BLIND FOR MONTHS AFTER ACCIDENT 60 YEAR OLD FARMER REGAINS VISION FOLLOWING SYNTHETIC INTELLIGENCE ASSISTED SURGERY AT FORTIS HIRANANDANI HOSPITAL NAVI MUMBAI

BLIND FOR MONTHS AFTER ACCIDENT, 60-YEAR-OLD FARMER REGAINS VISION FOLLOWING SYNTHETIC INTELLIGENCE-ASSISTED SURGERY AT FORTIS HIRANANDANI HOSPITAL, NAVI MUMBAI

- Advanced Synthetic Intelligence-enabled 3D imaging identified a hidden optic nerve compression missed on routine scans, enabling a rare sight-restoring procedure after months of blindness -

In a significant medical breakthrough, doctors at Fortis Hiranandani Hospital, Navi Mumbai successfully restored vision in a 60-year-old farmer who had lost sight in both eyes following a severe accident in July 2025. The patient remained in coma for 38 days following the accident and was initially treated at a local hospital in Ahilyanagar, where he continued follow-up care. 

Even after recovering from coma, he had complete loss of vision, and doctors from Mumbai and Pune, during detailed consultations had informed the family that chances of vision recovery were extremely low.

For several months, the patient remained completely blind and was dependent on voice recognition to identify people, often requiring 5–10 minutes of conversation to recognize individuals. This significantly affected his daily functioning and independence. Despite undergoing multiple evaluations, including CT and MRI scans, the exact cause for the vision loss remained undiagnosed. With no improvement in his condition over time, the patient was referred to Fortis Hiranandani Hospital, Navi Mumbai for advanced neuro-ophthalmic evaluation.

At Fortis Hiranandani Hospital, Dr Sunil Morekar & Dr Harshavardhan Ghorpade re-examined previous scans and clinical findings. The team observed that standard CT and MRI scans are typically performed in 5 mm slices and axial planes, which sometimes can miss very small injuries along the optic nerve pathway. Advanced eye testing, including Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and retinal imaging, revealed swelling of the optic nerve without evidence of optic atrophy, suggesting that vision recovery could still be possible.

Dr. Sunil Morekar, Consultant Ophthalmology, Fortis Hiranandani Hospital, Navi Mumbai, explained, “The key clue was that the optic nerve had not become pale, which usually indicates permanent damage. The presence of some light perception suggested that the nerve was still functioning, and that there was a possibility of recovery with the right intervention.”

The doctors suspected a hidden cause - tiny bony fragments compressing the optic nerve near the orbital apex, an area often missed on routine imaging.

Dr. Morekar further added, “These small bony fragments are often not seen on standard scans because they are very small and may lie along the exact course of the optic nerve, which requires highly detailed imaging to detect.”

To better identify the problem, the team used Artificial Intelligence along with a newer system called Synthetic Intelligence, which creates a detailed 3D reconstruction of the eye socket and optic nerve region from available scan data and predicts hidden abnormalities. Dr. Morekar said, “We used Synthetic Intelligence to generate a 3D model of the orbit. It identified a very small bony fragment compressing the optic nerve. During surgery, we found the bone exactly at the predicted location with about 98.5% accuracy.”

During surgery, the optic nerve was carefully decompressed, and the bony fragments were removed. The surgery was extremely delicate, as the optic nerve is surrounded by important blood vessels and nerves, where even a small injury could cause further vision loss.

As explained by Dr Harshavardhan Ghorpade, Director - Ophthalmology, Fortis Hiranandani Hospital, Navi Mumbai “This was a highly complex microsurgery because we were working in a very tight space where multiple critical structures are present. The bone fragment was only around 2 mm, and after several months, tissues become stiffer and more difficult to separate safely.” He added, “In delayed traumatic optic nerve compression cases, vision recovery is extremely rare. However, in this case, the absence of optic atrophy and precise SI-based localization gave us confidence to proceed with surgery.”

Post-surgery, the patient showed early signs of visual improvement within one day. Over the following week, his vision continued to improve steadily. Over the next 6–7 months, the patient’s vision improved significantly and is now nearly normal. He can read, use a mobile phone, and perform all daily activities independently, similar to his pre-injury condition.

At the recent follow-up visit, doctors confirmed sustained improvement and stable recovery of visual function. The case has been presented at the Ocular Trauma Society of India Annual Conference in Guwahati and selected for international presentation at the World Congress of Ophthalmology in Prague in June 2026.

Dr. Ghorpade added, “This case shows that even when patients are told nothing can be done, detailed reassessment and advanced technologies can sometimes identify treatable causes and change outcomes completely.”

A small reflection from the patient’s family, “We had lost all hope after the accident. Today, seeing him read and live normally again feels nothing less than a miracle for us,” said the patient’s son.

Talking about the achievement, Dr. Ashutosh Pandey, Facility Director, Fortis Hiranandani Hospital, Navi Mumbai, said, “This outcome reflects how advanced medical technology and clinical expertise together can transform even the most complex neurological and ophthalmic cases. It strengthens our commitment to delivering cutting-edge care for patients with limited treatment options.”

This case highlights how Synthetic Intelligence can help detect hidden causes of vision loss that 
are not visible on conventional scans, and how it can support highly precise surgery leading to 
meaningful recovery in selected patients previously considered untreatable.