Top 10 Eye Doctors in India

Top 10 Eye Doctors in India

Undeniably, India has become a medical hub for eye care- with the best eye doctors and the most technologically advanced surgical suites at affordable prices. This is why India is also the preferred destination for the treatment of eye diseases, with patients coming from all over the world. However, how does one decide who is the best doctor in India? Well, we have tried to enumerate the critical decision-making points in this article. Read on, if you are looking to find the best doctor in India for your vision and eye care needs.  

How to choose the best eye doctor in India?

Even though deciding on one doctor is impossible, enumerated below are some criteria that will help you in making a choice.  

• Educational Qualifications and Years of Experience: It is important to find an eye doctor who is well qualified and experienced in the desired field. Remember, now, there are super specialists in ophthalmology as well. These include retina, oculoplastics, cornea, glaucoma, laser vision correction, cataract, etc. It is important to choose a doctor who is well trained, and also has enough surgical experience. Other important attributes are clinical acumen, surgical skill, and the ability to understand and address your expectations and fears.

• Technology and Team:Make sure your doctor has access to state-of-the-art diagnostic and surgical equipment and technology. This, along with a dedicated and well-trained team of paramedical staff, is critical. This is especially required in case you’re planning to undergo a surgical procedure since advanced diagnostic and surgical equipment is required in order to deliver consistent, better visual results. For example, cataract surgery has been revolutionized by using AI-guided femtosecond laser, and contoura vision has improved the results of femtosecond LASIK. Similarly, minimal invasive vitreoretinal surgeries may result in better outcomes.
• Integrity, Empathy, and Ease of Access: Your doctor must be empathetic and ready to discuss and explain the disease process, clinical decision, and treatment options. This is especially relevant when you are going ahead with vision correction surgeries (both cataract and spectacles removal via LASIK), so you best understand the risks and benefits of each decision. It is also of critical importance for chronic diseases like glaucoma, ARMD, etc., which can be potentially blinding. In case you have a disease that requires frequent and long-term follow-up, it makes more sense to choose a doctor who is easily accessible and perhaps, ready for online consults.

• Affordable eye care:Affordability of the eyecare services is also of great importance. Since most vision correction procedures like LASIK are out-of-pocket expenses, choose an eye doctor known for compassionate service, along with surgical expertise.

Caveat: While we have tried to incorporate all of these points in making this list of the top ten eye doctors in India, you must make a reasonable choice. This list is not exhaustive nor exact and has been assembled in random order. There can be no one best doctor in India, or even ten, but these are some of the best available eye doctors in the country.

1. Dr. Rahil Chaudhary is the extraordinarily accomplished and proficient director of the Eye7 group of eye hospitals in Delhi-NCR. He has several distinctions to his credit and specializes in laser vision correction for removal of specs, refractive surgeries, as well as cataract surgery. He has been a dynamic pioneer in various surgical and technological advances in eye care. A prolific and efficient surgeon, he has the highest number of LASIK specs removal in the country and is also the first Artificial Intelligence enabled bladeless cataract surgery in India. He has been felicitated for his achievements both nationally and overseas. Extremely popular for his social media presence, Dr. Rahil is known for his compassion, dedication to patient-centric care, and charming demeanor.

2. Dr. Lingam Gopalis the senior vitreoretinal consultant at Medical Research Foundation, a unit of Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai. He has a wealth of expertise in the field of retina surgery and is known for the same worldwide.

3. Dr. Santosh Honavaris the senior consultant at the Centre for Sight, Hyderabad. He is known as one of the best eye specialists for ocular oncology (cancers of the eye), oculoplastic and facial aesthetics.

4. Dr. George VarghesePuthuran is the head of the glaucoma department at Aravind Eye Hospitals in Madurai. He is a prolific glaucoma surgeon and has been a pioneer in developing a low-cost, indigenous glaucoma implant.

5. Dr. Prashant Gargis the Executive Chair at the LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad. He is a well-known cornea surgeon, renowned for his specialization in corneal infections, anti-microbial resistance, and eye banking.

6. Dr. Ajay Paulis the Director of the B B Eye Foundation, Kolkata, and B B Eye Foundation, VIP. His area of specialization includes posterior segment complications of cataract surgery and medical and surgical retina.

7. Dr Ramanjit Sihota is working as Head, Glaucoma Services, in Shroff Eye Centre, New Delhi. With over three decades of experience in the field, she specializes in glaucoma and diseases of the optic nerve. She was earlier the head of the glaucoma unit at Dr RP Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS, New Delhi.

8. Dr Sundaram Natarajanis the head of the Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital in Wadala, Mumbai. A recipient of the Padmashri, he is a vitreoretinal surgeon with a particular interest in diabetic eye disease and the epidemiology of diabetic retinopathy.

9. Dr. Jeevan SinghTitiyal is the Chief of the Dr. R P Cetre, AIIMS, New Delhi. He is also a Padma Shri awardee and is known for his expertise in the field of corneal surgeries (especially transplants), phacoemulsification, and refractive surgery.

10. Dr. N. Venkatesh Prajnais the Chief of Cornea & Refractive Surgery Services and the Director, Residency Training, Aravind Eye Care System at Aravind Eye Hospitals, Madurai. AEH is one of the pioneers of affordable eye care services in the country, operating on the hub and spoke model within poorly served communities in South India.