
A medical crisis unfolded on Thursday at the 6th of October Health Insurance Hospital in Dokki, after relatives filed complaints about two patients who each lost an entire eye following simple cataract surgeries within a single week.
The incident has sparked a major controversy on social media, with urgent demands for an immediate investigation to reveal the circumstances of what happened inside the hospital.
The son of one of the patients, Abdel Rahman Hussein, said his father lost his right eye after suffering a severe infection following the operation. His father’s eye had to be completely removed to save his life.
In a similar case, Abdel Moneim Al-Najjar stated that his mother lost her left eye due to serious complications during surgery. She was transferred to Al-Kasr Al-Ainy Hospital, where her eye was also removed because of a microbial infection.
Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar immediately ordered the formation of specialized technical committees to investigate the incident with complete accuracy and objectivity. These included:
- A Specialized Medical Committee: Composed of highly experienced professors from medical schools specializing in eye surgery and lens implants. Their role is to scientifically evaluate the surgical and diagnostic procedures, monitor the patients’ conditions, and provide them with all forms of medical and psychological support.
- An Infection Control Committee: This committee specializes in microbiology and sterilization in medical facilities. It will inspect preventive measures to ensure compliance with international standards.
- A Technical Equipment Committee: Responsible for assessing the safety of all medical equipment and components in the operating rooms and ensuring they meet global standards.
- An Administrative Committee: Tasked with reviewing operational and training procedures to identify any potential administrative or training gaps.
Based on the reports of these committees, which confirmed a clear failure on the part of those in charge of the surgical department to adhere to infection control procedures and protocols—despite their awareness and training—the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health decided on the following actions:
- The case has been fully referred to the Public Prosecutor for a comprehensive judicial investigation into its causes, circumstances, and repercussions. The Minister immediately directed the head of the General Authority for Health Insurance to suspend the head of the Central Administration for Medical Services and refer him for investigation.
- The director of the hospital has been relieved of his duties and referred for investigation.
- The ophthalmologists involved in the surgical procedures have been suspended from work, and their contracts with the authority have been terminated.
- The director of the Health Insurance branch in Cairo Governorate has been tasked with temporarily supervising the hospital in addition to his current duties.
- The specialized Central Committee for Infection Control has been directed to review all infection control procedures across the authority’s hospitals.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm