Aravind Eye Care and Alcon open Global Centre for Retina Training in Coimbatore

Aravind Eye Care System and Alcon, a global leader in eye care, have announced the opening of the Aravind Alcon Global Centre of Excellence for Vitreoretinal Surgery Training in Coimbatore. Following the successful launch of the Global Cataract Centre of Excellence in 2024, this new centre represents the second phase of the partnership between Aravind and Alcon to address one of the most important gaps in global eye care: access to retina training.

This specialised vitreoretinal centre will strengthen surgical capacity by training ophthalmologists with advanced retinal training and expanding access to quality eye care in under-resourced regions.

Integrated into the Aravind Eye Care System, the Centre is designed as a global training centre that combines hands-on surgical training with scalable virtual education, focusing on hands-on surgical capability and long-term capacity building.

The Centre also has a state-of-the-art wet laboratory for vitreoretinal formation and will initially train approximately 60 participants per year, also expanding its reach through virtual scholarship programmes.

The new Centre will boost vitreoretinal training, strengthening surgical capabilities and improving access to retinal care in regions where specialised retinal services are scarce.