Duration= 1.5 yrs They take 2 fellows per session OT is twice a week and in first 6 months, you will be doing mostly SICS (3 SICS/ OT) Trab hands-on starts after 6 months. And in final 6 months, they train you in phaco and you get phaco-trabs. On an average you can expect to get 40 combined trab cases. OP is from 8- 4.30 pm so it's not hectic, dept is also cool. Clinical exposure is good, patient load is high. You get plenty of hands-on in lasers and other glaucoma op procedures. You will have evening op duties 2-3 times a month and camp duties 5-6/ month. No night duties. Stipend= 30,000/ month. You also get exposure to MIGS and GATT in the last 6 months, can expect hands-on for few cases.

It was 18 months at first, then they changed to 24 months in 2024 but now there is talk of reverting back to 18 months from next batch onwards (Jan 2026). Selection is by interview (no written exam). 1-2 fellows taken per session (based on need). Taken twice a year (Jan, July). Email them with your CV and fellowship of interest, they don't usually reply but will call you when the time comes. For those looking to join the Jan batch, start sending your applications from Oct and for those looking at the July, start from April. Stipend 30k in 1st yr, increased to 35k in 2nd yr. Clinical exposure is very good, you see all kinds of cases. Phaco training is included but you start with SICS at first, given phaco only in 2nd yr to last 6 months, usually 1 phaco per week. You get only penetrating keratoplasties (PKs)- therapeutic PK is started at 6 months, optical PK at 12 months. Good exposure for lamellar surgeries and refrac procedures but no hands-on. You also get amniotic grafts, C3R, pterygiums, tarsorraphies, corneal tears etc Dept is very hectic. Op usually finishes at 4 pm followed by camp duty for whichever cornea fellow is posted that day- this duty is to see cornea referrals in the camp pts who come, not for cataract pre-op workup. Classes are there- about 2-4 per month.

1 year fellowship. 1 fellow taken per session. First 9 months SICS- they get around 500 cases. Last 3 months phaco- 100 phacos, clear corneal incision and foldable IOLs (we have the Oertli and Legion phaco machines). CTR, MST (multiple sphincterotomy), iris claw, everything fellows get during 9 months SICS training. Trab, pterygium, DCR, intravitreal injections also given to fellow. As of July 2025, 23 fellows have been trained (including short term fellows). We felt keeping 18-24 months for an IOL fellowship is a waste of time for fellows, hence decided to keep it only 1 year duration. After 1 year, some fellows join here as consultant for 6 more months to do private topical phaco. We give 25k stipend and free accommodation in hospital premises. Sessions start from January and June. Selection by interview- the CMO interviews applicants to be sure about their eagerness to learn.

1 month SICS- 30 cases, 60k fees. 1 month Phaco (basic)- 30 cases, 1 lakh fees. 1 month Phaco (advanced)- 1.2 lakh fees (small pupil, pxf, hard cataracts, anterior vitrectomy, 2 iris claws) Most short term fellows looking for phaco training select 2 months phaco program.  1 month basic and 1 month advanced. Approximately 60-70 cases they get, it's a good number to be confident in phaco.

It is very systematic training. A bit expensive, though. Travelling may be a little difficult. From Kerala (the reviewer is from Kerala) there is one direct train Poorna express weekly once. From Sangli railway station, it is 10 minutes by auto.  If planning to go by flight, there is connecting flight to Kohlapur. From there, around one hour travelling distance to the hospital.  Accommodation they will provide. It is not one month training like other short fellowships. They will give 50 cases. You can finish it earlier, depending on your hands. If you are ok with your hands, they will give up to 5 to 6 cases per day. So I think you can finish it by 20 to 25 days..  Initial two days, there is 3D video class for beginners. Then, there is individual trainer.  Training is very systematic.. all steps are well explained, all trainers will teach same technique. So there won’t be any confusion in technique. They taught mainly divide and conquer technique. If you are ok with it, they will teach stop and chop method if you are good enough. I think after 20 cases you will start to do phaco independently. After this training, you will get enough confidence in phaco, but if you have your own centre, my personal opinion is that it’s better to have surgical support in the initial days.  They have decent canteen. Dinner they will bring to your place. Sunday is holiday.  Working time- There is no fixed working time. Morning it will start at 9 am. When ever you finish your cases you can leave.. There is basic course and advanced course. In Basic course, you will get normal NS2 , fully dilated pupil. In Advanced, you will get small pupil, iris hook, CTR, mature cataract, soft NS1, ant vitrectomy and 3 piece IOL.  For basic course, it's 3.5 lakhs for 50 cases. One advanced case is equal to two basic. So if you want to do one CTR or iris hooks case, you can ask for it. Either you pay for it or you give up 2 basic cases to do the advanced case.

1 month paid course  1. One case per day.. you can book your time slot .. you can just attend for that 1 hour and you'll be free for the rest of the day. 2. Consultant will be monitoring and will guide you during the whole surgery. 3. You should select either clear corneal or scleral tunnel incision at the time of slot booking (You learn scleral incision to implant rigid IOLs and corneal incision to implant foldable IOLs). So fees differ based on which incision you opt to learn. 4. Divide and conquer will be the first technique.. if you are good at it, then they proceed with teaching stop and chop method.