BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital in Bengaluru treated a Kenyan patient, Nancy, who had suffered from complete blindness for three weeks due to idiopathic inflammatory orbital cellulitis. With the help of a team of experts, Nancy underwent an endoscopic surgery that led to her vision being restored in just two days.
Nancy had been experiencing severe headaches, eye pain, and high blood sugar levels, and had sought medical help in both the USA and Kenya with no success. Finally, she landed at BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital in Bengaluru, where she underwent successful treatment.
Nancy suffered from idiopathic inflammatory orbital cellulitis, which caused the surrounding tissue of the eyeball to swell due to unknown reasons, leading to pressure on the eyeball and optic nerve, resulting in blindness with paralysis of the eye movement muscles. Dr Kranthi Mohan, Consultant Neurologist at BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital, explained that Nancy had been prescribed steroids to control the swelling by doctors elsewhere, which led to high sugar levels.
After consulting with Dr Mohan on video, Nancy was advised to fly down to India for treatment. Dr Prashanth R Reddy, Chief ENT and Endoscopic Skull Base Surgeon at BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital, performed an emergency surgery inside the nose, and it was a miracle that Nancy regained her vision in just two days. The whole surgery was scarless and done endoscopically. Endoscopic orbital decompression was performed to reduce swelling in the eye, and optic nerve decompression was performed to reduce swelling around the eye nerve.
Patients who experience complete blindness (no perception of light) caused by orbital cellulitis usually do not recover if 24 hours have passed. However, in this case, the patient experienced complete blindness for three weeks but had almost fully regained their vision by the time they left Bangalore. This is an unusual case and shows that recovery is possible even after a longer period of blindness.
During Nancy’s treatment, she received care for five consecutive days, which consisted of one day for pre-surgical preparation, the day of the surgery, and three additional days of postoperative care. Her headache and eye pain disappeared immediately after surgery. After leaving the hospital, Nancy received follow-up care, including a nasal endoscopy to assess the nasal healing and suction clearance of blood clots from the nose.