Double Vision

Mumbai December 8,2007

For 15 days in August, Subhra Saha, a teacher at the Bengali Education Society High School in Dadar, was seeing double of everything. Her 50 students seemed like a mob and the construction poles outside her home looked like a bamboo forest.
"One Sunday, I got up from my nap and saw double. Even splashing water in my eyes didn't help. I couldn't walk, as both images were so clear that I couldn't tell which was real," says Saha.

Docs baffled

A visit to an ophthalmologist brought no answers and she was referred to Bombay Hospital. She was diagnosed with diplopia or double vision, but doctors were baffled, as her condition was unrelated to an eye malfunction or nervous system, which are the usual suspects.
After a week of observation, doctors told her they would drain a 4 cm cyst in her left maxillary sinus cavity and then try neurological therapy. "After we drained the cyst, the diplopia disappeared. However, we still couldn't explain her double vision and have kept her operation videos for reference," says Dr Vimal Kasbekar, who operated on Saha. The removal of the blockage means a perennial running nose and heightened sense of smell. However, Saha says that is a small price to pay. "I got back my sight and more importantly, peace of mind."
Saha still shudders when she remembers that time in her life. "I thought I'd go crazy. It didn't help that the doctors were confused too."

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