Duration -1.5 years In this 1.5 years, you will get to see all types of cases in pediatric, strabismus and neuro- ophthalmology. OP numbers are very high so will be hectic also. You will start seeing individual OP from second or 3rd month.  OT starts after 3 months. You will get enough hands on for strabismus cases, especially for recti muscles. Oblique muscle surgeries depends on your skill. For SICS- will have to share camp cases with PGs.  If you have enough exposure in SICS, you can get Phaco also but the numbers will be less. No training in pediatric cataract cases. Academics is good as madam HOD is interested in conferences and classes. General Casualty duties and camp duties will be there once or twice a month. Any pediatric injury case will have to be attended by the fellow at night also. So will have to pick a stay near the hospital. The working atmosphere is good. If you have real interest in strabismus and pediatric ophthal, Comtrust is a really good option.

Duration : 1.5yrs  Phaco included (mainly phaco). But those who not familiar with SICS, it may be difficult if you're looking to better your SICS skills as fellows don't get much SICS- those are given mostly to PGs.  Surgical hands-on starts at 3 months, sometimes later.  Clinical exposure, you get to see all kind of cases in glaucoma. Work environment is good, friendly staff and colleagues. Camp duties once in a while, divided between PGs and fellows. No formal theory classes, only one dedicated senior under whom we are trained both surgically and academically. Trabs around 25-30 given per candidate. They give plain trabs first, then combined cases. If payment cases, then you operate under supervision.  If you are well trained in SICS, Comtrust is a good place to be as you get good exposure to phaco, high end machines and foldable IOLs.

2 yrs long. Usually 1 fellow taken per session. 57k stipend. Anita maam is unit chief and the one who heads Cornea training. You get to operate SICS also.. so if you are not fluent in SICS, you can perfect your skill here. Phaco cases are not guaranteed, you may or may not get. If at all they decide to give phaco, it will be in the last 6 months and only after you have mastered SICS.. will be around 20-25 phacos max (because they give phacos to their PGs also, so not enough camp cases to go around for both fellows and PGs to get a high number). You start corneal surgeries after first 3-4 months, all penetrating keratoplasties- you get steps like graft trephination, first put 4 sutures then 8 sutures etc Full cases not given unless you show good skill. You get free hands-on for other procedures like C3R, AMG, pterygiums. Anita ma'am does ocular surface procedures also (SLET, MMG, lamellar keratoplasties etc) so she can give you steps like putting sutures or air bubble insertion, graft insertion for DSEK etc Eyebank posting- you'll be trained in tissue evaluation since you have to do it daily. Enucleation calls are done by eye bank technicians, fellows usually not posted, can accompany the technician on the call if interested. Clinical exposure is good, wide variety of cases seen in op. Ulcer ward- Cornea fellow is the one mainly posted there (PGs posted only if fellow not available)- fellows have to scrape all ulcers and manage patients. No refractive procedure hands-on given but the dept does do refractive procedures so you get to observe those.

Duration - 24 months, only one fellow at a time. Selection  - Online submission of CV and letter of interest, followed by an interview with the director and the head of subspeciality (very informal). Preferable to apply 3- 6 months before the current fellow finishes. Clinical Exposure  - Good. 8 on a scale of 10.  Surgical Exposure  - 7 on a scale of 10. Adequate hands on for all common Oculoplasty procedures. Very minimal exposure to endoscopic and bony orbital surgeries like decompressions and fractures. Will need further workshops to update ourselves. Oncology is not specified as a part of the fellowship. But good exposure to lid, lacrimal and orbital malignancies. Intraocular tumors (RB, Choroidal melanoma) are not dealt with. Cosmetic procedures botox, blepharoplasties yes but limited as patient demand is still less. Work timing - 8 am- 4 pm, unless there are any emergency lid tear repairs (canalicular or margin involving). Work environment - Hectic in the initial few months, then it becomes easier. Not toxic, 3 consultants involved in training. It is ideal if you join one month before the previous fellow leaves, so that you get a hang of things.  Interesting case discussions, publications, presentations, FAICO all are encouraged but depends on the fellow's interest. Night duties  Approx 4 per month, as second on call. (Initial few months will have to work as first on call, it will be hectic). As second call you get to operate open globe injuries, corneal tears. That's a plus, if you haven't had any such exposure. Other duties  - Evening OP duty from 4 pm to 5:30 or 6 pm on a weekly basis or on a monthly basis (if you are lucky). Camps once or twice every month, weekday or weekend.  Peripheral centre posting one day a week. Cataract exposure - Personally did 250+ SICS over 2 years, 20 Phaco in last 1 month. Free to choose your pick from camp cases. Can slowly work your way up to complicated cases. Your own subspecialty consultants are expected to train you in Phaco and the number and duration depends on their willingness and rapport with you.  Neuro-Ophthalmology Is included in the fellowship as it is dealt by the same department. Throughout the 2 years you will get to see lots of cases. Clinical exposure is good in a way that you get to see a wide variety of cases. But management is not always textbook and you are left to educate yourselves. The advantage is that this is a rare combination of fellowship (Oculoplasty + Neuro-Ophthal) and makes a lot of sense as there are so many overlapping conditions between them. Good option for people who want Neuro-Ophthalmology exposure with a fellowship other than Paed Ophthal. My take is all fellowships have lacunae and it is up to us how much further we want to educate ourselves. And this fellowship program is worth it.

Hi, so the Oculoplasty fellowship is for 18 months, one fellow per time. Clinical exposure is really good. But surgical exposure is limited. You get to assist all cases but surgical opportunities to do independent cases are less. Stipend is 50k, work environment is not toxic but initially hectic but then you get used to it. Night duties are 4 days per month and one Sunday day duty per month. No compensatory off for night duties. Academics is okay. Retina dept has intake of 6 fellows per time. Cornea, Oculoplasty and Pediatrics have one fellow at a time. Overall it's a great experience being here. Definitely one can improve clinical knowledge cause of variety of cases and tailored management.

I (reviewer) did my VR from Amrita, it was one of my best experiences. You won't believe, within just 6 months of joining I was doing an RD surgery independently. After 1.5 yrs, I was operating on sir's private cases and he would often leave me alone in OT so I could finish them on my own. I was posting my own cases by the end of fellowship and operating all of them as well. In the last 4 months I even got to do surgery for a baby with ROP. The duration is for 2 years and selection is via MCQ exam followed by interview  They take only 2 fellows per session Stipend is 50,000 Gopal sir (Dr Gopal Pillai) is a stellar retina surgeon, he would finish cases within 15-20 mins. He really changed my thinking and mindset in fellowship, he convinced us that retinal surgeries don't have to take hours. Seeing his example, it was natural we also motivated ourselves to follow the same lead. Daily work times are 9am - 5 pm but work would often go on till 6.30/ 7 pm. We had to take classes for UG and PG students also and our surgery times were in the afternoon 2-5 pm.. towards the end, I was routinely doing 4 cases just in those 3 hours.  Fellowship is a mayhem of sorts 😅 don't expect a lot of free time, Sundays are usually not free and if you are on call, you gave to attend to every emergency that comes.. which means if a corneal tear came, you had to operate, nobody else was going to come and do it.. that way you also get holistic hands-on and learn how to manage time and staff to keep OT running smoothly. Night calls were plenty and you had to attend as they came. There were no public holidays. But these things were ok for me, because I got so much hands-on and Gopal sir was a great mentor that I found my fellowship very rewarding. I'm acquainted with retina fellows in LVP (LV Prasad Hospital) and Aravind and believe me when I say my experience as VR fellow at Amrita was as good as theirs and even exceeded theirs in some aspects. In Aravind, you get only steps in retina surgeries and that too, only after 1 year and then after finishing 2 yrs of fellowship, most of them join back as MOs (medical officers) to get further hands-on. But I got to learn and be proficient in the common retinal surgeries in just the 2 years I spent in Amrita. I even got to operate on an ROP baby which in LVP is not given until you have done Paediatric Retina fellowship (which comes after the 3 yr VR fellowship). When I joined here, I expected I would learn mostly lasers and intravit injections, you know, that it wud be another proxy-medical retina program but that was not at all the case. VR fellowship in Amrita is a hidden gem . Very underrated. One of the good places to do VR fellowship in India, in my humble opinion.

Duration 2 years  Phaco training starts after 8 months. Till then you do SICS. IOL fellows share cataract cases with specialty fellows. Initially there's 15-20 days of induction, then you can start OT in stepwise manner. A lot depends on how much surg exposure you had before in PG.  In IOL op, you only see comprehensive patients. You are supposed to manage all op cases independently. No exposure to speciality opd cases  Work is hectic and work environment is mostly not toxic. You'll find one odd person who is toxic. Rest are not toxic. But definitely hectic.  After initial 3 months training period, whosoever is the senior fellow/ consultant available trains you. They take over if you face any difficulty while operating and handle the case but they won't be there to supervise your whole case from start to finish since they have to finish their own cases too. But you can observe what they did on your case and keep learning. Also quality of surg training varies from consultant to consultant and peripheral centre to centre. Only other surgeries that IOL fellows get to do are pterygiums, maybe some tarsorraphies.   Phaco numbers depend on centre you are posted in (min 500 +). Hectic centres you get average of 1500 cases. No refractive training offered in this IOL fellowship. After 3 months of training in Delhi, you are permanently posted in periphery. So basically your whole fellowship is a peripheral posting where there are 2 consultants and around 10 fellows roughly. 1-2 camp duties a month. 1-2 night calls a month. Working hours starts at 8 am. So classes are online for IOL fellows as they are in periphery mostly. Class starts at 8 am via zoom on Tues and Wed. Note- They take 60k admission fees before you join, no refund. Stipend is 55k but you get around 30-35k in hand as they cut hostel charges and TDS and caution money also. Caution money they cut 10% x 6 months then 20 percent then 30 percent. But this caution money is returned at the end of 2 yrs after you finish.

They have only Cornea program at this hospital, no other fellowships.  Usually 1 year long but tenure is decided based on your experience at the time of interview with Dr Samar Basak, head of Cornea (for eg, someone just out of PG without much specialty exposure may be asked to do fellowship for 2 years). This is a purely Cornea fellowship, no refractive or cataract training. Clinical exposure is good. No camp cases, all private patients- even then fellows can expect to get an average of 50-100 penetrating keratoplasties. Hands-on starts usually after first 2 months and progresses step-wise- you train in wet lab first and when Basak sir feels you are ready, then he moves you to the OT list. Lamellar surgeries also done- but fellows don't get hands-on, only observation.  Last month of fellowship will see you observing refractive procedures (no hands-on). If you are a private practitioner and interested in setting up eye bank services for your hospital, then this is a good program.

- 1 year fellowship. - Pure phaco fellowship, no SICS. - 1 fellow per session- taken twice a year (Jan, July). - Selection- interview based. - You get minimum 300 phacos. - They start phaco training from 2nd-3rd month. - Free campus accommodation. - Stipend 20,000/ month. - Wet lab available. - Daily OT. - Regular theory classes. - Compulsory 3 year bond after fellowship.

- Started in 2023. - Eligibility- MS/ DNB. - They have fellowships in Glaucoma, Orbit, Paediatric Ophthalmology, Community Ophthalmology, Uvea & Med Retina. - No fellowships in Cornea/ Surgical Retina (VR) as of 2025. - All fellowships are 2 years long. - Selection- Entrance exam followed by interview. - There is an exit exam. - Only 1 seat per specialty per year. - Fellowship is hectic, clinical exposure is good. - All fellows get Phaco training. If you are not good in SICS, then they will make you master that first. * Good academics- structured seminars, journal clubs, case presentations etc - Some programs require you to do research projects.  Glaucoma - Clinical exposure is good. - Also get training in lasers (PI, suturolysis, iridoplasty etc). - Glaucoma fellows get hands-on in SICS trabs, Phaco trabs, cyclodestructive procedures - No hands-on for MIGS/ surgical glaucoma devices  Uvea and Medical Retina - Fellows get trained in lasers, intravitreal injections, ROP screening, also operate on complicated cataracts. - Fellows don't get ROP lasers because they are done by the VR dept. - There are postings in other depts- Rheumatology, Infectious Diseases, Micro, Patho, Surg Retina etc. Paediatric Ophthalmology  - Good clinical exposure. - Fellows get hands-on in paediatric squint, cataract, NLD probing etc. - No hands-on for paediatric oncology but you get to observe management of retinoblastoma cases. Community & Comprehensive Ophthalmology  - Involved with outreach ops and community centres and camps. - Lots of field work and surveys. - Have to do a research based project during the fellowship. - Clinical rotations through general units every week, specialty rotations in 2nd yr. - Fellows get hands-on for SICS and phaco, pterygiums, lasers, intravitreal anti-vegfs. Orbit & Lacrimal Surgery - Hands-on is limited, mostly assisting and observation-based. - You have to do a thesis/ scientific project during this course.

Minto Eye Hospital is the Ophthalmic Hospital of BMCRI (Bengaluru Medical College and Research Institute) 18 months fellowship. There is entrance exam and also exit exam. 4 fellows taken per session. They start giving you steps in VR surgeries within 2-3 months of joining. You may get some phacos also but only if you are already trained in them. It's a high volume centre. So you will get all variety of cases, clinical exposure is vast. Work environ is hectic but not toxic. Senior consultants are the ones who train you, initially you get diabetic VH, TRD, drop nucleus, dropped IOL, later even RRD. ROP posting will be there. So you get enough exposure and lasers too. No peripheral posting. Camps rarely. Night duties depend on the number of fellows.. usually weekly once or twice. Stipend 75,000/ month.

2 yrs duration. Selection- first MCQ exam, after clearing that you have interview- questions on common retinal conditions (Kanski is good enough to prepare). 2 fellows taken every 3 months. NN (Narayana Nethralaya) has 6 centres but you get allotted mostly in NN-1 which is their main centre in Rajajinagar. First 3 months you are posted in B scan and you get intravit injections.  Next 3 months you are rotated between diff centres- op duty and lasers. During 1st 6 months, it's hectic and you have to work 8 am - 8 pm. After 6-8 months, you officially become a "senior", now you are fixed at your allotted centre and get posted with diff consultants every 1.5- 2 months. Work time also reduces 8- 6.30 pm. You start on retinal surgeries- you get hands-on and steps in all retina cases. Clinical op is good- all kinds of retinal conditions are seen, including rare ones. Work is hectic. You have fellow duty (on-call x 1.5 days at a stretch) every month, and then when you become a senior it is every alternate month. No offs for doing fellow duty, that's how it is.. but good thing is very few retinal emergencies come at night. Sundays duties are there- mostly alternate weeks. Lots of opportunities to do paper presentations- consultants are encouraging.  Good place for VR fellowship, at the end of 2 yrs you will be familiar with retinal surgeries but not exactly independent- still that's on you, you should join a place afterwards where you can refine your surg skills further. As in other fellowships at NN, you have to pay a caution deposit of 1 lac upfront- refunded at the end of fellowship. Forfeited if you leave in between. _______________________________ More details from another reviewer- Only NN 1 and 2 has VR fellowship NN 1 has mostly all the fellows. NN 2 had only 1 fellow. NN 1 has 10 VR consultants  NN 2 had only 2 VR consultants At our time, 2-3 fellows were taken every 6 months at NN 1 And NN 2, only 1 fellow was there for whole 2 yrs NN 1 has uvea and ROP exposure also- 1 month of uvea and 1 month ROP posting- no surgical hands-on during that time. __________________________