Duration 18 months 2 fellows taken every 6 months Admission fee of 2 lacs taken- not refunded  Stipend 75k (you get whole amount in hand, no TDS cut or other cuts) Accommodation not provided, they may arrange some family flats a little far away from the hospital where either family/ 2-3 fellows share a flat Nethradhama has a trust hospital where fellows do their surgeries, the main hospital services private pts so independent cases are never given, fellow is trained only in steps. Cataract hands-on given but no phaco training. Start with SICS in the 1st month, more cases given as you get proficient. You also get to operate advanced cases (small pupil, PXF etc) since the phacoref fellows tend to take the good, NS2 well dilating pupils leaving the "bad" cases for glaucoma fellows to operate.. but that bodes well for the glaucoma fellow ultimately. (Btw every specialty dept in Nethradhama takes 2-3 fellows every 6 months but PhacoRef dept has the largest number of fellows- around 24 at any point of time, since they take 4-6 fellows every 6 months) Trabs are started from 4th month onwards, usually combined SICS trabs. You get to learn steps like conj suturing when consultants train you in private hosp OT but when you go to the camp side, there are no glaucoma consultants or seniors there to supervise/ train you. Camp OT has mostly phaco and SICS trainers and they cannot guide you if you plan to do trab. As a result, most glaucoma fellows do mostly cataracts in camp OT. This means all the SICS cases in the camp side plus the steps they got for trab cases in the private side constitute majority of the glaucoma fellow's surgical experience over 18 months. Work environment- not hectic unless you're the only fellow (ie, if other fellows are on camps/ leave/ OT etc) Dept has 2 glaucoma consultants, both are approachable  Work timings 8-6 pm You get to see MIGS, GATT when they are done but no hands-on given except maybe to implant 2-3 i-Stents (depends on your luck). Sunday duties once every 6 weeks, night calls once every 2 weeks (not busy) and camps 1-2 times a week Academics- regular classes every Wed Monetary Penalties are there- Fine of 5 lacs imposed if you quit fellowship midway plus you have to return all your stipends. Every nucleus drop or IOL drop- fellow charged 10,000/- per case Every camp pt OT cancel- 5,000/- (taken from the fellow who went as camp doctor)

Duration 18 months 2 fellows taken/session Stipend 50k Selection for very 1st batch was by interview but next batch fellows were selected on recommendations given by senior professors 1 fellow is posted for 1 yr in IOL while the other fellow works 6 months in MR after which both switch IOL part of fellowship 1 year duration. OT is 3 days/ week (Tues, Thurs, Sat) and you get 1 case per OT, number increases as speed and skill picks up.  Starts with SICS and then as soon as you have mastered it, you move on to phaco. Phaco training can start after 6 months, again 1 case per OT (if you already know SICS well, your phaco hands-on starts earlier) 1st batch fellows did some 100+ SICS over 6 months and then 60 phacos over next 6 months. On non-OT days, work starts from 8.30, goes till 6.30. In OP, you are with Sai sir (Dr Saikumar) working up and seeing sir's pts.   On OT days you have to be in OT by 7.30 and while OT is over by 3, work gets over only by 6. Sunday post-op rounds to be done by the IOL fellow. MR part of fellowship 6 months duration. You get good amount of lasers (PRP, barrage) and injections (intravitreals, ozurdex implants) Common to both fellows: Sunday calls (1/month) and night calls (3/month as 2nd on call to PGs) are also there. Fellows go for Sunday camps every alternate month. No peripheral postings. Overall, a decent fellowship to get trained in phaco while also picking up medical retina skills.

Duration 2 years 2 fellows taken every 2 yrs Stipend 50k Selection by interview No phaco training. There are 4 retina consultants but fellow training mainly happens under Dr Divya (paediatric retina surgeon).   When they start hands-on depends on your surg skill, if your tissue handling is good you can start getting ports and sutures in 1st month itself. Else your initial 3-4 months will be spent observing and assisting. Lots of free hands-on for lasers and injections. You are given mostly steps in retinal surgeries till the end of fellowship. Because all patients are paying pts, the scope to do full cases independently is zero. But depending on how you pick up steps, you will get to do more and more steps in surgeries.. short of doing it entirely yourself. You get hands-on for everything, VH, mac holes, RD surgeries etc.. TRD cases are routinely not given to fellows. Clinical op exposure is good, wide variety of cases+  Night duties once a week, Sunday duty once a month, camp duties once every 2 months. Academics- no regular classes, mostly self learning. ROP exposure is limited to learning ROP screening, since the paediatric hospital is a separate building.. No hands-on given for lasers or injections in ROP babies.  Note - they take a non-refundable admission fee before you join fellowship- 1 lac for 2 yr fellowship, there are rumours of the fee increasing to 2 lacs from 2026 onwards.

Duration 2 yrs 6 months of Gen Ophthal posting+ 18 months of PhacoRef posting Selection- exam + interview Exit exam + 1-2 fellows taken once/ twice a year- on need basis Stipend 40k They take 2 months salary of 80k as caution deposit- ( 40k taken in 1st month, 20k taken each in 2nd and 3rd months)- this is returned at the end of fellowship. No admission fees. No penalties for any cataract surgery complications. At the start, you are assigned a senior consultant as mentor (can be from any speciality dept) who trains you one-on-one in SICS and phaco and also in managing complications.  They start you on SICS after 1st month while in Gen Ophthal, you get an average of 1000 SICS over 2 years. You are also gradually taught to manage your own complications (put CTR, iris hooks, iris claws, do ant vitrectomy etc) Phaco cases are given after 6-7 months. Once you are able to do phaco on your own, then your mentor no longer supervises you and you do all cases by urself thereafter.  Can expect an average of 200-300 phacos No topical phacos given. Refractive procedures-  After 6-12 months, you are given refractive procedures.  First they make you do some 7-10 C3Rs to get a feel for epith scraping after which toy are given PRK You get only PRKs (40-45)  Lasik not given. SMILE not done here (no machine). Work timings 8-6 pm On call- you have 2-3 rotations of weekly call in the first 6 months.. and it's literally for 1 whole week (Sun- Sat).. you start Sunday duty at 8 pm do till 8am Monday then you're off for the day to come back again at 8pm Monday and to do call till 8 am Tuesday and so on.. till Saturday. Camps are usually on Sunday- one Sunday camp duty per month You exit as independent SICS surgeon with good phaco experience (depending on numbers). No topical phaco experience though.

Duration= 2 years Selection by interview, random intake on need basis Stipend 90k per month for 2 years Fellows per session- Depends but ranges from 1-3 They also have paid VR fellowship option- it's usually 6 Lakh for one year paid surgical VR without any stipend Any cataract/ phaco hands-on? Nil.. No ... Nada First you develop medical retina skills with diagnosis and investigations (OPD postings) and OT postings are also there where intravit inj. are given... Gradually retinal lasers given under supervision but later they give full fledged laser room to perform lasers in all patients. Initially only lasers and anti vegf then gradually give steps of surgery For surgery- they start with core vitrectomy- then nucleus drop cases of social/free segment- then steps of RD/ Macular hole surgeries. Almost nil ROP surgeries exposure though. Usually fellows exit the program with independent macular hole surgeries done. Clinical exposure- depends on the consultant where you are posted - some see 30 pts per day where you will get to know indepth about everything from patient- disease - prognosis and some consultants see 100 pts per day so you get exposure in a rush setting also where you just diagnose and there isn't much discussion about the disease or topic .. usually lots of cases and a good variety. It's non toxic and borderline hectic environment; slightly more than residency but not so hectic. You get free at 6-7 pm everyday except rarely when some surgeon is still operating in OT (usually consultants tell fellows if they wish can leave). All consultants train fellows- some give good hands on and some impart good clinical skills Lots of lasers and intravit injection hands-on... enough to get you very bored and very confident. No ROP hands on and very few cases of ROP screening- you get to examine a few cases in 2 years, that's it. Peripheral postings- in Kolkata and Berhampore centre are given... Night calls equally divided between DNB and all fellows so maybe 1-2 night per month which is non hectic.. some1-5 pts per night duty. Academics were lacking but now Retina dept conducts own dept classes without DNB where they have raised the quality of classes above DNB level. Daily work timings- 8.30am to 5.30pm but it extends to 6-6.30pm usually Susrut used to have a service bond of 3 years and they preferred to take local docs or docs who were willing to move to Kolkata for their fellowships... However bond is not formal or rigidly enforced, if fellow was not willing they could intimate the management of the same and leave after fellowship was done. Currently, there are rumours that there is no bond for upcoming sessions, this needs to be clarified at the time of selection interview.

[This fellowship is different from their exclusive Medical Retina fellowship which is 1 year.] 2 years duration Medical Retina 1 year Uvea posting 1 year Stipend 55k Uvea posting- very good Uvea exposure- OPD wise is great Sx chance you get weekly once in Guindy branch.. One month only cataract posting in Guindy branch when doing 1 yr Uvea posting They start with ECCE and then do Blumenthal SICS.. Phaco also.. Surgical training.. basics one-to-one training is very good.. SICS.. around 40 Phaco some 10 cases Case no:s depends on your proficiency and personal progress.. Complicated cases are given to fellows but for SICS.. No vitrectomy exposure Medical Retina posting Opd exposure good Laser chances ok-ok.. usually given in last 2 months.. approx 100 lasers you can expect  Intravitreal injections not much given, usually 10, max 15-20 For Ozurdex inj, AC tap, PST inj, you have to keep asking for chances. There is also ROP training.. we get exposure.. not much, only what cases come to OPD. No hands-on for ROP lasers or injections. Other than that, you can be independent with retinal lasers and injections by the end.. Dutywise- Ward duty monthly twice.. Sunday duty monthly once Night duty monthly twice. Not hectic.. Work is 8-5.. differs on OT days.. You have monthly posting with diff consultant 2 OT days with consultant.. you observe the OT and do case entry work... lots of file entry work. Good clinical exposure.. Personally feel this fellowship is suitable for candidates not interested in surgery (since cataract numbers are so low). You have to know Hindi.. I (reviewer) didn't know Hindi so I had it tough.. but I picked up.. In SN, it's mostly Hindi patients or Bengali..

Duration- 18 months Selection is only by interview Stipend is 25k 1-2 fellows taken per session when the previous ones are about to finish. It's a pure cornea fellowship. No cataract surgeries given. This is a charitable hospital, there is no refractive setup so no refractive exposure. The cornea hands on is good, the numbers are not as much as other high volume centers but whatever case comes, they'll let you do.  They'll give DSAEK also once you're doing well with the PKs There are no camp duties. No night/ holiday duties. Academics- no formal classes but consultant is a good teacher, it's up to the fellow to read up. It's not at all toxic. Timings from 8 to 4 or sometimes 5 depending on the ward work.

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.