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NAME OF THE INSTITUTE
Drishti Netralaya, Dibrugarh (Assam)
STIPEND
- Monthly Remuneration: ₹40,000
- Accommodation: On-campus housing is available for an additional fee of ₹15,000 per month.
DURATION
9 Months (Standard long-term track)
HONEST REVIEW
- Admission Criteria: Candidates must demonstrate prior surgical maturity, specifically a documented count of 500+ SICS cases, to be eligible for the fellowship.
- Surgical Progression: The program offers immediate surgical exposure. Following an initial 10–15 SICS cases to calibrate with institutional protocols, fellows transition to Phacoemulsification. The volume starts at one case per OT session and scales to approximately five cases as proficiency improves.
- Operative Volume: Fellows can expect a cumulative volume of 150–200 Phaco cases over the 9-month tenure. Training includes NS-2 cataracts, transitioning into complex scenarios like small pupils and pseudoexfoliation (PXF).
- Equipment & Limitations: The institute utilizes multiple platforms. While senior faculty typically use high-end Oertli machines, fellows primarily train on the Hummingbird system. Note that very dense/hard cataracts are generally managed via SICS rather than Phaco on the fellow-tier machines.
- Clinical Workflow: A “dual-track” system where fellows rotate between the OPD and OT throughout the day (9:00 AM – 5:00 PM). Post-operative duties include evening pre-operative assessments for outreach patients (often until 8:00 PM) and early morning (pre-8:00 AM) reviews of camp post-ops.
- Complication Management: Robust training in navigating surgical challenges, including anterior vitrectomy and iris claw lens implantation. However, a “penalty” system exists where a surgical complication results in a mandatory one-day suspension from the OT list.
- Fellowship Competition: Be aware that surgical cases are shared between long-term fellows and paid short-term trainees (up to 6 trainees total), with paid candidates often receiving prioritization for cases.
PERSONAL OPINION
This is a “pure surgical” fellowship designed for the surgeon who is already a master of SICS and wants to transition into Phacoemulsification in a high-volume setting. It is one of the best programs in Northeast India for hands-on exposure, provided you are comfortable with a hectic schedule and the competitive distribution of cases among multiple trainees.
