Does anyone know about the pros/cons of the medical retina fellowship? I don't know very much about it, it seems as though this would allow you to do some retina (though not more than laser surgeries) yet also be able to do cataracts, trabs, etc. Is this correct? Do many people do this fellowship?

Most/all of the medical retina specialists I know are in academic centers. This is understandable if you consider why someone would do medical retina.

If you want to do cataract, trabs, etc. then aren't you really being a COMPREHENSIVE ophthalmolgogist? Once again, I would ask then, what is your motivation for wanting to do medical retina fellowship?

Medical retina specialists do retina lasers for the most part, for diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration and others. You will also be called to make diagnosis in difficult and unusual cases, including being expected to be knowledgeable about inherited retinal diseases.

I believe there are only handful of medical retina fellowships in the country. Most, if not all, do not participate in the SFMatch. There are 2 medical retina fellows this year at Bascom Palmer.

Hope this helps...

Originally posted by GlaucomaMD
Most/all of the medical retina specialists I know are in academic centers. This is understandable if you consider why someone would do medical retina.

If you want to do cataract, trabs, etc. then aren't you really being a COMPREHENSIVE ophthalmolgogist? Once again, I would ask then, what is your motivation for wanting to do medical retina fellowship?

Medical retina specialists do retina lasers for the most part, for diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration and others. You will also be called to make diagnosis in difficult and unusual cases, including being expected to be knowledgeable about inherited retinal diseases.

I believe there are only handful of medical retina fellowships in the country. Most, if not all, do not participate in the SFMatch. There are 2 medical retina fellows this year at Bascom Palmer.

Hope this helps...

The above points are good to consider. Most medical retina specialists are in academics. Wilmer also has a separate 1 year medical retina fellowship. Iowa has a medical retina/research fellow for the next two-three years, but this position was "made" for a recent graduate.

If you want to do retinal laser, then I recommend that you pick a program that will expose you to numerous lasers and procedures during your residency training.

Good luck!

I guess what my real question was is how a general ophthalmologist can incorporate retinal lasers into his practice. Is this possible in today's market? From what I hear there's a lot of politics involved where you can't go in on someone else's territory (i.e. the generals stick to cataracts, etc. and the retina guys stick to the retina). Is this true? Or only in the real big cities, or any city for that matter? For instance, can a general ophtho in a medium sized city (say, madison wisconsin) do this without a problem whereas one in new york city would need a fellowship?

Originally posted by north
I guess what my real question was is how a general ophthalmologist can incorporate retinal lasers into his practice. Is this possible in today's market? From what I hear there's a lot of politics involved where you can't go in on someone else's territory (i.e. the generals stick to cataracts, etc. and the retina guys stick to the retina). Is this true? Or only in the real big cities, or any city for that matter? For instance, can a general ophtho in a medium sized city (say, madison wisconsin) do this without a problem whereas one in new york city would need a fellowship?

General ophthalmologists do general lasers too: laser demarcations, PRP, focal, and PDT. The more difficult cases usually get referred to the retinal specialists. Thus, if you have a laser and you're comfortable with the case, then you can treat.