National eye hospital to resume operations today
The National Eye Hospital in Colombo will resume full operations from tomorrow after surgeries were suspended last week.
The surgeries were suspended after complications were observed in some of the patients following the use of an eyedrop imported from India,
The use of the eyedrop has been suspended now.A micro-bug Burkholderia cepacia (B. cepacia) has been identified as the culprit causing the infections among six patients who had undergone surgery at the National Eye Hospital in Colombo this week.
This bacterium had been isolated not only in opened and unopened bottles of a common eye-drop used on these patients but also in some tissue samples sent from the eyes of these patients as well as consumables (such as corneal buttons) used during the surgeries.The eye-drop is Prednisolone Acetate Ophthalmic Suspension USP 10-PRED-S, a common steroid and anti-inflammatory medication used after eye surgery. These stocks have been imported from India. The Health Ministry has temporarily halted the use of this eye-drop.