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Cataract surgery for patients from Dodamarg: one eye at a time, planned from across the border
ReNew Vision Eye Hospital is in Vaddem, Vasco, Goa, about 60 km from Dodamarg through Bicholim taluka, Tivim, Mapusa and Panjim: about an hour and a half by car. Usually one eye is operated at a time, so plan the trips for both. We can collect you from your home and drop you back, at zero cost to the patient.
Dodamarg, in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, sits right on the Goa border, and villages such as Sasoli, Kudase, Ghotgewadi, Bambarde, Talkat and Tillari use Goa's roads, buses and markets every day. ReNew Vision Eye Hospital is in Vasco, Goa, not in Dodamarg: 2nd floor, Pai Hospital building, Vaddem Merces Road, Vaddem, Vasco da Gama. Most older people with cataract (motibindu) have it in both eyes, so this page also explains how the second eye fits into the plan.
The road from Dodamarg
OpenStreetMap routing gives about 60 km. Cross into Goa on the Bicholim side and continue past Mulgao, Sirsaim and Tivim to Mapusa. From there NH 66 runs through Porvorim and Panjim, past Bambolim and over the new Zuari bridge to Cortalim, where the Vasco road (NH 366) leads through Zuarinagar and Chicalim into Vasco. A second route, through Sankhali, the Amona bridge and Old Goa, is about the same length. The tool shows about an hour on clear roads; plan on an hour and a half or a little more.
Public transport
- Bus: Maharashtra ST buses run from Dodamarg to Panjim and to Thivim station; from Panjim, KTC shuttles go to Vasco, whose bus stand is about 1 km from the hospital. Check the day's timings at the Dodamarg stand.
- Train: Thivim and Pernem on the Konkan Railway are the nearest stations, useful for relatives coming from Mumbai, but the onward journey to Vasco is by road.
- Pickup: we can collect you from your home and drop you back, at zero cost to the patient. Ask when you call 072489 88039, and give clear directions to the house.
Why one eye at a time?
Families travelling from across the border often ask whether both eyes can be done together to save trips. Usually the surgeon operates on one eye, waits for it to settle, and then does the second, so that any problem in the first eye is dealt with before the second is touched, and the patient always has one seeing eye at home. The exact gap is the surgeon's decision; read the gap between surgery on both eyes. Ask at the first visit for a rough calendar for both eyes, so you can plan work, harvests and family help.
A visit plan from Dodamarg
- Check-up and counselling: both eyes examined after dilating drops; the method (phaco or SICS), lens types and fee explained; the lens-power test, often on the same visit.
- First eye surgery: a few hours at the hospital, with an adult companion.
- First check, usually the next day or soon after, and follow-ups over the next weeks. Some families stay the night with relatives in Goa for the first check; others go home and return.
- Second eye, once the first has settled, with its own checks.
- New spectacles after both eyes have settled, from the Vision Correction Centre in the same building.
The operation is explained on cataract surgery at ReNew Vision, and what the day feels like in what to expect.
Plantation work after surgery
Cashew, areca, banana and coconut gardens keep Dodamarg families busy. After each operation, for some weeks as the surgeon advises: no climbing, no lifting heavy loads, no work in dust or spray, and no rubbing the eye with dirty hands. Fix the dates so that recovery does not fall in the busiest picking or spraying weeks.
What to bring
- the patient's spectacles, old eye papers and all medicine strips, including blood thinners
- recent sugar and BP reports
- food, water, sunglasses, and our number saved: 072489 88039
Hours and emergencies
The Eye OPD runs Monday to Saturday, 4 pm to 7 pm, Friday included; Sunday OPD is closed. From Dodamarg, leave by about 2 pm. Emergency eye care is available 24 hours; after surgery, call at once if pain, redness or blurred vision increases. For a severe injury, go to the nearest hospital first. More on coming from another town.
Questions patients ask
How far is ReNew Vision from Dodamarg?
About 60 km, through Bicholim taluka, Tivim, Mapusa and Panjim and over the new Zuari bridge, or via Sankhali and Old Goa. Allow about an hour and a half by car.
Can both eyes be operated on the same day to save travel?
Usually the surgeon does one eye, lets it settle and then does the second, so the patient always has one seeing eye. The surgeon decides the gap for your eyes.
Is there a bus from Dodamarg to Vasco?
ST buses run from Dodamarg to Panjim and to Thivim station. From Panjim, take a KTC shuttle to Vasco and an auto-rickshaw to Vaddem. For the surgery day, our home pickup is easier.
When can my mother go back to work in the cashew garden?
Light work at home usually starts soon. Climbing, heavy loads, dust and spraying wait for some weeks, as the surgeon advises at the follow-up visits.
Is there a ReNew Vision clinic in Dodamarg?
No. ReNew Vision Eye Hospital is only in Vaddem, Vasco da Gama, Goa. We can collect you from your home and drop you back, at zero cost to the patient.
This page is general eye-health information, not personal medical advice. Your eye doctor advises you after examining your eyes.