PIMS admin reveals details of Imran Khan's eye treatment

 • Doctor Confirm Central Retinal Vein Occlusion in PTI Founder’s Right Eye     

ISLAMABAD: Just days after alarming reports about incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s health, the Executive Director of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Professor Dr Rana Imran Sikander has confirmed he underwent a specialized medical examination of his right eye.

Sharing details of the treatment, he explained that increased pressure in the vessels of the right eye had temporarily impacted his eyesight. PIMS ED revealed that the PTI founder had earlier complained of reduced eyesight in his right eye, prompting a detailed medical assessment. The statement by the hospital’s head comes after the PTI approached the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday, seeking the apex court’s assistance in arranging a meeting between the PTI founder and his personal physicians, with the help of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP).

The PTI has expressed concern over Imran's health, stating that jail authorities and the government were obstructing treatment for a “serious eye condition” and demanding immediate medical care. Earlier, the Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar had confirmed that PTI founder underwent a medical procedure for an eye ailment at a hospital in the federal capital. The minister stated that Imran Khan was taken to the PIMS in Islamabad for a “20-minute” medical procedure on the night of January 24. PIMS ED said that the procedure was completed smoothly in approximately 20 minutes, adding that during the treatment, the patient remained vitally stable and was discharged with routine post-procedure care instructions and follow-up advice and documents.

Sikander said the former premier, aged 74, complained of “reduced vision in his right eye”, adding that a “qualified ophthalmologist” from the hospital conducted a “complete eye assessment at Adiala jail”. Sikander further explained that the doctor dispatched to the prison conducted “strict lab examination, [ocular] endoscopy, intraocular pressure measurement, essential laboratory tests and OCT of the retina”.

He said that based on the initial assessment, the diagnosis of right central vein occlusion was made and a hospital-based treatment was recommended. “Accordingly, Mr Niazi was brought to PIMS on the night of last Saturday, Sunday for the advised procedure,” he added. The head of the hospital said Imran, after arrival at PIMS, was “explained in full” about the procedure. “Informed consent was obtained from the patient prior to the procedure. The procedure was carried out in the operation theatre under standard sterile protocol and monitoring,” said Dr Sikander.