Aravind-Madurai, September 24 – 25, 2022

The second National Annual Conference of the Association of Indian Ophthalmic Anaesthesiologists was conducted at Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai. A total of 142 participants which included anaesthesiologists, ophthalmologists, and postgraduates from both the specalities took part.

The inauguration of the conference was held on the first day of the conference in the presence of Dr.S.C Parakh, President, AIOA; Dr. Jaichandran VV, General Secretary, AIOA; Dr. A. Ravichandar, Organising Secretary and Dr. P. Namperumalsamy, Chairman Emeritus, Aravind Eye Care System. The inaugural AIOA Oration was delivered virtually by  Dr. Chandra M. Kumar, Visiting Consultant, Newcastle University Medical School, Malaysia, on the topic, Ocular Hypotonia – anaesthetic implications.

Scientific deliberations went on well with lectures from eminent guest faculty, live demonstration on ophthalmic blocks, panel discussions, hands on sessions, and yoga session. About 10 free papers were presented and the best two were awarded.

Aravind-Madurai, September 17

Grand celebration was organised at Aravind-Madurai as the hospital completed 46 years of its service. The celebration evoked great excitement this time, probably due to the fact that there was no such celebration in the last two years owing to the pandemic situation. The theme for the Hospital Day was aligned to towards the 75^th year of the Indian independence.Dr G Gnanasambandam, eminent Tamil scholar, orator and actor was the chief guest. Through his highly engaging talk, he entertained the audience as well as motivated them. Dr. R. Kim, Chief Medical Officer presented a brief report on the highlights of the last two years. Dr. M. Srinivasan, one of the founding members of Aravind gave a special address. Cultural programmes included a skit on the life of Velu Nachiyar which was well-appreciated by all.

Aravind-Kovilpatti, September 23

The 3rd Hospital Day of Aravind-Kovilpatti was celebrated in a simple manner. Doctors, MLOPs and Admin staff members from Kovilpatti and a few staff from Aravind-Tirunelveli joined the celebration. Dr. Tanya Balakrishnan, Medical Consultant of Aravind- Kovilpatti presented the annual report in a nutshell.  This was followed by cultural programmes by paramedics, doctors and sanitary staff. Dr R Meenakshi, Chief Medical Officer and Dr R Ramakrishnan, Advisor, Aravind-Tirunelveli gave a very inspiring speech at the occasion.

Aravind-Coimbatore, September 23

Aravind-Coimbatore arranged a motivational talk by Kamalathal, the elderly lady who rose to fame with her selfless act of selling idlis for just one rupee to the needy for the past 30 years.  The session was facilitated by Ms. Priya Senthil, a well-known  motivational speaker.

August 25-September 8

All the tertiary centres of Aravind observed the National Eye Donation Fortnight with a wide array of programmes. Activities were mainly intended to create awareness on eye donation amongst the public and included seminars, talks and rallies. Various NGOs were recognised for their unwavering support to the noble cause of eye donation. Eye donor family members also were honoured.