Patient Stories

Sheshrao Bhonjai used to earn a living by selling gas balloons. In 2015, Sheshrao was involved in a tragic accident when a gas cylinder blew up. The blast was so severe that it resulted in him losing vision in both of his eyes.

Immediately after the blast, Sheshrao was admitted to a small local hospital in Apala for 18 days. However, due to his case being so severe, he was not able to get appropriate treatment at that hospital and returned home disappointed. Soon after, Sheshrao travelled to Mumbai in search of better treatment and was admitted at Nair Hospital in the city. He underwent 5-6 operations at the hospital but was unable to get any better.

As a consequence, Sheshrao’s wife became the sole earning member of the family and Sheshrao became dependent on her modest income of Rs. 400 – Rs. 500 ($5 – $7) per week.  After losing his vision and livelihood, Sheshrao found it so hard to deal with life positively that he even attempted suicide twice.

Eventually, Sheshrao visited a doctor in Mumbai, who told him to visit the Tej Kohli Cornea Institute and to consult Dr Bhupesh Bagga. Dr Bagga noted that Sheshrao had already had corneal transplantation performed on both of his eyes and had no vision at all. While his prognosis was severe, Sheshrao was determined to undergo another transplantation.

Dr Bhupesh Bagga and Dr Sirisha conducted a transplant on Sheshrao’s right eye. The surgery was successful. Sheshrao regained his vision partially. Because of this, he can now do small domestic chores and personal tasks, which is a massive improvement from his earlier condition. Sheshrao now says that anyone suffering from eye-related issues should visit Tej Kohli Cornea Institute and get appropriate treatment.

Shanmukhapriya was just six years old when her mother realized that her young child was experiencing problems with her vision. Shanmukhapriya could see blurred images of people at a distance, but could not identify them. Upon further observation, Shanmukhapriya’s mother noticed that a small spot was visible on her cornea.

Dr Pravin Vaddavalli first examined Shanmukhapriya at the Tej Kohli Cornea Institute. One of the key challenges of diagnosing a child so young was that she was not able to verbalize the problem that she was facing. Upon further examination, the doctors suspected that she was suffering from Keratoconus, a condition wherein the cornea starts bulging outward. Shanmukhapriya’s parents were informed about the necessary precautions that they needed to take to ensure that her condition did not deteriorate further.

A few years later when Shanmukhapriya turned nine, doctors at the Tej Kohli Cornea Institute performed collagen cross-linking for her left eye. This procedure is minimally invasive and halts the progression of corneal ectatic conditions. This helped to stabilize Shanmukhapriya’s Keratoconus and prevented it from getting worse. A year later, when she turned ten, doctors performed a corneal transplant for her right eye.

After the transplant, Shanmukhapriya’s vision improved significantly. While her left eye still has some problems, thanks to the corneal transplant, Shanmukhapriya’s right eye was able to regain normal vision and she was able to get close to 95% vision in her left eye.

Thanks to these procedures, Shamukhapriya will be able to grow into a normal teenager with normal vision. Her treatment has helped her regain normalcy in her daily life and she is now able to focus on her studies.

There are many barriers to quality healthcare in India, and one of the biggest is poverty. Poverty doesn’t only mean that an individual is unable to pay for his or her medical treatment at a trusted facility, but often manifests as an inability to travel to healthcare.

Since specialist healthcare institutions are generally located within the capital cities of different states, marginalized and poverty-ridden Indians often find it difficult to even travel to these institutions.

One such story is that of Rama Krishna, who is a 48-year-old manual labourer. For several years, Rama Krishna’s work and earnings supported his entire family, which consisted of his wife and two kids. For every two hours of work, Rama Krishna used to earn Rs. 100 – equivalent to $1.34 It wasn’t much, but it was enough to look after his family.

However, for two years, Rama was not able to work due to his poor visual acuity. Rama was not able to perform menial tasks and even found it difficult to identify people who would walk past him. Due to Rama Krishna losing his eyesight and his job, his wife was forced to take up work to support the entire family. Along with losing his eyesight and job, Rama Krishna also felt like he was slowly losing his respect as people would often bully him.

His ordeal reached a turning point when he presented his case to the doctors at the Tej Kohli Cornea Institute. Rama was able to access these specialist doctors at a secondary centre named Swarna Bharat Eye Centre in Nellore.

Upon examination, the doctors noticed that he had an early cataract and corneal scars, which is also known as spheroidal degeneration of the corneas; which is characterized by the development of small, white to golden spheroids in the cornea.

The doctors at the Tej Kohli Cornea Institute reaffirmed that he would be fine and that his vision would also improve after treatment for his corneas and cataract. The doctors proceeded with his treatment, by removing his scars by separating the layers of the cornea. After a successful and free of cost procedure, Rama is now able to see properly through one eye.  His other eye is still yet to be treated.

Acid assault is a premeditated and heinous criminal act with the deliberate intent of inflicting pain and causing disfigurement. Whilst acid attacks in India are most often seen as gender-based violence against women, many acid attack victims are men. Many cases go unreported, and many stories are left untold, such as the story of Rahul Deepak from Mumbai, India.

Rahul Deepak, a bouncer by profession, became a victim of a vicious acid attack in 2013 and was completely blinded after the deadly corrosive substance was thrown all over his body. The impact of the attack was concentrated on his eyes and face. The person and the motive behind the attack remains a mystery to Rahul. But the damage is already done. He has lost his eyesight for good. 

Rahul consulted a local doctor in Mumbai and underwent a month-long treatment but the results of recovery were hopeless. The doctor felt that Rahul needed advanced treatment and recommended that he visit Tej Kohli Cornea Institute, where Dr Bhupesh Bagga conducted a detailed examination and found out that Rahul’s eyes were damaged severely due to chemical injury.

Rahul’s cornea was melting. He wasn’t able to open his eyes. Post the examination, doctors informed Rahul that an operation was needed to treat him. The recovery chances were thin, but doctors were ready to give it a shot. Rahul had lost all hope. However, the counsellors at Tej Kohli Cornea Institute motivated Rahul with reaffirmation and positivity and convinced him to proceed with the surgery.

Rahul regained his eyesight.  

Rahul’s mother fondly remembers his days as a bouncer where he was able to earn and live a good life. After the attack, she too had lost hope of seeing Rahul lead a normal life ever again. Thanks to the Tej Kohli Cornea Institute, her hopes are alive again.  

Dealing with sight loss in a developing world that is built for the sighted means increased dependency and reduced confidence. Blindness segregates those who have lost their sight from everyone else. Visual impairment often limits the ability of the person to perform everyday tasks and to move about unaided.

The story of Narashimhulu was no different. His vision loss affected his quality of life, his work, and the ability to interact with the surrounding world.

Narashimhulu worked for many years and provided for his family. But one-day tragedy struck him badly. While chopping wood, a wood particle struck him in his eye. Grappling with pain, he visited multiple hospitals for over a month, trying to find some form of pain relief and a solution. He was informed that his entire nerve system had been damaged.

Unfortunately, Narashimhulu had already sustained a similar injury a few years before, when a small stone had hit his eye whilst working. This further complicated his new injury, and he started losing his eyesight at an alarming pace. During one of his hospital visits, one of the staff members told Narashimhulu that he should consider going to the Tej Kohli Cornea Institute.

Dr. Somasheila at the Tej Kohli Cornea Institute remembers her first diagnosis of Narashimhulu. She recollects that he complained of an infection in his left eye, however he actually had a rampant viral infection in both of his eyes, which had been there for a few years. Whilst his right eye was stable, the infection in his left eye was so severe, that the doctors had to perform an emergency corneal transplant, which was done free of cost.

Narashimhulu is now able to see on his own and isn’t dependent on others to perform daily tasks. Dr. Somasheila believes that he will be able to find employment again once that he fully recovers from his condition.

Quality healthcare still isn’t a complete reality in developing countries like India. However, the problem of gaining access to quality healthcare is a bigger challenge for India’s large marginalized population. Against this backdrop, doctors at Tej Kohli Cornea Institute are helping patients regain their vision and win their independence back.

Visual impairment can have multiple causes. While many individuals find themselves visually impaired after mishaps or accidents, many genetically inherit certain eye diseases.

One such genetic disease is Brittle Cornea Syndrome, in which a person may experience tearing or rupturing of the cornea even after minor damage. With Brittle Cornea Syndrome, the outer layer of the eye, better known as the cornea, becomes excessively thin, making the eye easily prone to severe and irreversible harm.

Six-year-old Keerthana suffered from this rare and challenging disease when she presented her case to the esteemed team of doctors at the Tej Kohli Cornea Institute. Dr. Pravin Vaddavalli examined Keerthana and recognized that her case had to be dealt with sensitively and carefully. Even a slight tap of a finger could cause Keerthana’s cornea to break.

Dr. Pravin found Keerthana’s case quite challenging since she had already lost one eye and her second eye was vulnerable to the same condition. Keerthana also suffered from Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome, which causes cardiac and joint-related problems. After assessing Keerthana’s case, the team of doctors decided to perform a surgery called Epikeratoplasty, wherein they put a new cornea on top of her existing cornea.

The surgery – which was done to strengthen her cornea – lasted for four hours. The surgery was a success and Keerthana started recovering from her condition swiftly. Two years after her surgery, Keerthana can see almost as well as anybody else. She can read letters and walk around without her spectacles, bringing normality back to her young life.

Keerthana’s surgery was done for free by the Tej Kohli Cornea Institute, which was a big relief to her family. Her mother feels especially thankful towards the team of doctors at the institute, who were able to cure Keerthana’s condition successfully.