Imran ‘treated smoothly’ for retinal condition at PIMS, CEO confirms

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder and former prime minister Imran Khan received treatment for a retinal disorder at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital over the weekend, the hospital’s chief executive said on Saturday.

In a video message, PIMS Executive Director Professor Rana Imran Sikander said the 74-year-old had recently reported reduced vision in his right eye.

Read: Imran’s consent obtained for eye procedure: PIMS

He said a senior and qualified ophthalmologist from PIMS conducted a complete eye assessment at Adiala prison, including rigorous laboratory examination, fundoscopy, intraocular pressure measurement, essential laboratory tests and optical coherence tomography of the retina.

Based on the assessment, a diagnosis of central retinal vein occlusion was made and hospital-based follow-up treatment was recommended, Sikander said.

“Hence, Mr Niazi was brought to PIMS on the night of last Saturday/Sunday for the indicative procedure,” he said. Sikander added that at the hospital, the treatment plan, the need to administer an anti-VEGF intravitreal injection, was fully explained to the patient and informed consent was obtained prior to the procedure.

Read more:KP CM announces overnight sit-in as PTI leaders again denied entry to Imran Khan

“The procedure was performed in the operating room under standard sterile protocol and monitoring,” Sikander said, adding that it was completed smoothly in about 20 minutes.

He said the patient remained vitally stable during treatment and was discharged with routine post-procedure care instructions, follow-up advice and the documents.

Amid controversies surrounding Imran’s eye treatment, PIMS had confirmed a day ago that he was taken to the hospital late in the night between Saturday and Sunday, where an anti-VEGF intravitreal injection was given to treat right central retinal vein occlusion after his consent was obtained.

The PTI had in recent days expressed concern over Imran’s health, alleging that the jail authorities and the government were preventing treatment for a “serious eye ailment” and demanding immediate medical attention. On Thursday, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and other PTI leaders were denied permission to meet the party’s founder, prompting Afridi and the party leadership to stage an all-night sit-in on Adiala Road until Imran was allowed to meet his personal doctors, family members and legal advisers.

Speaking to the media, Afridi had expressed deep concern over Imran’s health and said he had been secretly transferred from the jail to PIMS on Saturday. He described the concealment of the founder’s health status as “medical terrorism” and said the incident represented a violation of basic human rights.

Imran’s personal physician, Dr. Asim Yousaf, had also expressed serious concern over the PTI founder’s health a day ago and said there may be an underlying medical condition behind his reported eye problem.

In a video message, Dr. Yousaf – who also works as a senior doctor at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital – that for several days rumors had been circulating across Pakistan and abroad about problems with Imran’s eye.

Imran has been imprisoned since August 2023 and is currently serving a sentence in Adiala prison in a £190m corruption case. In addition, he faces pending charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act in connection with the May 9, 2023 protests.