(Retina Institute of Karnataka is part of Eye Foundation.) 6 months duration. You get all retinal lasers and intravit injections. Selection by interview, intake is in June and Dec every year. OP good number of clinical cases seen, timings 9am- 6.30pm No call duties, no Sunday duties. There is an online class every Wed. Stipend= 25,000/ month. Good training, you can do all medical retina procedures independently by the time you finish. Good option to consider if you are looking to do more than 2 months training but not long duration like the 18 months Medical Retina fellowships.

( Retina Institute of Karnataka is part of Eye Foundation Hospital) 2 yrs long. Hands-on is ok, but the numbers you get is lesser compared to other places. There is alternate day OT and you get mostly steps in surgeries till the end. Good range of retina cases seen in op. Stipend 35k. Online monthly classes are there in collaboration with other Eye Foundation branches. Has exit exam since it's under RGUHS.

Duration of fellowship - 3 years (2 yrs fellowship & 1 yr consultancy as of 2026) Selection- exam and interview both. Fellow intake is on need basis. Fellows per session- varies from 2 to 8 as per need of the dept. Phaco training included, cornea fellows share cataract OT with other fellows. Phaco start at 1.5 years into fellowship. Cornea surgeries are given from the start. We start with pterygium and tear repairs and TPKs from first year itself. It starts with training first followed by independent surgeries based on your skill set. Clinical case exposure- you see every textbook case and even more. Work- hectic during winters. Both senior consultants and senior fellows train you. A fellow typically gets around 350-550 phacos by the time they finish. By the end of the fellowship, 1-2 lamellar surgeries are given and sometimes even more also. You get to operate advanced cataract cases as well (small pupil, PXF, vitrectomy etc) No hands-on given for iris claw insertions though (done by IOL fellows). No peripheral postings. Night calls are along with DNBs. Very rarely DNBs call at night if at all some confusion, otherwise we never usually get called for any emergency patient. Academics- classes are thrice a week but many things are subject to self-learning.  In Cornea we have morning 7.30 am rounds for designated doctors for 4 days and on the rest 2 days there is class at 7.30am. Penalty is if we leave fellowship in the middle, we have to pay 2 lacs.  After joining, you have the first month to decide if you will stay or not. If you leave in 1st month, you are not charged any fine. But if you decide to quit anytime after the 1st month, the penalty of 2 lacs is in effect. Caution deposit also- it is 1st month salary + 3k per month till end of fellowship.

Duration 2 yrs Selection= MCQ exam+ interview No exit exam There is internal exam every 3 months for in-house fellows- only theory, no practical. Stipend 40k 1 fellow taken every 6 months You get at least 100 phacos, more usually. Phaco training starts from 1st month itself, 1-2 cases per week, you are taught supracapsular phaco technique (cataract prolapsed out of bag and emulsified in AC). There's a 1 month peripheral posting at their Vellore branch where you do much more phaco cases (2 nos/day) 1st 3 months at the main Chennai hospital is mostly OP and weekly OT duties (blocking pts, prepping pre-op files etc) After 3 months, you are given corneal surgeries, for keratoplasties (KPs) they start with steps in graft suturing You get around 25-30 KPs (both therapeutic & optical), some get even 50. Also get hands-on for ocular surface procedures, AMG, SLET etc  After 8-9 months, based on your skill, you get to do independent KPs. Lamellar surgeries- the main centre does not do many DALK, it's mostly CAIRS. No DSEK/ DMEK either, only PDEK. You will get steps in lamellar surgeries in last 6 months. Once you learn phaco, your next posting at the Vellore branch will teach you how to do phaco in bag so you can use that opportunity to wean out of the supracapsular technique.. but then back at the main centre, it's on you to perfect it.. fellows may tend to stick to the supracapsular technique. You also get advanced cataract cases, plus training for secondary IOLs, glued IOLs and vitrectomy (both ant and post). Refrac training also +  You get hands-on for SMILE, PRK, femtoLASIK Work timings 8.30 - 6 pm Initial 3-6 months you will have to come early for OT duty, around 7 am  Evening duties (OP till 8 pm) once per month, same for night duties and Sunday duties  Academics- classes happen based on how light OP is, usually includes fellows + PGs No admission fees. No bond money to be paid if you quit midway.

Duration 18 months Selection- MCQ exam + interview  No exit exam They take 2-3 fellows per session Stipend 30k first 6 months, 40k next 6 months, 50k last 6 months.  Phaco training included. They start surgeries usually after 3-4 months, you get lots of trabs- plain and combined. You also do cataracts, if you're good in SICS, your phaco training starts early. You get lots of lasers, also get MIGS towards the end of fellowship- they give you few cases to operate independently as well. They also give you steps in AGV surgeries as well. OP- you see wide variety of cases, very hectic. Academics- regular classes+ Plus fellows have to attend DNB PGs classes also (8 am daily). Work timings 8-6 pm. There are 6-8 weeks of peripheral posting where also you get cataracts and trabs to operate. Monthly Sunday duties, enucleation calls also (required of all specialty fellows, not just Cornea fellows).

2 years long 1 fellow taken per session Stipend 50k Phaco training included 1st yr SICS, 2nd yr Phaco (you get 2 cases/ week) Good OP exposure. Surg hands-on is a bit limited- some 20 PKs (mostly steps) Fellow also gets hands-on for AMGs, pterygiums, C3Rs Lamellar exposure + but no hands-on  Refrac exposure + but no hands-on Camp duties once/ every 2 months Night duties 3-4/ month. All night duties are as 2nd on call with PGs. Sunday duties 1/month Have to attend enucleation calls. Academics- regular classes once a week.

2 months duration Day starts at 8 am, you will go to OT and get trained in how to do direct gonio on pts who will undergo MIGS procedures You do direct gonio on the pt before starting surgery and then another direct gonio after surgery to note changes in AC post op. No hands-on for MIGS procedure per se, only observation After OT, you go to OP and see glaucoma cases- you do GAT, learn how to read perimetry & OCT, discuss abt diff glaucoma types, learn indications of medical management, indications of trab etc You get lots of hands-on for glaucoma lasers- PI, iridoplasties, SLT etc In my 2 months I did around 100 laser PIs (50 eyes) Course fee= ₹50,000 Accommodation available in campus Work timings from 8am -7pm

To get into the fellowship, there is an entrance exam done remotely (online), if you qualify then the 2nd round is in 2 days at Hyderabad centre. Day 1- There will be MCQ exam  Day 2- Face to face interview.  When I did my fellowship entrance, we had to fill in our first and 2nd choice and depending on the MCQ score and interview performance, they announced a list of selected candidates.  A lot of changes in the fellowship program now. However, the basic outline is that any speciality fellowship you choose, you will have a compulsory rotation in all specialities. One gets good exposure in all specialities, both OP and OT exposure is excellent. However, this depends on the campus you get allotted in and the mentor you are assigned.  There is compulsory secondary centre posting where one will have to independently handle a peripheral centre- this builds the foundation to run a centre independently in the future. You will be posting and operating cases everyday for 6 months - 1 year. So before you are posted to the secondary centre, you would have been trained in SICS and Phaco and would be independently operating plus managing complications in your fellow OR.   Constant reviews and evaluations would be done and depending on your performance they will post you in high volume or low volume centre. Post the secondary centre, your performance would be reviewed and you will have an interview or direct selection to the speciality of your choice. Again, which centre and under which consultant would be decided by the team.  The final yr one would be proficient in the speciality of their choice (again depends on your mentor and your centre) and the last 6 months, one is treated like a consultant itself.  Senior doctors are extremely approachable. Anyone can email anyone regarding a case and they respond almost immediately.  It is a well structured program and working hours from 7am to 8pm on most days and sometimes even later until OT finishes. Daily morning classes are taken seriously, attendance is reviewed. There will be presentations. Journal clubs and grand rounds. Overall LVPEI is an excellent centre for overall academic and surgical training. However not everyone fits in easily- there is absolutely no personal time after work and holidays are 10-15 per year. Everyone is a workaholic and if you have similar temperament then it’s the best place to be in. It is entirely the fellow's responsibility to make the most of the fellowship.  You will have to study and put in a lot of hard work and I’m sure that the fellowship would be fruitful. However if one is looking only for a certificate, then pls don’t choose LVP.  If you are seeking a job post fellowship then they even take you in. The whole system is time tested and running successfully, so one will have to fit into the system and cannot question the system.  I can assure you that there is no rigid hierarchy and no bullying by senior fellows.  The whole system works on patient care and pt well being.  Small mistakes which we might not feel significant is reviewed seriously in LVP. Each case you operate will be your responsibility, any issue or complications must be documented well. If there is any lapse in it, then they take it seriously. You cannot fake the outcomes etc. They even monitor your surgical time taken per case etc.  Overall I think it’s the best institution to do a fellowship. In LVP everything is given and anything can be done, provided you do it diligently and do it well.  For some the experience might be too much like repeating PG all over again. They have rules for everything and you will have to obey it.  Things like no AC in rooms, even in peak summer .  No washing machine. No iron box.  No induction stove. Food can be a problem as the canteen that caters to patients is same and shuts in the night.  Things might have changed now .

Duration 1 year Selection by interview 1 fellow/ session Stipend 90k You start with steps in trab in 2nd month- you get around 25 cases in total. AGV is also done but no hands-on for that. MIGS/ GATT not done here. It's daily OT, work gets over by 6 or 8 pm depending on number of cases. Plenty of cases for glaucoma lasers given. Cataract training included, starts with SICS, only 1 OT per week so 1 case/week, can increase to 2-3 cases/ OT. Once SICS is mastered they move you to phaco after 6 months. However phaco numbers are low, you get approx 15-16 phacos. Academics- regular classes are there. Night duties- 2/month, Sunday duty 1/ month. No formal bond but if they want people to stay back they may ask you to commit to bond after fellowship. This is to be clarified at the time of selection interview.

Duration-1 year Selection by interview 1 fellow/ session Stipend 90k You start assisting in paed cases by 3rd month and they give steps by 7th- 8th month, steps are mostly for squint cases, no hands-on for paed cataracts.   Neuro-Ophthal cases are seen in dept but not every textbook case is seen. Cataract training included, starts with SICS, only 1 OT per week so 1 case/week, can increase to 2-3 cases/ OT. Once SICS is mastered they move you to phaco after 6 months, however phaco numbers are low (< 20). Academics- no formal classes, mostly self learning.  Night duties- 2-3/month, Sunday duty 1/ month. No formal bond but if they want people to stay back, they may ask you to commit to bond after fellowship. This should be clarified at the time of selection interview.

(To clarify, Shroff Eye Centre is not the same as Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital even though both hospitals are located in Delhi.) Started recently (2023) Duration- 2 years Stipend is 65k -75k Selection is by interview- theory knowledge is tested but they are more interested in assessing how you handle patients since they get a lot of private patients. No accomodation provided. They have a camp setup so after you settle in and get familiar with how OP and camp runs, they start you on surgeries in 2nd month based on your skill. They may start you on phacos too, though initially it will be 2-4 phacos/ month.. as your progress improves, they step up the phaco numbers. OT happens every day except Sundays but fellows alternate so each fellow gets 3 OT days per week. Daily routine is to see OP in the morning and operate in the evening. Sunday is not working day unless you have operated on Saturday- then you need to go for Sunday rounds. No night duties or calls for fellows, those are handled by DNB PGs. There's also something called "half day" allotted to fellows every week, where half of a working day is free for the fellow to catch up on research work or do other parts of whatever paper/study their respective consultant is working on. Clinical exposure is average, but you do see all the common cornea cases. Good hands-on for keratoplasties which starts with steps at first. You also get good hands-on refractive cases- around 50-60 LASIK flaps, PRK, SMILE, SILK etc Lamellar keratoplasties are also given but they do more of DMEK than DSEK/DSAEK at this hospital. Work environment is not toxic and all consultants are very approachable. Academics are good- theory classes happen once a week and are attended by fellows of all specialties.

- 1st yr exclusive IOL fellowship - 2nd year- formal Cornea training - 3rd yr managing periphery doing both cataract+ cornea  - Refractive training only in last 3 months of fellowship  - Selection- MCQ exam+ interview - No exit exam - 1-2 fellows per session - Admission fee 1 lac, non-refundable  - Stipend 40k in 1st yr, 50k in 2nd, 60k in 3rd  - From your stipend they deduct 7,500 every month as security deposit which is returned when you finish fellowship 1st year - Exclusively IOL - First 3 months is in main centre- you do SICS mostly  - Then you are posted in periphery for rest of the year where you do both SICS & phaco 2nd year - Cornea training  - First 9 months or so- in main centre, posted with a consultant who trains you in corneal surgeries- TPKs, OKs, DSEK, SLET, AMG etc 3rd year - After that you're posted in one of their 5 major peripheral centres where you are the sole cornea consultant and you see and manage cases there independently. You also post cases to operate. - Last 3 months you are given lots of hands-on for refractive procedures, mostly Lasik and PRK, may get few SMILEs also - Work timings are 8-6 pm - In main centre, you'll have night duty and Sunday duties once a month - In periphery, it becomes night calls every 3-4 nights, Sunday rounds only if you have Saturday OT - Clinical exposure is very good, you see every kind of case - Not hectic - Not toxic either - Weekly 3 classes- 2 of those are common with other fellows, third is just for cornea fellows A mention about their peripheral centres and postings: - They have 4-5 major peripheral centres - And many more minor peripheral centres which are also located in other states (eg Haryana, Bihar, Uttarakhand) - In your 1st yr, you may be posted in one of their minor centres without prior notice so it can get hectic with all the travelling back and forth - After your formal Cornea training in 2nd yr, you are posted to one of their major peripheral centres in Delhi and usually not rotated between centres (unless there's some last min emergencies/changes) Overall a very good fellowship and you exit as an independent Cornea and Cataract surgeon. You usually learn everything there is to learn in first 2 years so some fellows find the 3rd year more of a mental hurdle to get through.