Duration 2 years  Phaco training starts after 8 months. Till then you do SICS. IOL fellows share cataract cases with specialty fellows. Initially there's 15-20 days of induction, then you can start OT in stepwise manner. A lot depends on how much surg exposure you had before in PG.  In IOL op, you only see comprehensive patients. You are supposed to manage all op cases independently. No exposure to speciality opd cases  Work is hectic and work environment is mostly not toxic. You'll find one odd person who is toxic. Rest are not toxic. But definitely hectic.  After initial 3 months training period, whosoever is the senior fellow/ consultant available trains you. They take over if you face any difficulty while operating and handle the case but they won't be there to supervise your whole case from start to finish since they have to finish their own cases too. But you can observe what they did on your case and keep learning. Also quality of surg training varies from consultant to consultant and peripheral centre to centre. Only other surgeries that IOL fellows get to do are pterygiums, maybe some tarsorraphies.   Phaco numbers depend on centre you are posted in (min 500 +). Hectic centres you get average of 1500 cases. No refractive training offering in this IOL fellowship. After 3 months of training in Delhi, you are permanently posted in periphery. So basically your whole fellowship is a peripheral posting where there are 2 consultants and around 10 fellows roughly. 1-2 camp duties a month. 1-2 night calls a month. Working hours starts at 8 am. So classes are online for IOL fellows as they are in periphery mostly. Class starts at 8 am via zoom on Tues and Wed. Note- They take 60k admission fees before you join, no refund. Stipend is 55k but you get around 30-35k in hand as they cut hostel charges and TDS and caution money also. Caution money they cut 10% x 6 months then 20 percent then 30 percent. But this caution money is returned at the end of 2 yrs after you finish.

Did my short term 2 week phaco fellowships from ICARE Noida. Did around 25 cases in those 2 weeks since I was already doing phaco before that as well. The training faculty at ICARE was excellent at my time, I got to complete most of my cases even if I got stuck at a few steps. I would get to see all the preop cases early in the morning and decide what the ideal cases were for me and I would be called specifically to see all my postoperative cases. I would sit after OT with the trainer to discuss the steps I didn't do well. I would suggest if you require just a short term fellowship, then ICARE Noida is good (PS: The doctor did the training in 2023)

I did my VR from Amrita, it was one of my best experiences. You won't believe, within just 6 months of joining I was doing an RD surgery independently. After 1.5 yrs, I was operating on sir's private cases and he would often leave me alone in OT so I could finish them on my own. I was posting my own cases by the end of fellowship and operating all of them as well. In the last 4 months I even got to do surgery for a baby with ROP. The duration is for 2 years and selection is via MCQ exam followed by interview  They take only 2 fellows per session Stipend is 50,000 Gopal sir (Dr Gopal Pillai) is a stellar retina surgeon, he would finish cases within 15-20 mins. He really changed my thinking and mindset in fellowship, he convinced us that retinal surgeries don't have to take hours. Seeing his example, it was natural we also motivated ourselves to follow the same lead. Daily work times are 9am - 5 pm but work would often go on till 6.30/ 7 pm. We had to take classes for UG and PG students also and our surgery times were in the afternoon 2-5 pm.. towards the end, I was routinely doing 4 cases just in those 3 hours.  Fellowship is a mayhem of sorts 😅 don't expect a lot of free time, Sundays are usually not free and if you are on call, you gave to attend to every emergency that comes.. which means if a corneal tear came, you had to operate, nobody else was going to come and do it.. that way you also get holistic hands-on and learn how to manage time and staff to keep OT running smoothly. Night calls were plenty and you had to attend as they came. There were no public holidays. But these things were ok for me, because I got so much hands-on and Gopal sir was a great mentor that I found my fellowship very rewarding. I'm acquainted with retina fellows in LVP (LV Prasad Hospital) and Aravind and believe me when I say my experience as VR fellow at Amrita was as good as theirs and even exceeded theirs in some aspects. In Aravind, you get only steps in retina surgeries and that too, only after 1 year and then after finishing 2 yrs of fellowship, most of them join back as MOs (medical officers) to get further hands-on. But I got to learn and be proficient in the common retinal surgeries in just the 2 years I spent in Amrita. I even got to operate on an ROP baby which in LVP is not given until you have done Paediatric Retina fellowship (which comes after the 3 yr VR fellowship). When I joined here, I expected I would learn mostly lasers and intravit injections, you know, that it wud be another proxy-medical retina program but that was not at all the case. VR fellowship in Amrita is a hidden gem . Very underrated. One of the best places to do VR fellowship in India, in my humble opinion.

Hi, so the Oculoplasty fellowship is for 18 months, one fellow per time. Clinical exposure is really good. But surgical exposure is limited. You get to assist all cases but surgical opportunities to do independent cases are less. Stipend is 50k, work environment is not toxic but initially hectic but then you get used to it. Night duties are 4 days per month and one Sunday day duty per month. No compensatory off for night duties. Academics is okay. Retina dept has  intake of 6 fellows per time. Cornea, Oculoplasty and Pediatrics have one fellow at a time. Overall its a great experience being here. Definitely one can improve clinical knowledge cause of variety of cases and tailored management.

Duration - 24 months, only one fellow at a time. Selection  - Online submission of CV and letter of interest, followed by an interview with the director and the head of subspeciality (very informal). Preferable to apply 3- 6 months before the current fellow finishes. Clinical Exposure  - Good. 8 on a scale of 10.  Surgical Exposure  - 7 on a scale of 10. Adequate hands on for all common Oculoplasty procedures. Very minimal exposure to endoscopic and bony orbital surgeries like decompressions and fractures. Will need further workshops to update ourselves. Oncology is not specified as a part of the fellowship. But good exposure to lid, lacrimal and orbital malignancies. Intraocular tumors (RB, Choroidal melanoma) are not dealt with. Cosmetic procedures botox, blepharoplasties yes but limited as patient demand is still less. Work timing - 8 am- 4 pm, unless there are any emergency lid tear repairs (canalicular or margin involving). Work environment - Hectic in the initial few months, then it becomes easier. Not toxic, 3 consultants involved in training. It is ideal if you join one month before the previous fellow leaves, so that you get a hang of things.  Interesting case discussions, publications, presentations, FAICO all are encouraged but depends on the fellow's interest. Night duties  Approx 4 per month, as second on call. (Initial few months will have to work as first on call, it will be hectic). As second call you get to operate open globe injuries, corneal tears. That's a plus, if you haven't had any such exposure. Other duties  - Evening OP duty from 4 pm to 5:30 or 6 pm on a weekly basis or on a monthly basis (if you are lucky). Camps once or twice every month, weekday or weekend.  Peripheral centre posting one day a week. Cataract exposure - Personally did 250+ SICS over 2 years, 20 Phaco in last 1 month. Free to choose your pick from camp cases. Can slowly work your way up to complicated cases. Your own subspecialty consultants are expected to train you in Phaco and the number and duration depends on their willingness and rapport with you.  Neuro-Ophthalmology Is included in the fellowship as it is dealt by the same department. Throughout the 2 years you will get to see lots of cases. Clinical exposure is good in a way that you get to see a wide variety of cases. But management is not always textbook and you are left to educate yourselves. The advantage is that this is a rare combination of fellowship (Oculoplasty + Neuro-Ophthal) and makes a lot of sense as there are so many overlapping conditions between them. Good option for people who want Neuro-Ophthalmology exposure with a fellowship other than Paed Ophthal. My take is all fellowships have lacunae and it is up to us how much further we want to educate ourselves. And this fellowship program is worth it.

2 yrs long. Usually 1 fellow taken per session. 57k stipend. Anita maam is unit chief and the one who heads Cornea training. You get to operate SICS also.. so if you are not fluent in SICS, you can perfect your skill here. Phaco cases are not guaranteed, you may or may not get. If at all they decide to give phaco, it will be in the last 6 months and only after you have mastered SICS.. will be around 20-25 phacos max (because they give phacos to their PGs also, so not enough camp cases to go around for both fellows and PGs to get a high number). You start corneal surgeries after first 3-4 months, all penetrating keratoplasties- you get steps like graft trephination, first put 4 sutures then 8 sutures etc Full cases not given unless you show good skill. You get free hands-on for other procedures like C3R, AMG, pterygiums. Anita ma'am does ocular surface procedures also (SLET, MMG, lamellar keratoplasties etc) so she can give you steps like putting sutures or air bubble insertion, graft insertion for DSEK etc Eyebank posting- you'll be trained in tissue evaluation since you have to do it daily. Enucleation calls are done by eye bank technicians, fellows usually not posted, can accompany the technician on the call if interested. Clinical exposure is good, wide variety of cases seen in op. Ulcer ward- Cornea fellow is the one mainly posted there (PGs posted only if fellow not available)- fellows have to scrape all ulcers and manage patients. No refractive procedure hands-on given but the dept does do refractive procedures so you can get to observe those.

Phaco and Glaucoma Ahalia offers a 12-month phaco and an 18-month glaucoma fellowship.  Both programs give you phaco training (about 50-60 cases minimum) during your last 4 months here.  If you're a glaucoma fellow, you also get around 5 trab cases in addition to the cataract cases. All fellows share the same OP workup, so you get to see cases across all specialties. There is a mandatory one year pre -fellowship duty to be done at one of Ahalia's centers first. During this time, you're an op doctor and get zero surgeries.  Salary during pre-fellowship is 80,000/ month and then 30,000/ month during fellowship (as of 2025). The main fellowship training happens in Palakkad which is a small town- but the Ahalia campus is huge and vast. Palakkad is not a very happening place but thankfully Coimbatore (cool city with great hangouts) is just 1 hour drive away.  You start with SICS for first 6-7 months and then shift to phaco but if you pick up well, you can start even earlier. You learn to operate on all kinds of cataract.   OT runs daily from 9 am till about 3 pm and usually never goes past 5.  Fellows are also taught to manage complications, do vitrectomies etc.  All cases are recorded and then reviewed later by trainers to determine areas for improvement. Academics and classes don't happen much so it's up to you to read textbooks and other relevant materials. After fellowship, there's a 1.5 year bond with a salary of 1.2 lakhs annually. Breaking the bond will cost you 10 lakhs. You can work as a consultant at any Ahalia center for your bond period, they have a branch in most districts of Kerala. Medical Retina As a fellowship program was just started only in 2025- duration is for 3 months. So after finishing your Phaco/Glaucoma fellowship, you can opt to stay an additional 3 months and do Medical Retina. D uring this time you continue to do more phacos (some fellows have even transitioned to topical phaco in this period) in addition to learning lasers and intravit injections as well.

Duration : 1.5yrs  Phaco included (mainly phaco). But those who not familiar with SICS, it may be difficult if you're looking to better your SICS skills as fellows don't get much SICS- those are given mostly to PGs.  Surgical hands-on starts at 3 months, sometimes later.  Clinical exposure, you get to see all kind of cases in glaucoma. Work environment is good, friendly staff and colleagues. Camp duties once in a while, divided between PGs and fellows. No formal theory classes, only one dedicated senior under whom we are trained both surgically and academically. Trabs around 25-30 given per candidate. They give plain trabs first, then combined cases. If payment cases, then you operate under supervision.  If you are well trained in SICS, Comtrust is a good place to be as you get good exposure to phaco, high end machines and foldable IOLs.

Duration -1.5 years In this 1.5 years, you will get to see all types of cases in pediatric, strabismus and neuro- ophthalmology. OP numbers are very high so will be hectic also. You will start seeing individual OP from second or 3rd month.  OT starts after 3 months. You will get enough hands on for strabismus cases, especially for recti muscles. Oblique muscle surgeries depends on your skill. For SICS- will have to share camp cases with PGs.  If you have enough exposure in SICS, you can get Phaco also but the numbers will be less. No training in pediatric cataract cases. Academics is good as madam HOD is interested in conferences and classes. General Casualty duties and camp duties will be there once or twice a month. Any pediatric injury case will have to be attended by the fellow at night also. So will have to pick a stay near the hospital. The working atmosphere is good. If you have real interest in strabismus and pediatric ophthal, Comtrust is a really good option.

Phaco-ref at ASG provides a decent fellowship of two years with good working environment. Fellows here get paid about 70k a month. Fellows get to operate about 300 phacos and about 50+ independent LASIKs. Along with other opd procedures and OT procedures like lid repair, evisceration, yag PI etc  I for one (fellow finishing in 2025) have done 253 phacos and 30 eyes for LASIK, 7 eyes for ICL, over 300 pterygiums, 50 C3Rs, 25 intravitreal injections including Ozurdex.

Duration can be customized acc to requirement. Charges 30,000 per month. Accommodation not provided (but they can help you with finding one). You are given intravit injections and lasers on daily basis (2-3 lasers, 2-3 injections usually) Retina op is very heavy (200+ pts every day) so it's busy. Daily Routine- • Report to retina op at 10 am • Tag along with Dr Nipun as he sees patients. You have to do IO for every case, plus you can also review OCT and FFA. Dr Nipun discusses every case with you, explaining findings and treatment plans. • Also get to see a lot of Uveitis cases as well. • Morning op runs from 10-2 pm.  • Post lunch from 3-6 pm is OT.. you do injections, lasers etc. Once free after your procedures, you can also visit their cataract OT and observe phacos and other cases being operated there. If you're experienced or have completed a prior fellowship, you may even be allotted independent cases of pterygiums or DCR. Very knowledgeable and supportive staff. Highly recommended fellowship to go for if you want to build skills in retinal lasers and intravit injections. Also one reviewer recommends that if you are a total beginner at lasers, then you take the fellowship for minimum 2 months so you can master it. Just one month might be inadequate to become pro at retinal lasers.

Duration- 1 year 6 months. OT access and surgeries (SICS) starts at around 3rd month. You share OT with external trainees who have come for paid training (SICS/Phaco) and with DNBs. 3 OTs a week, usually 1 case is allotted per trainee. More cases allotted per OT towards the end of your tenure. Phaco training is subject to respective consultant, may get Phaco around last 1-2 months. Clinical exposure is decent. Work environment is very good, not toxic at all. It’s not that hectic as well. PG seminars every alternate day.  Dedicated consultants will teach you when you're posted under them.  No refractive training. Around 3 evening duties a month.  Around 3-4 peripheral vision centre visits a month (8am to 5pm). No bond.