Medical tourism to India

Economic slowdown has affected innumerable persons the world-over. Those affected in the West appear to have started trimming household expenditures to save up for a needed surgery as also to wait longer to undergo the scalpel.

The encouraging factor is that the surgical expertise in India matches the best available elsewhere, and procedures like cataract removal by phacoemulsification and oculo-plastic surgery for Ptosis correction at a private centre in Delhi, along with the air fare, cost much less than what one would otherwise have paid at home. “The costs in India are about half of that in the West, and the surgical expertise comparable to the best elsewhere”, says ophthalmic surgeon Dr. Maneesh Kumar (ophthacare@gmail.com).

The picture shows the condition of pre- and post-operative bilateral Ptosis.

Dr. Narendra Kumar

CLEP

Although optometry was introduced in India way back in the year 1958, and there are now around 100 institutions imparting training ranging in duration between 2 and 4 years leading to diploma and degree qualifications respectively, the subject of contact lenses is not covered in the 2-year diploma in optometry course, and diploma-optometrists, thus, find themselves at a disadvantage when they enter into practice or serve at an establishment.

The charitable trust Eye Care India (kumars@vsnl.com) conducts 3-day (15-hour) Contact Lens Education Program – CLEP – for diploma optometrists covering the theoretical and practical aspects of the basics of contact lens fitting. And the photograph shows the participants of one such event held at School of Optometry, Jan Kalyan Eye Hospital, Lucknow.

Dr. Narendra Kumar