2 years  Selection by Interview Fellow intake happen at fixed time.. January session usually and July session  Stipend- 40k per month with free optional accommodation  1 VR fellow taken per session No phaco/ cataract training  You are given steps in retina cases and gradually progress but you get complete surgeries at end of fellowship (independent macular hole surgeries are given fully to the fellow). Clinical exposure is good, you see every textbook case. Hectic work environment but not toxic.. it's very conducive to learning and very good academics. Dedicated senior consultants for surgical teaching. Plenty of retinal lasers and intravit injections given to fellows. Common retina surgeries fellows get hands-on in-- Nucleus drop, RRD, TRD, Macular hole surgery (full) at the end of fellowship  Good ROP exposure with ROP lasers also given to fellows Everyday evening camp duties after retina opd/ OT.. this is general camp for screening of patients then posting them for cataract surgery.. but VR fellows (even consultants) aren't allowed to do cataract surgeries  Academics- regular classes everyday at 7am  Daily work timings 8am to 6pm, sometimes upto 8pm No bond/ admission fee. (Note- The fellowship trainer at the time this review was submitted is no longer with the Institute so the fellowship experience going forth from 2025 may or may not reflect this review.)

Recently started (2023) Duration 2 years Selection- exam+ interview Stipend 70k in 1st yr, 80k in 2nd yr No admission fees/ caution deposits. No bond. Phaco training not included. But if you know SICS/ phaco, they may give you few cataract cases per month. There are many retina consultants but you primarily tag with Ganesh sir (Dr Ganesh Pillai). The first 6 months-1 year you sit with sir in OP and see cases with him teaching you findings et al.. afterwards you are put on independent OP duty. Hands-on start initially with intravit injections from 1st month itself, then you progress to making ports.. by 2nd-4th month you get SOR and start with steps in other retinal surgeries.  Last 3-4 months you may start getting cases to do independently based on your skill. TRD surgeries given in last few months only. For macular surgeries, you get all steps except ILM peeling step. Hands-on for retinal lasers tend to be less since all are private patients and prefer the senior consultant does laser.. camp cases are given for retinal lasers when available. ROP exposure is minimal since they don't get many referrals. OP sees a good range of retina cases. Work timings 10-7 pm or 11-8 pm, may rarely go till 10 pm also Hectic but not toxic Academics- regular classes, 2 per week. No peripheral postings  No night duties Sunday duties 1-2/ month

Duration- 2 years Selection- exam+ interview on same day  2 fellows taken per session (1 surgical &1 med retina fellow) No phaco training (but if you know phaco, you can do few phaco cases per month). Stipend 60k in 1st yr, 65k in 2nd yr They start you on intravitreals in 1st month and retinal lasers by end of 1st month. Retinal surgery hands-on is started after 1st month, based on your dexterity and how well you pick up.. give steps like ports making, SO removal, vitrectomy etc There are 2 main retina consultants who are in charge of your training Based on skill and progress, you may get few independent cases to do towards end of fellowship.  Good clinical/OP exposure to retina cases. ROP exposure is decent- you are trained in screening and given few cases but no intravitreals done in ROP babies. Academics- online classes via Zoom twice a week (pan-India) Work timings 9 am - 9 pm for 1st yr fellows, 8 - 8/8.30 pm for 2nd yr fellows Night duties are on rotation basis between fellows in all depts

3 year duration Stipend 50k x first 2 years, 70k in last 15 months Selection- online exam+ interview Fellow intake- number variable, depends on need per campus, usually 1-2 fellows per campus, can be 4-5 fellows for the main KAR campus in Hyderabad  First 9 months is Comprehensive Ophthal posting, fellow is rotated thru all specialities for 1 month And for 2 months in his own speciality dept During this time they are trained in SICS, phaco, pterygiums, intravit injections etc Fellows who pick up surgically faster may do less than 9 months here. The remaining period is added to their last 15 months of speciality posting. For eg if you do only 7 months here, then the remaining 2 months are added to the last 15 months phase meaning you get 17 months in your speciality posting. Next 12 months  they are posted to a secondary centre which they manage solely, seeing op and posting cases Some secondary centres do more of SICS while others do equal proportions of SICS and phaco  You do at least 1000 surgeries in a secondary centre per year. This time frame is fixed, no reductions. Last 15 months  is exclusive speciality posting In PaedO you get good exposure and hands-on for all squints, both simple and complex. You also get paed cataracts, 50+ cases. Neuro-Ophthal cases are also seen exclusively by Paed Ophthal so good exposure for that as well. 1 month ROP posting in VR dept where you primarily learn ROP screening.  May get few intravit injections but no ROP lasers given.  During your fellowship, if you want to be posted to any of their other campuses to work with/shadow some eminent faculty, you can also request for the same and they make allowance for it. Academics- classes every day, strict entry before 7 am is mandatory. 3 days classes for all fellows. Other 3 days classes for particular speciality fellows.  No camp duties for fellows in LVP. No bond post fellowship. ----------- They have another program called "Fellow to Faculty" where if selected, you do only speciality for 2 yrs. You get phaco training in this too but case numbers are less than those that 3 yr fellows get. Also after the 2 yrs, you agree to 3 yrs consultancy posting with LVP.

2 years duration Selection- by MCQ exam and interview One fellow taken per year, one fellow per session  Stipend- ₹50,000 in first year, ₹55,000 in the second year No phaco training  Retina surgery training-  -Initially start with steps  -Independent minor surgeries (SOR / vitreous hemorrhage) by end of first year  -Independent retinal detachment / macular hole surgeries by the end of fellowship Clinical exposure- Very good, you see almost every textbook case Work environment- Not hectic or toxic There is a dedicated senior consultant who trains you  You get 400–500 + lasers and intravit injections Common retina surgeries fellows perform- Vitrectomy for vitreous hemorrhage, SOR, retinal detachment repair, macular hole surgery, etc. ROP exposure is good, hands-on limited to ROP lasers only Daily work timings 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM No peripheral postings, on-call duties on alternate days and Sundays Academics- weekly one class No bond, no caution deposits.

Duration- 2 years Selection- MCQ exam+ interview  2 fellows every 6 months Stipend 75k Admission fee= 2 lacs, non-refundable No phaco/cataract surgeries included 1st yr is exclusively medical retina work- you do lots of retinal lasers, B scans, FFAs, intravitreals injections etc.. starts after 1st month Start getting steps from 2nd yr onwards.. you get steps in simple vitrectomies, tractions, scleral bands, buckles etc  As your proficiency gets better they give you steps in more complex cases  For complicated cases like TRD, you don't get to do the whole case, you may get only steps You also get to do ILM peeling in macular surgeries in few cases Fellows are usually not allowed to operate cases independently. OP- clinical exposure is good, you see many diff cases Work is 9-6 pm ROP exposure is very minimal since patient load is low Sunday duties once every alternate month Night duties once a week Occasionally there might be peripheral posting at one of their smaller centres.

Duration- 18 months  Selection- by exam followed by interview  They take 1 fellow per session  Stipend- 55k 1st month is orientation period where you shadow an assigned fellow (of any specialty) in OP and OT Thereafter you are posted to different specialty depts for a month x next 17 months. No cataract surgeries given in main SN hospital. It's in your posting at JCOC (their camp hospital) that you are given cataracts. You get 3 rotations of JCOC posting. SICS given initially- 100 cases promised Phaco given only in the last month and 3rd JCOC posting- only 30 phacos  No training in difficult cataracts or managing complications. You may get pterygiums and Yag caps.. no other procedures/ surgeries given  Hectic work environment  The consultant under whom you are posted with teaches you. Academics- regular classes, fellows attend with PGs, also have to give monthly internal exams. You are familiar with SICS and phaco by the end of fellowship but you cannot operate as an independent surgeon, will need more surgical experience post fellowship.

Duration 1.5 yrs Selection- MCQ exam followed by interview 2 fellows taken every year Stipend 30k in first six months, 40k in next six, 50k in last six months They take 1 lac as caution deposit before you join- this is refunded at the end of fellowship  Cataract training included.. you start with SICS  Phaco training given in last few months, some 100 cases  Advanced cataract cases given but for SICS, not phaco Few topical phacos may be given but only to proficient fellows  After joining the dept, you start getting steps in surgery from your 1st month itself   You get to do squints and paed cataracts mostly.. the numbers you get depends on your skill.. some fellows get to do all kinds of cases while others will not get as many chances. You are allowed to do squints independently by the end and also given paed cataracts if your consultant is confident in your skill No ROP exposure Dept is not hectic, not toxic. Consultants are approachable, you are also expected to do papers and presentations in fellowship, it is a requisite. Work timings 8am -7 pm On call- night duties once a month Sunday emergency duties very few, approx 1-2 Sundays during whole fellowship  Might have to do half day on Sundays if you have postops from Saturdays  All specialty fellows are expected to take enucleation call duties- once/twice a month  Peripheral postings+ which are usually 1-2 months long, mostly managing OP there, no OT chances Neuro-Ophthal exposure is also+  Such pts are seen in Paed Ophthal dept itself and managed by them.. VR dept also sees Neuro-Ophthal cases when it overlaps with presenting condition and may send to Paed Ophthal for opinion or vice versa  Overall a good fellowship, you exit as an independent surgeon who is able to operate squints and paed cataracts on your own. Phaco skill will need refining post fellowship.

Duration 1.5 yrs Selection- Interview 2 fellows taken every 6 months  Stipend 30k/month Cataract training included but only one case given per month Initial 2-3 months you are given SICS, then from 4th/5th month onwards, you are given phaco  Phaco also 1 case given per month No training in advanced cataracts or topical phacos    In Oculoplasty, you get to observe common lid surgeries and DCRs   But hands-on is extremely limited Plasty OT runs every alternate day  Fellows can operate camp pts with an oculoplasty condition (however, very rare to find such patients from camp setup)... there is no other surgical hands-on in OT since all cases are private pts.   Dept is not hectic, not toxic Work timings 9-5 pm Except on days when you have to come to hospital early at 7 am to observe Amar sir (Dr Amar Agarwal) operate cataracts, put glued IOLs etc On call- night duties once a month Camp duty once a month Camp postop duty once a month  Evening duty once a month Sunday duty 1-2/ month You do not exit the program as an independent surgeon, will need more training post fellowship.

University fellowship- the selection process was on the basis of merit taking in consideration UG, PG and HSC marks. University fellows are admitted on an annual basis but gets delayed by 2 to 3 months in every cycle. The other comprehensive Ophthalmology fellows are taken in randomly on need basis.   Stipend around 30k per month. 4 fellows per year University fellowship is of 1 year, comprehensive is of 1.5 years  Fees- University fellowship follows its norms, 75k to the institute and 25k to the University. Phaco training starts usually 6 months after joining. No other speciality fellows are there. SICS starts in around 2 weeks of commencement of fellowship. You get to see variety of cases. The focus is primarily on phacos. There will be many days when you won't be seeing any OPD primarily at all. Sometimes weeks.  Hectic. Work hours frequently goes late into the evening, lots of standing involved.  They have dedicated senior faculty to train you surgically. 30 to 40 phacos for one year. No complicated cases given, only NS 2, well dilated pupil cases.  Apart from cataract, nothing else. Complication management is done by faculty. No topical phacos given. No refractive training. You have to visit once a week to vision centres if you have been allotted that month. Camp duties every Sunday, night calls every 4 to 5 days. Clinical meet (academics) happens every Wednesday.

1 month course, can be done for 2 months also (but no more) You get 1 case per day and once you are able to do SICS on your own, they give you even 2 cases per OT  Classes every Wed and Sat for their PGs and fellows but you have to attend as well. If you don't pay attention or fail to answer questions, prepare to be scolded. But the trainer is good, ma'am genuinely strives to make sure you learn SICS well. Timings 9 am to 5 pm You get your cases usually after lunch But you need to be in OT all day  Accommodation available in campus, separate charges for that  Cases given Mon- Sat Sundays off (They also have a short term phaco course but you can apply only if you've done 200 SICS minimum.)

Duration 2 yrs 2 fellows taken every year- 1 FNB fellow (through FNB exam) and 1 institutional fellow (only interview) Exit exam + for FNB candidate  Stipend 90k Phaco training included  You are initially put on phaco simulator for phaco training. They also have a VR simulator and Sir sees how you do on the simulator first before starting you on live patients. VR OT runs every day. You are given steps in all retina surgeries till end of fellowship, however no chances to do independent cases. You get lots of retinal lasers and intravit injections. OP exposure is good, you see every kind of retina case here. ROP exposure is very less, another consultant sees the cases and you can request him to teach you screening. Oncology exposure NIL  Very few scleral buckles done here No training in SFIOLs (they are done by the consultants) You are trained to put iris claws Cataract OT is once a week, you get 1 case per OT, you get only normal NS 2 cataracts, no advanced cases. So that's around 160-170 phacos over 2 years. You are allowed to manage your cataract complications (iris claw training+) Work timings long, starts at 7 am can go on even till 9 pm depending on pt load and when OT finishes. All Sundays are working days, you have to come in for research or paper related work every Sunday. No public holidays given. On call- you have night duties in the first 6 months of joining... but you hardly get any emergencies. They have 3 other centres within the city so you will have periphery postings by turn. Academics- no formal classes, mostly self learning. You get to do steps in all cases but not given independent cases at all so you will need to join elsewhere after fellowship to learn to operate independently and get better.  Also, phaco refinement will be required (for advanced cataract cases) post fellowship.