Aravind Eye Care System and Alcon have launched a new training centre in India to strengthen vitreoretinal surgery skills and expand access to specialist eye care.

Aravind Eye Care System and Alcon have launched a Global Centre of Excellence for Vitreoretinal Surgery Training in Coimbatore, India, as part of a partnership aimed at addressing shortages of trained retina specialists.

The new centre will provide ophthalmologists with hands-on surgical training alongside virtual education and fellowship programmes, with the aim of strengthening access to specialist retina care in underserved regions.

The centre is based within the Aravind Eye Care System and includes a wet laboratory for vitreoretinal surgery training. It is expected to initially train approximately 60 participants each year, while virtual programmes will allow the training to reach a wider international audience.

The initiative builds on the organisations’ Global Cataract Centre of Excellence, which was launched in 2024.

Raj Narayanan, senior vice president and president international at Alcon, said: “The inauguration of this new Global Centre of Excellence in Retina marks an important step in our shared commitment to developing the next generation of eye care professionals through world-class training and capability building.”

Retina care remains less accessible than cataract care in many regions, partly because of a shortage of specialists trained to diagnose and treat complex retinal conditions.

The new centre will focus on developing practical surgical skills and supporting longer-term healthcare capacity by combining supervised training with scalable virtual education.

Dr Narendran, chief medical officer at Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore, said: “This comes at a critical time, as retinal disease is an increasingly common cause of vision loss in India and worldwide, and the need for skilled retinal surgeons continues to grow.”

Vitreoretinal surgery is used to treat conditions affecting the retina and vitreous, including retinal detachment, diabetic eye disease and other causes of severe vision loss. Access to specialist surgical care can be limited in regions where there are not enough trained ophthalmologists or appropriate facilities.

The new centre is intended to provide ophthalmologists with structured training in complex vitreoretinal procedures, combining practical experience in a wet laboratory with educational programmes that can be delivered remotely.

Dr Narendran added: “The centre provides the next generation of ophthalmologists with a structured, hands-on pathway to master complex procedures with precision and confidence.”

Aravind Eye Care System has developed an international reputation for combining large-scale eye care delivery with medical education and training. The partnership with Alcon has previously focused on cataract surgery education, with the new centre extending the collaboration into retinal surgery.

The organisations said the new programme will initially focus on training ophthalmologists from regions where specialist retina services remain limited, including parts of Africa, Latin America and Asia.

By increasing access to surgical training, the initiative aims to support the development of local specialist expertise and improve the availability of retina services for patients with vision-threatening conditions.

The launch comes as the burden of retinal disease continues to increase globally, creating a need for more ophthalmologists with specialist skills in retinal diagnosis and surgery.

The new Global Centre of Excellence for Vitreoretinal Surgery Training will therefore combine local, hands-on training with virtual education to support the development of retina care capacity across multiple regions.