Orbit & Oculoplasty Fellowship review @ Sankara Eye Hospital, Bengaluru

Duration 2 yrs

6 months of Gen Ophthal posting+ 18 months of Oculoplasty posting

Selection- exam + interview

Fellows taken every Jan and July- usually 1 fellow per centre

Stipend 40k

No admission fees

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 

They start you on SICS from 1st month itself, initially if you are in learning phase your mentor will help you in learning

Later once you start doing independently, every fellow is assigned 2 cataract OT days in a week. You do max 25 SICS till the end of your session, they keep giving you cases esp if you can do fast and well.

No penalties imposed for any cataract surgery complications.

Cataract OTs are usually half day OTs (meaning you operate either in the morning session or the evening session)

Phaco cases are given in last 10 months, you can expect an average of 200-300 phacos.

Once you join Plasty dept, they assign you 2 days for Plasty OT as well.

You get hands-on for all orbit surgeries- blepharoplasty, ptosis, entropion/ entropion correction, external DCR, Botox (complicated cases consultants will teach how to do it)

The 2 cataract OT days continue and if you finish your half day and OP is not busy, they might send you to the Plasty OT to do cases there as well.

On the dedicated Plasty OT days, you do only Plasty cases.

On the dedicated cataract OT days, you do mostly cataracts for half day. And later, have to be in OPD.. if Opd is less and patient are posted for plasty surgeries, they will send you to do plasty cases.

Paeds cases are also handled by this dept- they do NLD probings, ptosis repairs etc 

Work timings is 9-6 

Except on OT days if there are GA cases are posted then you have to come early to check everything is ready around 8

Peripheral posting to other Sankara centres may happen in between, for eg if you're good in cataract, you may get posted to their branches in other states to help with cataract load there.. this gives you very high cataract numbers.

Similarly you may also be posted for speciality postings to other Sankara branches

in the first 6 months during General Opd, you have night duty in which you have to evaluate the camp patients who come and make them ready for next days surgeries and it's literally the same routine for 1 whole week (Sun- Sat).. you start Sunday duty at 8 pm do till 8 am Monday then off for the day to come back again at 8 pm Monday to do till 8 am Tuesday and so on.. till Sunday morning

During that night duty if emergency cases come at night in Opd, you have to see them. And calls have to be attended by speciality fellows depending on case, this continuous weekly duty will be once or twice in initial 6 months (Gen Ophthal posting).

This weekly night duty never happen once you enter your speciality dept but you do have night calls where fellows may be called for any emergencies pertaining to their speciality.. usually such night calls are not busy. No night surgeries are done.

Good exposure to orbital tumours in dept but intraocular tumours (RB, uveal melanomas etc) are dealt with by the VR dept

You are expected to do at least 1 presentation and 1 publication during fellowship- compulsory- otherwise you receive a partial fellowship completion certificate in the end.

There is an exit exam at the end of fellowship.

Fellowship is good since you exit as an independent Oculoplasty and phaco surgeon.. however you don't get any exposure for topical phacos here.