Cataract accounts for 82% of blindness cases in TN

CHENNAI: Of all the causes of blindness in Tamil Nadu, Cataract remains as the top one as about 82 per cent of all cases are due to the same.

Glaucoma, Diabetic Retinopathy and other causes comprise six percent each as the causes of blindness as per the Tamil Nadu Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness and Diabetic Retinopathy survey.

In order to prevent blindness, the Tamil Nadu State Blindness Control Society has conducted a total of 2,83,780 cataract surgeries with intraocular lens implantation in the government and non-government organisation eye hospitals in Tamil Nadu in 2022-23. The grant aid of Rs 48 crore has been provided by the government for the surgeries.

As many as 8,428 eyeballs were collected as eye donation by 20 eye banks at a grant-in-aid of Rs 84.28 lakh from the state health department.

In order to provide necessary types of equipment for the screening and treatment of eye related disorders, the department provided this equipment for Taluk and Non-Taluk Government Hospitals at Ariyalur, Gudiyatham, Kancheepuram, Mayiladurai, the Nilgiris, Cumbam, Erode, Gopichettypalayam, Kulithalai, Vandavasi, Sankarankoil, Tenkasi, Ramanathapuram and Tambaram.

An allocation of Rs 390 lakh was made through the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation for the procurement of these equipment.

A Centre for Excellence at Regional Institute of Ophthalmology at a cost of Rs 64 crore and a regional eye care centre at Government Raja Mirasudhar Hospital in Thanjavur at a cost of Rs 16.4 crore were established last year. Mobile ophthalmic units were also established in Salem, Ramanathapuram and Thiruvallur at a cost of Rs 90 lakh.

The officials from the state health department say that the programmes by the Tamil Nadu Blindness Control Society are aimed at early screening of eye related disorders and the programme has also been launched for children. At least 1,20,266 spectacles were provided free of cost to school children with refractive errors at a cost of Rs 170 lakh.