What Makes a Good Cataract Fellowship? Simply put, it should have 4 levels of training. Level 1- SICS training Level 2- Phaco training in basic cataracts (NS 2-3, well dilated pupils) Level 3- Phaco training in advanced cataracts (hard cataracts, mature cataract, PXF, small pupil etc) Level 4- Training to manage your complications (sulcus IOLs, iris claws, anterior vitrectomy etc) You can add a 5th (based on what many corporate hospitals are asking for these days) Level 5- Training to do topical phacos (phaco under topical anesthesia) So if someone asked you what's the best phaco fellowship out there, your reply should be- the one that trains you in all 5 levels. Now for the bad news. The reality of cataract fellowships in India? Most of them train you to be a level 2 surgeon. The reality of hospitals in India? They want level 4 surgeons. So clearly there’s a gap between what most fellowships are churning out and what the market actually wants. The good news is that not all fellowships are like this. And that’s one way to decide which fellowship is better. The more levels of training a fellowship offers, the better it is. So a fellowship that trains you to level 3 is any day better than the one that refuses to go past level 2. Ok, Is That All? There's something else many beginners fail to see. To acquire level 4 or 5 proficiency, you can't be looking at 1 year or 1.5 year programs. Many beginners want surgical independence on a short timeline. That’s not how it works. If you’re an SICS newbie, you cannot expect full surgical maturity from a 1 year fellowship or worse, a few months of short-term phaco training. Time is your strongest ally. Time is what gives quality. Time is what makes you a surgeon. If you’re looking to be a phaco surgeon, lesser fellowship duration means all that happens is you get trained in steps of phaco (level 2). And that's what many trainees settle for. Now there are many young (and old) doctors whose life circumstances make it difficult for them to commit to long cataract fellowships. Realities like pregnancy or a baby at home or financial struggles. But barring those real circumstances, majority of trainees settle for shorter fellowships simply because they are averse to the thought of spending another 2 or 3 years for fellowships… especially when they already gave that much time for PG. But you can't let PG nostalgia get in the way of making important decisions. If your aim is to be a market-ready surgeon, everything has its price. And time commitment. I Have a Better Plan. I’ll Do a Short Phaco Course and Then Join a Hospital to Refine My Skills. Yea, you can learn SICS and Phaco by doing some 20 or 30 cases. But that's not going to make you a surgeon. It only trains you in technique. If your plan is to just learn technique and then refine it elsewhere (maybe your own setup), then good. But if your plan is to do shorter fellowships or do short term phaco training and hope the next hospital you apply to will hire you, then you're fooling yourself. See, hospitals are very clear on what they want. They want someone who can operate all kinds of cataract. manage his/ her own complications. If you can't do both, you're not a surgeon (to them) and you won't qualify. That’s it. Most hospitals won’t hire you with just short training and freely give you their patients. Hospitals are not that generous. Even when they hire someone who has had short term training, they are hesitant. They will not give cases freely. They will not give cases regularly. But let’s say you’re ok working for such a hospital. Even if you get just 3-4 cases a week (and assuming they have mercy on you and increase case numbers by second or third year), it will take anywhere from 3-5 years with that hospital for it to train you to be a level 4 surgeon. Meanwhile, you reach level 4 or level 5 proficiency with a long term fellowship in WAY LESSER TIME. Or at max, 3 years (going by the longest IOL fellowship out there). They may be called long fellowships but they’re actually the fastest way to become a market-ready surgeon in shortest time (even if the shortest time is 1.5 years or 3.) Think about it. So whether you’re looking at reviews on the site or talking to past fellows or directly asking a fellowship coordinator about their program, always look at what training level is their end point and then decide if the cataract fellowship will be suited to your needs.

In an earlier post, I broke cataract fellowships into a framework of 5 training levels. If you haven’t read that, start there first- The Best Phaco Fellowship in India Quick recap: Level 1 → SICS training Level 2 → Phaco in basic cataracts Level 3 → Phaco in advanced cataracts Level 4 → Complication management Level 5 → Topical phaco surgery At a glance, this framework simplifies fellowship reviews. You can quickly understand whether a program is producing an SICS surgeon a basic phaco surgeon or an independent surgeon who can handle most cataracts and manage complications That’s useful. But there are situations where this classification breaks down. Example 1: When Progression ≠ Mastery Take Agarwal Eye Hospital’s IOL Fellowship. As a fellowship option, it looks attractive. Just 1 year long and fellows are exposed to multiple levels within a year: SICS → basic phaco → advanced phaco → anterior vitrectomy, glued IOLs Or to put it another way, SICS (level 1) → basic phaco (level 2) → advanced phaco (level 3) → anterior vitrectomy, glued IOLs (level 4) Just this overview would cause us to think the program offers level 4 training. But look at the numbers- you get a handful of SICS followed by ~80 phacos at most. It takes way more than 80 phacos to cross level 2 in the first place. So there’s no way you are attaining even level 3 mastery with only these many cases by the end of fellowship. What’s happening here is that you are progressing up the ladder (in terms of exposure to levels) but you are not mastering each level before moving to the next one. That’s a big disadvantage. You do not exit the program as an independent surgeon. *** Or, consider HV Desai Hospital’s Cataract & Refractive Surgery fellowship. It's 18 months long, starts with SICS and introduces phaco after ~6 months. Looks like a great start. But there’s a constraint. You get only one phaco per week, despite 3 OT days in a week. So by the end, you've done around ~60–70 phacos total, get some exposure to managing complications in last 2 months (level 4), and also get a few token topical cases (level 5) toward the end as well. Using the framework, it appears to reach Level 5. But when you look at the numbers, they say a different story. 70 phacos including those training cases for complications and topical phacos. Nope, you do not exit as a level 4 or 5 surgeon with this one either. Example 2 Where the Framework Breaks: Pure Phaco Fellowships ASG Eye Hospital is a good example to use here. Their phaco-focused fellowships often produce surgeons who are comfortable with topical phaco by the end. That’s Level 5. But there’s no SICS training. So how do you classify such a program? Effectively, it produces a Level 5 surgeon without Level 1 training. This highlights a limitation of the framework (not the fellowship!)- In phaco-dominant programs, Level 1 may be minimal or absent. In such cases, the classification must be applied without level 1. Which also tells you something else- ASG-like programs are better suited for surgeons who are already comfortable with SICS (Level 1 proficient). So Who Are These Fellowships Actually For? Programs like Agarwal’s (with limited numbers and fast progression)- not suited for SICS beginners but also, not clear who their target base really is. Maybe basic phaco surgeons? HV Desai- decent for SICS mastery, fair for phaco foundation, weak for phaco independence. ASG-type programs- good fit for SICS surgeons who want to master phaco. Once you look at both numbers + training levels of a fellowship, the ideal target audience becomes clearer. Does Skipping Level 1 Really Matter? It depends entirely on where you plan to work after fellowship. If you’re entering a phaco-only setup, it may not matter. But if you get into setups with heavy dense cataract volume, camp work, manual conversion scenarios or limited phaco access, then lack of SICS training absolutely matters. Where Applicants Tend To Go Wrong They will hear statements like “You’ll be doing advanced cases” “You’ll manage complications” “You’ll get topical phacos” And think it means higher-level training. But without knowing numbers, these statements mean very little. What Actually Matters A program claiming to produce a “Level 4 surgeon” means nothing if complication exposure is minimal or given towards the end of fellowship. On the other hand, a “Level 2 program” may be far stronger if it builds phaco fundamentals and gives repetition in level 2 cases till the end. So when assessing cataract fellowships, you have to evaluate three things together- Starting level of fellowship Case numbers End outcome level Ignore any one of these and you're likely to misjudge the program. So Why Use This Framework At All? Because without it, discussing fellowships become vague. “This program is good.” “That one is better.” “This one has good exposure.” Good according to what? Exposure to what exactly? The training levels framework gives you milestone markers to work with. It's not perfect. It's not absolute, either. But it's still better than judging fellowships based on stipend or brand name or random opinions. Used correctly, along with factors like case numbers and duration, the Framework is an effective way to quickly understand what a fellowship actually offers. Those who go for long fellowships should ideally look for programs offering at least Level 3 proficiency. A program that makes you skilled in all 5 levels is the best (of course).

UPDATED (May 2026) The salary range for fellows is wide across fellowships in the country (data pulled from reviews on IOFAR, cited figures are as of May 2026). The highest stipend (₹1.21 lakhs per month) is given to VR FNB fellows in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi. While the lowest stipend tracked from our reviews is by KBHB Charitable Hospital in Mumbai, at ₹22,000 per month. Most other fellowships fall somewhere in between. The lower-paying fellowships tend to fall around ₹30,000 - ₹40,000/month While higher-paying fellowships cluster around ₹60,000 - ₹70,000/month There are places where stipend is not fixed throughout the fellowship. Some increase it with time. For eg, SNC in Chitrakoot- ₹50,000 in 1st year and ₹60,000 in 2nd year ASG Eye Hospital- ₹70,000 in their 1st year and ₹80,000 in 2nd year Hospitals that impose a pre-fellowship service period can offer a different stipend compared to their fellowship. For eg, Ahalia Foundation Eye Hospital in Palakkad, Kerala pays ₹80,000 in pre-fellowship year (negotiable in some cases) which drops to ₹30,000 during fellowship And then you have some hospitals that pay more during bond/ consultancy year. For eg, Ahalia Foundation Eye Hospital offers ₹1.2 lakhs during bond While Susrut Eye Hospital offers ₹1.5 lakhs with increments This was a peek at the salary landscape in India for Ophthalmology fellowships. As more reviews come in, this article will be updated. Stipends are a concern for all fellows but don't neglect other important factors when looking at fellowships, like the training quality of the program you apply for. Training quality is what ultimately determines your long term earning power.

Duration 2 yrs 2 fellows taken every year (was 6 fellows per session till 2025) Selection- Clinical interview. Stipend 35k in 1st yr, 45k in 2nd yr. No admission fees/ caution deposits. Accommodation available- charged 5k per month. No phaco training. First month you're posted in refraction and opticals (Dr Giridhar is particular that VR fellows shud know refraction well) Second month you're posted in retinal investigations. 3rd month onwards you're in VR dept, initially it's observation, you attend OP with senior consultants. You have monthly postings with each VR consultant. They start you on steps when you enter VR and then based on your calibre and learning curve, you are given more. OT days for fellows are twice a week. You have Uvea posting for a month. And ROP posting for 2 months. ROP visits- usually 2-3 per week, ~4-5 babies screened visit You learn screening and also get hands-on for ROP lasers and injections. No ROP surgeries done here. Mondays- evening classes where you have to present something, case or article or surgical video. Good classes, fellows are expected to come well prepared. You are also started on retinal lasers and intravit injections from the beginning- 2 or 3 days a week you are posted in lasers room or just for injections- generous hands-on given till the end. Surgery numbers between fellows can be variable depending on skill. Consultants expect you to know everything about the cases so if you stroll into OT just for hands-on, don't expect to get many chances afterwards. Your performance in Monday classes is also a significant factor in deciding your OT chances. You get to assist and see all kinds of retinal surgeries done here... OPD exposure is also extensive. You are posted in Giridhar sir's OT in the last 3 months- you are given hands-on there as well. You're allowed to operate independently by the end if the consultant thinks you can do it.. in 2025 session, there were 6 fellows and only 2 fellows were doing independent cases towards the end. Dept is not hectic, consultants are friendly. Work timings 9- 5pm No night duties You have Sunday duties once in 2 months (shared between all fellows) No peripheral postings for VR fellows. If you quit fellowship midway, you have to pay back 2 months' stipend (ie if you work 5 months and quit, then you have to return the last 2 months stipend). Overall, a good fellowship for VR with strong academics as well.

Duration- 6 months No fees. Stipend -30k per month No accommodation provided Fellows taken at a time- usually 3. Sometimes they may take 4. Daily routine- We take turns to go to OT for injections/ lasers. OP schedule for this is prepared beforehand. There are no OT postings for medical retina. You will be called if there are injections. Every fellow is posted with a consultant. You will also be given files to see in their absence/according to the schedule. Retinal lasers hands-on begin after 1 month of joining. Injections after 3 months of joining. No cataract training included. Fellows can expect 300+ eyes for lasers and 30+ injections by the end. Ozurdex towards the end of the course you get chances. Numbers vary with total number of fellows in the batch. No ROP training. Clinical exposure- Good exposure. Variety of cases seen. You have to pick up IDO skills on your own. All consultants are busy clearing OPs.They will be available to clear your doubts. But learning is on us. Work timings- 9 to 5pm everyday. 5 to 6pm fellows take turns to see evening OP. Duties during this course- Monthly once night duty Sunday duty (9 to 5pm- compensatory off the next week which cannot b taken on Sat or Mon) Camp duties+ but no cataract cases given for MR fellows. Periphery postings- Yes. Depending on the need, they will post you in their other branches. Number of days posted per month varies. You come out confident in retinal lasers and injections by the end of fellowship.

Duration= 3 months, can be extended to 6 months for more ROP exposure (esp ROP laser) Fees- 45000 for 3 months, no stipend Accomodation not provided, can request for it, will be given based on availability for extra charge 2 fellows taken per session OPD starts at 8:30 till 2-3 PM There's afternoon IO screening for DM/ HTN patients after OPD Lasers and Injections are given in turns for both fellows. If the fellow already has some experience, then they will be supervised initially, then independent lasers and injections will be given. If the fellow has minimal experience, they will teach and supervise till the fellow gains confidence , followed by independent cases. Clinical exposure- Good variety of cases - There's good exposure to common variety of cases, you will be well versed with management of DME, RVO disorders, CSCR among other common retinal disorders. Since it is a multispecialty hospital, a good load of cases are cross referrals from other depts, so there'll be chance to see unique manifestations, including pediatric retina cases. Number of lasers and injection depends on the pt load, but can expect minimum one laser every day. You also get chances for Ozurdex injections but only in last month. Also, If you end up doing the first sitting of laser for a patient then you can follow up and finish the rest of the sittings on subsequent visits. ROP training There's weekly screening in NICU every Tues, fellows will take turns every week to see ROP screening with the consultant Initially, there's emphasis on documentation and techniques, then the fellow is taught to screen (with IO) under supervision for the rest of the posting. They will also be able to screen babies requiring follow-up screening, post NICU stay during OPD hours. Will get exposure to Retcam as well, babies with ROP stages photo documentation is done both in NICU and OPD ROP laser is given after adequate experience with IO laser in adults, will be allowed under supervision in the last month of the fellowship. The option for 6 month fellowship is for those who want more focus on ROP training (both laser and injection) Work timings - 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM No night duties Sunday off Expect one day camp duty once a month at a Bangalore urban health center. Academics- strong emphasis, with weekly Monday seminar presentations, classes on the basics by consultants They encourage fellows to present in conferences and write up case reports etc. Overall, a good program for a total beginner since you are skilled in lasers and injections by the end of 3 months. If your focus is ROP training, it's best to extend it to 6 months.

Duration= 2 yrs Selection- MCQ exam plus interview Stipend- 65k a month Fellows taken- 1 to 2/ year Phaco training began from first month Since I (reviewer) was a novice and didn’t have any surg exposure, my mentor was generous in teaching me from the beginning, he personally guided me the whole way till I reached proficiency. No SICS training. If you already know SICS then you can operate on the hard cataracts if your mentor says so. Final phaco numbers you get depends on the individual's learning curve. Can expect 200-300 minimum. 500 at most. You are trained in med retina procedures - PRP, intravitreal injections, post sub tenon injections Investigations also - FFA, OCT, Biometry, Pentacam, B scan Med Retina training starts at the same time you start OT. Lasers - you can expect in hundreds (150-200) Intravit inj - ~ 250 nos ROP training- ROP cases come in sparsely. You learn to screen them them under your mentor's guidance. Laser wasn't given in my time. Peripheral postings- none No night duties Camps twice a month at max. Academics- very strong You have regular online classes Ppt presentations by fellows Very exhaustive discussions by mentors. This is a key highlight of this fellowship. There are internal exams as you approach the end of training. Vivas are intense, can feel overwhelming at times. But the academic rigor definitely helps (personally helped me clear FAICO in phaco), helps with other exams like ICO too. OPD exposure is comprehensive- you see cases across all specialties. In the first year, you mostly assist your consultant and observe closely. With time, you are given an independent cabin (sometimes earlier, depending on performance). Work environment- Non-toxic and supportive Mentor-based system- experience can vary depending on whom you’re posted with. But no unnecessary hierarchy issues. Timings - 11- 8 pm, can go late on OT days. You are expected to stay aligned with your mentor’s OPD + OT schedule Longer OT hours can be tiring but also means more surgical exposure. Pros - Strong one-on-one mentorship - Good foundation in phaco from basics - Excellent access to diagnostic machinery - Balanced, non-toxic work environment - Academics are taken seriously Cons - Lower surgical volume compared to high-volume/trust setups - Learning is mentor-dependent - Long hours without strict cut-offs - Requires self-drive to maximize opportunities Overall a good fellowship, you come out as an independent phaco surgeon with medical retina skills.

Duration of fellowship - 2 years (used to be 1 year till 2025) Earlier the requirement was that only those who were 2 or 3 yrs post PG/ SRs could join this program But now they are taking candidates immediately post MS & DNB, hence increased to 2 years. Fellows per session- 1 Stipend- 1.1 -1.5 lakhs/ month Caution deposit= 30,000 (refunded at end of fellowship) Penalty for quitting fellowship midway- 3 lakhs if within 6 months of joining, 5 lakhs if after 6 months of joining. First 9 months will be in General Ophthal where you'll be seeing mostly OPD. If you know SICS or phaco well, you will be given cases also in this time. But if you're not fluent in either, the case allocation will be really low (primarily because it will be up to you to learn and pick up, the program per se is not intended to build your cataract skills). Cataract OT days not fixed.. OT list is made by SRs so they decide how many cases you are allotted. After 9 months in General, you are shifted to Glaucoma where you will see glaucoma cases and do glaucoma lasers in plenty. In this time, you have 3 OT days a week in Glaucoma.. you'll be scrubbed in with Subhashini ma'am who allocates cases according to your proficiency. OPD is not too hectic but it can feel chaotic in the beginning when you're settling into the system. Clinical exposure is very good. You get trabs, phacotrabs and MIGS (good number of BANGs, KDBs). GATT not commonly done here. One of the fellows who did it for 1 year (a proficient phaco surgeon) got around 60-70 trabs & phaco trabs. On the other hand, fellows who were not surgically fluent got much lesser cases. Since the duration has now been raised to 2 years, you can expect more numbers. Work timings 9-4 pm Usually free after OP, work is not too hectic (since there are JRs and SRs also). No camp duties or Sunday duties. You may have night duties occasionally (but you'll be 4th or 5th on call since there are JRs and SRs under you). Public holidays plus lots of paid leaves (24 days in 1st yr, 30 in 2nd yr). No peripheral postings. No formal classes though, it's up to the fellow to read up.. Dr Subhashini ma'am who heads this fellowship is a good teacher and well versed in her subject. Overall, this wud be a good fellowship for a phaco surgeon. SICS surgeons might also find it worthwhile but don't expect any personalized phaco training. They do have dry labs, wet labs and simulators in the dept so you can try learning and training on those but you have to make time for it. Not suited for SICS beginners who are looking to learn phaco as well.

Duration= 2 yrs Selection- through NBEMS exam Stipend- 1.21 lakh/ month Admission fee- 1.25 lakh yearly Fellows taken per session- 1/year You also get phaco on rotation basis with DNB and other SRs, no junior-senior hierarchy in assigning of cases, everyone gets equal turns to operate in a particular unit. Retinal sx training starts from beginning, I (reviewer) got my first SOR within a month. A lot depends on how much you know beforehand. I had some retinal sx exposure in my PG before joining fellowship. But overall, they don't delay giving you steps even if you don't know. Gradual approach is followed. In OT, it's the junior consultants who train fellows in retinal sx. They decide when to give, what to give and how much to give. You get to give a lot of intravit injections Retinal lasers- not much, like once in 3 months. You learn steps for all common surgeries. Some cases like lens drop, RD sx have been given to my seniors to operate independently. They don't exactly train you one-on-one, if you do well then they let you keep doing steps till you finish or till you get stuck at which point, they take over and finish the case. OT is a bit chaotic since you need assistants for all retinal sx and the nursing dept never sends them regularly. We use contact lenses in retinal sx so an assistant has to be present the whole time the sx is going on, holding the lens above the patient's eye. There is no BIOM (microscope-attached viewing system that lets you see fundus without having to use any contact lens). It gets frustrating because you're dependent on the assistant to keep your field of view clear but they find it cumbersome to stand the whole time like that. You get at least 2 phaco chances every OT but it depends on whether you're free to take it up. If you haven't finished your retina case, but then your phaco turn comes, you have to decide whether you want to continue with your retinal sx or drop that and take up phaco. I prefer retinal sx over doing phaco, so I tell the JRs to do the phaco. It's a question of whether you want to get better in retinal sx or phaco and you decide accordingly. That can mean missed phaco chances. OPD runs from 9-5/6 pm Starts with general OPD (9-11 am) which is managed by fellows and residents and then private OPD with consultants till 5/6 pm. Since General OPD runs only for 2 hours every day and they take all types of cases, this means the actual number of retina cases you see is less.. it takes 1hr for dilatation, you may see at most 20 dilated cases in 2 hours, of which most of them are common pathologies like DR. So clinical exposure that way is limited. In private OP you don't manage patients but are mostly involved in doing OCT, fundus photos, NCT, vision and other paperwork like filling insurance forms, preparing OT lists, giving instructions to private patients etc. ROP screening is done by consultant, they get lot of ROP cases in OPD but fellows don't get to see much. ROP lasers? Forget about it. There are 2 retina units- Unit 1 (dedicated to Uvea) and Unit 3. You get rotated between the units on a 3-monthly basis. Work environment- neither hectic not toxic. DNB first years can be difficult to work with and are dismissive of FNB fellows. Because there are very few residents and since consultants are dependent on residents for workup of private patients, DNBs tend to be favoured over FNBs if any issues arise. No camp duties. Night duties 3-5/ month. One Saturday night duty in a month where you're the sole doctor on duty. You manage everything yourself including workup like you used to as a first year PG (people post SRship might find it a little difficult initially to work like a first year). Daily work timings 8-5 pm mostly on OT days, if OT finishes early, then you go back to private OPD of the consultant you are posted with. 9-5/6 pm on OPD day. Academics Every Saturday there is an FNB class As there are 2 FNB fellows at any given time, fellow will present every alternate Saturday. There is an internal exam conducted at the end of 1st year where there is both written and viva exam. Both internal and external examiners come for this. A similar exam is there at the end of fellowship (2nd yr) along with an interview. Once you clear that, you get the FNB degree.

1 year duration 2-4 fellows/ session Selection- interview, no exam Fellow intake is usually in April, Oct Stipend 30k No admission fees, no bond You are promised 50 phacos over this 1 year but fellows on average get slightly more (80+ phacos). You start with SICS and then after 10-15 cases, they start you on phacos. Phaco technique taught here is supracapsular method- where the cataract is popped out of the bag and emulsified in AC. You are started on phaco early on, fellow is usually give full cases to do, the training consultant takes over only where required. You get very less SICS numbers compared to phacos. You may get to do advanced cases (PXF, small pupil, hard cataracts) if you show proficiency. No training for iris claws. No topical phacos. You get hands-on for glued IOLs (some 3-4 cases) so you get to use the vitrector then and get a feel for ant vitrectomy. Also get hands-on for refractive procedures Around 80-90 SMILE Pro (they do more of SMILEs at Agarwal's) 20-30 PRK Less of femto lasik (15-20) Work timings 8 - 5 pm Not hectic No lasers given, Yag caps are done by their PGs. IOL fellows sit in Cornea OP but see mostly their Refrac cases, not cornea pts They also have camp pt duties (seeing pre-ops and post-ops) Camps- once every month/ every 2 months Night duties- once/ month Sunday duties- half day OP (8-1 pm), no compensatory off Evening duties- seeing OP from 5-8 pm No peripheral postings but the hospital can post you on short notice to any of their other hospitals (even in other states) in the event of last min emergencies. Academics- no formal classes, mostly self learning. They've started encouraging papers and publication work during fellowship.

New review Duration= 2 yrs 1 fellow taken every year Stipend 70k in first year, 80k in 2nd year Selection- Online exam followed by interview Only phaco is done for all pts here (camp & private), no SICS training. Almost all cases done under topical anesthesia except in few cases where local block is indicated. You start OT after an induction period of about 2 weeks. Given steps initially, and depending on your starting surgical skill and tissue handling, you can expect to be doing independently by 3-4 months (earlier if you already know phaco). OT for fellows is twice a week (they have same OT days as the consultant they are under), phaco numbers per OT increase with time. They have a secondary centre where you may be posted every alternate day in first year (posting may be monthly in 2nd yr).. this centre sees mostly Ayushman scheme patients. You see OP and you also get OT (3-4 cases per OT) there when posted. This is the place where you get to learn to manage complications, you can also learn ant vitrectomy.. no iris claws since secondary IOLs are done by VR surgeons. Summer months see a sharp drop in cases, sometimes you may not get any case at all in few OTs. Phaco numbers- The first 2-3 fellows in this program were exclusive fellows (meaning there were no other fellows in the hospital in their time) so they recorded doing 600-800+ cases. ASG Varanasi added fellowship seats for MR and Paed Ophthal in 2025 and now all fellows get phaco training. This means that final numbers for all 3 fellows (PhacoRef, MR and Paed Ophthal) will be lesser than before. Estimated case numbers now are likely 300-400 per fellow (also depends on individual learning curve). However this does not affect the final outcome, you are an independent phaco surgeon by the end. Other than phaco, you get to do Yag caps, pterygiums, few DCRs. Refractive exposure is good, you get hands-on for LASIK, PRK, ICL (they don't do SMILE here).. can expect around 50 cases over 2 years- patient load is relatively low. No formal postings in other depts. Still, if you're keen on doing other procedures, they won't stop you but it's on you to make/ find time to make it happen without neglecting your routine work. Work timings 10 am - 8/8.30 pm Sundays are working day as any week day You get a week off in lieu of Sunday (your week off depends on your consultant's week off.. if he's off on Someday, so are you). OP exposure is extensive, you get to see a good variety, initially you're not allowed to dispose patients.. you can manage patients when Pratyush sir (dept head) is on leave, otherwise you sit in OPD with him. As your experience grows, you see patients on your own. Working environment is good, no toxicity, consultants are friendly. Night duties are shared between all fellows depending on number. Even so they don't tend to be busy.. rare emergency cases come, maybe 2-3 times in a month. Academics- Zoom classes twice a week. Good fellowship, you exit as an independent topical phaco surgeon.. for SICS exposure, you'll have to consider alternate options. ************************************** Old review (2024) 24 months duration. You get ample hands-on and are rotated across all speciality depts so when posted in other depts you may also get chances to do their surgeries as well if interested. Recent (2024) Phaco-Ref fellow had done some 100 SICS in PG before joining (he was covid batch) and he has done around 600+ phacos independently till now.. also doing LASIK independently so they give you good hands-on in refractive procedures as well. When posted in other specialities, he got to do independent phaco-trab, retinal lasers and injections and has even been offered steps in retinal surgery (like making ports for PPV). You also get hands-on in oculoplastic procedures, DCR, even squint surgeries. Work timings across all ASG centres is 9-9 (am to pm). Sundays duties are there, you get weekly offs accordingly. Work is not hectic and definitely not toxic, seniors and consultants are very friendly and approachable. Good program overall.

Actually, read this first. The Best Phaco Fellowship in India Because you need to understand what short term phaco training can (and cannot) do for your long term surgical growth. Now, if you’ve decided to go ahead with a short phaco course, there’s one detail many trainees commonly miss. What type of incision are they training you in? Short-term phaco programs train through either Clear corneal incision Sclero-corneal / scleral tunnel incision They are not the same. Thing is, modern phaco is built around clear corneal incision. That’s the standard in most setups. The whole point of phaco was smaller incisions. So why do some programs still train through scleral tunnels? Usually because they’re implanting rigid IOLs, which require larger wounds. This often happens in camp patients who cannot opt for foldable lenses. That's fine for serving camp patients. But it cannot become the reason to train surgeons using tunnel incisions. Some hospitals might say, we’ll start with scleral tunnel and later transition you to clear corneal. Then you should ask one question. How many actual clear corneal cases will you get before the course ends? If most of your course is spent doing scleral tunnel phaco and clear corneal exposure is minimal, it's not worth your time and money. When you apply to hospitals later, they will want clear corneal surgeons who can implant foldable lenses. Also, most, if not all, short phaco courses start with the divide and conquer technique. Some courses may graduate you into the stop and chop method towards the last few cases or they may train you in stop and chop from the beginning. As a beginner, it's good to do more of divide and conquer since it gives you a feel for how deep a cataract really is and how the phaco dynamics play when operating. So before paying for any short term phaco course, ask Clear corneal or scleral tunnel? How many cases of each? Foldable or rigid IOLs? Most short term phaco courses train you in clear corneal incision and in implanting foldable lenses. Best not to opt for programs that don't give you both.