Cornea & Refractive Surgery Fellowship

The Storm Eye Institute Cornea & Refractive Surgery program offers a one year clinical Cornea and Refractive Surgery fellowship program. The goal of the program is for graduates to have the necessary clinical knowledge and surgical skills to provide high quality care for both routine and complex anterior segment pathology.

The fellow is expected to see and manage both independently and under supervision a wide variety of anterior segment diseases including corneal ulcers, corneal dystrophies, corneal ectasia, complex cataract surgeries and trauma related eye injuries. Proficiency in various anterior segment surgical procedures, including methods of keratoplasties (DSAEK, DMEK, ALK, and PKP), complex cataract surgeries, various methods of secondary IOL implantation techniques, and artificial iris implantation is anticipated at the end of the fellowship. The fellow will also receive certification in performing refractive surgery procedures with the Alcon Wavelight Refractive Suite, as well as certification in Catalys laser assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) and implanting the Visian Implantable Collamer Lenses (Visian ICL). Performing clinic-based procedures, such as Corneal Crosslinking, Intracorneal ring segments (ICRS) or Intacs, Lipiflow, TearCare, IIux and Blephex, will also be a focus of the fellowship.

The fellow will divide their time among the cornea faculty members, while also working with the residents rotating through the cornea service. The fellow is also expected to take call, which is distributed between the faculty and the other clinical fellows. During call, the fellow takes on the role of the attending on-call, rounding with the residents on in patients and performing emergency surgeries.

All fellows may participate in research projects at Storm Eye and are encouraged to present original work at national meetings during the year with an available travel stipend. There are quarterly scheduled Cornea and Refractive Journal Club wherein the fellow and the rotating cornea resident present interesting cases and research articles to participating residents and attendings. These events are designed to further the development of the Storm Eye Cornea & Refractive Fellow in their education and training. The fellow will also participate with the Clinical Chief Residents in didactic sessions and wet labs for the residents as they prepare for their annual OKAP examination, which will be an excellent opportunity to prepare for the Ophthalmology board examination, as well as gain experience in lecturing and teaching junior physicians. Additionally, the fellow is expected to attend the weekly Grand Rounds sessions where attendings, residents, researchers and invited speakers present lectures. Cases are presented and the faculty and residents are questioned about diagnosis and management of complex ocular conditions. The Cornea Fellow is expected to present a few Grand Rounds presentations during the year.