The Army Hospital Research and Referral, New Delhi has achieved a major milestone on 09 July 2021 when for the first time in the history of Armed Forces hospitals, a team of ophthalmologists and ocular oncologists led by Col SK Mishra, Lt Col Sonali Vinay Kumar, Lt Col Ashok Kumar and Dr Manoj Semwal performed a successful procedure of Plaque Brachytherapy on the eye of a four-year old child. The child had already lost his left eye due to cancer and was on the verge of losing his vision completely. The surgery was performed using localised radiation therapy where an indigenous  Ruthenium 106 plaque, procured from Bhabha Atomic Research center (BARC), was inserted and used to perform a minimally invasive surgery, without causing damage to the surrounding tissue. 

The main aim of treatment for ocular tumours, in order of priority, is to save the life of the patient, salvage eye and preserve maximum vision. Army Hospital Research and Referral has become the first Armed Forces hospital to perform this procedure successfully.

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