Vitreo-Retinal Surgery Fellowship Review @ Sri Sankara Deva Netralaya (SSDN), Guwahati, Assam

Published on: January 27
Read Time: 1 min
Updated: February 4

Fellowship Overview

NAME OF THE HOSPITAL: Sri Sankara Deva Netralaya (SSDN), Guwahati
STATE: Assam
STIPEND: ₹40,000/month
DURATION: 2 Years

Honest Review of the Fellowship

This is a vitreoretinal fellowship with good clinical exposure but relatively limited independent surgical opportunities.

Intake: 1 fellow every 6 months

Selection Process: Interview

The first month is orientation. From the second month onwards, fellows are posted in OPD and rotate under each consultant for approximately 3 months.

Surgical training begins with step-wise exposure, usually starting around the 3rd month depending on the consultant.

Training Experience

• Step-wise training in retinal surgeries throughout the fellowship

• Hands-on exposure to:

  • Macular surgeries

  • Retinal detachment (RD) cases

  • ILM peeling steps

• Independent surgical opportunities towards the end are limited

Clinical Exposure:

• Good OPD exposure with a wide range of retinal cases

• Regular experience with:

  • Retinal lasers

  • Intravitreal injections

Additional Exposure:

• Uvea cases managed within VR department

• Limited oncology exposure (often in coordination with oculoplasty)

Limitations:

• Minimal ROP exposure

• No phaco training

Work Culture & Duties

Working Hours: 9 AM – 5:30 PM (may extend till ~7 PM)

Department: Hectic but manageable; non-toxic environment

Duties:

• At least 1 night duty/month

• 1 Sunday hospital duty/month

• Additional Sunday: peripheral center posting

Other:

• No camp duties

Academics

• Daily classes at 7:30–8 AM (compulsory for all fellows)

Personal Opinion

This fellowship provides good step-wise exposure to common retinal surgeries and strong clinical experience.

However, independent surgical experience is limited, and additional hands-on exposure may be required after fellowship to become a fully confident vitreoretinal surgeon.

Note

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