The Surgeon Who Restored a Hundred Thousand Sights

Born on 12 February 1957 in the village of Makegaon in Latur district, Maharashtra, to farmer parents Pundlikrao and Anjanabai, Tatyarao Pundlikrao Lahane grew up in hardship as one of seven children. At a young age both his kidneys failed; his mother donated one of hers so that he might live. He educated himself through the “earn while you learn” scheme and graduated in medicine from Marathwada University, Aurangabad, in 1981, completing his MS in Ophthalmology in 1985.

He began his career as a lecturer and later associate professor at the Rural Medical College, Ambajogai, where he organised cataract camps across rural and tribal Maharashtra. Moving to Mumbai’s Grant Medical College and Sir J.J. Hospital, he rose to become Head of the Department of Ophthalmology and, later, Dean. Under his leadership the department was modernised into one of the state’s finest tertiary eye-care centres. He specialised in high-volume, high-quality cataract surgery—especially sutureless techniques and phacoemulsification—and performed advanced procedures free of charge for the poor.

By 2007 he had completed his 100,000th cataract operation at J.J. Hospital; the total later surpassed 162,000, a world record. He conducted hundreds of surgical camps, including many in tribal areas and at Baba Amte’s Anandvan Ashram, where he operated on thousands of leprosy patients with complicated cataracts, dramatically reducing complication rates. He also restored sight through corneal transplants to hundreds of blind children and adults.

In 2008 the Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri for his contributions to medicine. Other honours followed, including the Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj Award.

Despite lifelong dependence on immunosuppressive medication after his kidney transplant, Dr. Tatyarao Lahane continues to operate long hours and serve the underserved. In the operating theatres of Mumbai and the dusty camps of rural Maharashtra, his extraordinary skill and quiet determination have given the gift of sight to more than a hundred and sixty thousand people—and counting.