Grant Medical College hoards cataracts

Cataract surgery is the bread-and-butter operation in ophthalmology. If a residency program cannot get trainees enough cataract cases, the whole training pipeline starts to look shaky. That is why this Grant Government Medical College and Sir J.J. Hospital story keeps bouncing back online — not because one bad anecdote is shocking, but because it fits an older, documented fight over who actually gets to operate. Back in May and June 2023, residents in the ophthalmology department accused senior faculty of cornering most cataract surgeries and starving trainees of basic surgical exposure. A committee inquiry then found real deficiencies in training. ### What is the actual allegation? The core claim is simple: residents said senior surgeons, including then-HoD-linked leadership and ex-dean T.P. Lahane, were doing most of the cataract surgeries themselves, leaving residents with ward work and very little hands-on operating. The viral version of the story zeroes in on one resident who allegedly logged only four phacoemulsification cases across three years. I could not independently verify that exact logbook figure from a primary document online, but it matches the broader pattern residents described in 2023. (hindustantimes.com) ### Why do cataract cases matter so much? Because cataract surgery is not some rare subspecialty trick. It is one of the core operations an ophthalmologist must learn safely and repeatedly. The NMC’s MS Ophthalmology curriculum is built around producing a specialist who can handle day-to-day ophthalmic problems independently and emerge as a competent ophthalmic surgeon. If residents are not getting routine cataract exposure, the program is missing a central job. (mid-day.com) ### Was this just social media noise? No — the important part is that an institutional dispute already existed. In May 2023, residents formally complained of lack of surgical opportunities, weak academics, poor research activity, and a department not functioning per NMC norms. Mid-day’s report quoted the residents saying two senior surgeons did almost all the surgeries, especially cataracts. Medical Dialogues captured the same complaint and the resulting strike threat. (nmc.org.in) ### What did the inquiry find? The committee findings were pretty blunt. Hindustan Times reported that the inquiry found junior residents had been deprived of vital learning opportunities for the entire residency period. It also said the department had only one unit in violation of NMC guidelines, lacked a skill lab, and needed restructuring into independent functional units. That matters because it moves the story from “residents are upset” to “the system itself may have been set up badly.” (mid-day.com) ### How bad was the case shortage? The strongest verified number from the 2023 reporting is this: the combined JR-1 and JR-2 batches — 28 residents in total — had done zero cataract surgeries at that point, residents said. That does not prove every resident across all three years had no exposure. But it does show the complaint was not about getting fewer premium cases. It was about residents saying they were not getting the basic cataract cases a teaching hospital should supply in volume. (hindustantimes.com) ### Who was named? The 2023 complaints named ex-dean Dr. T.P. Lahane and HoD Dr. Ragini Parekh. Both were central to residents’ allegations. Parekh denied wrongdoing in contemporaneous coverage and pushed back on the idea that very junior residents should be demanding cataract operations so early. Lahane’s long surgical stature made the accusation more explosive — he is widely known for a huge cataract surgery record — but that is also the catch. A star surgeon’s volume can help a department’s reputation while still squeezing trainee access if cases are not distributed well. (hindustantimes.com) ### Has anything changed since then? The department page today shows a broader faculty roster under current leadership, with Dr. Sujata Chahande listed as professor and head. That suggests the department has moved on administratively since the 2023 dispute. But the resurfacing of the “four phaco cases” claim shows the underlying trust problem is not gone. People still do not believe the surgical pipeline was fixed in a way trainees can feel. (medicaldialogues.in) ### So what is the real takeaway? This is not really a scandal about one professor hoarding cataracts. It is a warning about what happens when a teaching hospital behaves like a service machine first and a training program second. Residents can pass through a famous department, see huge patient volume, and still come out undertrained if the operating room is effectively closed to them. (hindustantimes.com) (gmcjjh.edu.in)