screened more than 1.5 lakh people and conducted over 3,500 surgeries across 10 cities.
The 11th camp in the series is scheduled to be held in Srinagar from September 27 to 29. A formal closing ceremony is scheduled for September 30 and will be attended by Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
The Tangdhar camp underscores the AFMS’ effort to extend specialised medical care to people living in remote and strategically sensitive areas, while demonstrating the capability of military medical teams to undertake advanced surgery in difficult high-altitude and operational environments.
