Medical Retina & Cataract Fellowship review @ HV Desai Eye Hospital, Pune, Maharashtra

Duration 18 months

2 fellows taken every 6 months 

Selection- interview 

Stipend 35k 

First month is observation period.

From 2nd month on, you are started on retinal lasers and intravit injections.

You are given good amount of lasers and intravit injection chances.

Ozurdex injections opportunities very rare.

For cataract, you are started on SICS, goes on x 6 months and then from 7th month, phaco training is given

You are given only 1 phaco case per week while the rest of the cases you do SICS.

You get phaco only for normal NS2 cataracts, not for advanced cases.

This MR & Cataract program has undergone changes since the previous MR Chief Dr Sucheta ma'am left, because of which MR-Cataract fellows now do not get cataract cases like before.

As a result, there is talk that the MR & Cataract program might be discontinued from next session (2026) onwards.

Or else if it continues, the cataract chances will not be guaranteed or promised.

OP exposure is good, you see a good number of cases 

Work timings 9- 4.30 pm

Dept is chill, consultants are friendly.

ROP exposure is good but screening is image-based (since screening is done by optometrists who use Retcam to take images and send them to doctors)... however, you are given chances for ROP lasers in babies so you learn how to do ROP staging that way... injections are also given in ROP babies but no hands-on for the same is given to fellows.

You have camp opinion duties 4-5 times a month

Sunday duties are on rotation with all fellows.

No night duties.

(Admin Note- the latest ad inviting fellowship applications for HV Desai Eye Hospital's July 2026 session no longer mentions a Medical Retina & Cataract fellowship.

They have now what is called the Medical Retina & ROP fellowship which implies that cataract training is not part of this 1 year program.)