Cataract surgery infections in Kuchaman: 5 patients shifted to Jaipur SMS Hospital
Synopsis
Five elderly patients who underwent cataract surgery at a Rajasthan government hospital woke up within 24 hours with eyes reportedly turning white from severe infection — and had to be airlifted to Jaipur's premier SMS Hospital overnight. With Rajasthan already under fire for a separate postpartum crisis, this is the second major alleged medical negligence incident in weeks, raising urgent questions about sterilisation and surgical safety protocols in state-run facilities.
Key Takeaways
Five patients — Ghasiram, Heeraram, Gokul, Meera Devi, and Narayani , aged 65–73 — developed severe eye infections after cataract surgeries at the Government Hospital, Kuchaman City .
Infections appeared within 24 hours of surgery, with eyes reportedly turning white due to the severity of infection.
All five were transferred to Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital, Jaipur on 30 July for specialised treatment.
SMS Medical College constituted an overnight high-level medical board headed by Dr Nagendra Singh Shekhawat , Head of Ophthalmology.
Patients' condition is described as serious ; doctors say efforts are ongoing to save their eyesight.
The incident is the latest in a series of alleged medical negligence cases in Rajasthan government hospitals.
Five patients who underwent cataract surgery at the Government Hospital in Kuchaman City, Rajasthan, developed severe post-operative eye infections within 24 hours of their procedures and were rushed to Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Jaipur for advanced care on 30 July. The alleged case of medical negligence has triggered fresh alarm over patient safety standards in Rajasthan's government hospital network.
How the crisis unfolded
All five patients — Ghasiram (65), Heeraram (73), Gokul (70), Meera Devi (68), and Narayani (67) — underwent cataract surgery at the Kuchaman City government facility on Tuesday. Within roughly 24 hours, they began exhibiting signs of serious post-operative infection, with their eyes reportedly turning white — a clinical indicator of severe intraocular infection. Doctors at Kuchaman referred all five to SMS Hospital as soon as the complications were detected.
SMS Hospital's emergency response
Treating the situation as a medical emergency, SMS Medical College constituted a high-level medical board overnight to oversee treatment. According to Dr Deepak Maheshwari, Principal of SMS Medical College, the board is headed by Dr Nagendra Singh Shekhawat, Head of the Ophthalmology Department, and includes Dr Mahendra Agarwal, Head of the Medicine Department, along with senior ophthalmologists Dr Manish Sharma and Dr Pankaj Sharma.
Dr Shekhawat stated that all patients are being treated under standard medical protocols. He described their condition as serious but affirmed that every possible effort is being made to preserve both their eyesight and overall vision.
Broader pattern of healthcare concerns in Rajasthan
This incident comes amid intensifying scrutiny of healthcare delivery in Rajasthan, where allegations of medical negligence have surfaced repeatedly in recent weeks. Notably, the state is still grappling with a separate postpartum health crisis, making this the latest in a series of incidents raising questions about systemic oversight in government medical facilities.
The patients include three women and two men, all aged between 65 and 73. The cause of the infections has not yet been officially established, and an investigation into the surgical procedures and sterilisation protocols at the Kuchaman facility is expected.
What happens next
The high-level medical board at SMS Hospital will continue to monitor the five patients closely. Health authorities in Rajasthan are expected to order a probe into the conditions at the Government Hospital, Kuchaman City, including a review of surgical equipment sterilisation and operating theatre protocols. The outcome of treatment will be critical in determining the long-term visual prognosis for all five patients.
Point of View
Appearing within 24 hours across five patients simultaneously, point strongly toward a sterilisation or intraoperative contamination failure rather than individual patient susceptibility. The state health administration's response — constituting a medical board at SMS — addresses the immediate crisis but sidesteps the accountability question: who approved the surgical conditions at Kuchaman, and will there be a transparent, time-bound probe? Government hospitals serving rural and semi-urban populations carry an outsized trust burden; when that trust is broken through preventable lapses, the damage extends far beyond five patients.
NationPress
30 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to the five cataract surgery patients in Kuchaman?
Five patients who underwent cataract surgery at the Government Hospital in Kuchaman City, Rajasthan, developed severe post-operative eye infections within 24 hours of their procedures. Their eyes reportedly turned white due to the infection, and they were transferred to SMS Hospital in Jaipur for advanced treatment on 30 July.
Who are the five patients affected?
The five patients are Ghasiram (65), Heeraram (73), Gokul (70), Meera Devi (68), and Narayani (67) — three women and two men. All underwent cataract surgery on the same day at the Kuchaman City government hospital.
What is the current condition of the patients?
Dr Nagendra Singh Shekhawat, Head of the Ophthalmology Department at SMS Hospital, has described their condition as serious. He stated that every possible effort is being made to preserve their eyesight and vision under standard medical protocols.
What steps has SMS Hospital taken in response?
SMS Medical College constituted a high-level medical board overnight to supervise treatment. The board is headed by Dr Nagendra Singh Shekhawat and includes Dr Mahendra Agarwal, Dr Manish Sharma, and Dr Pankaj Sharma.
Is this an isolated incident or part of a broader pattern in Rajasthan?
This is not an isolated case. Rajasthan is already dealing with a separate postpartum health crisis, and allegations of medical negligence in government hospitals have surfaced repeatedly in recent weeks, drawing heightened scrutiny of patient safety protocols across the state.
