The fellowship in Cornea, External Disease, and Refractive Surgery at Rush University Medical Center is a highly acclaimed program offering subspecialty training in both clinical and surgical aspects of cornea and refractive surgery. A component of the fellowship is devoted to clinical research, but the goal of the program is to prepare the ophthalmologist for all aspects of a career in clinical practice. The fellowship is sponsored by Chicago Cornea Consultants, Ltd. and the department of Ophthalmology at Rush University Medical Center.

The fellowship is a 1 year program, with 1 fellow each year. The fellowship setting is Chicago Cornea Consultants, which consists of three offices, including our primary academic site at Rush University Medical Center. At Rush, we participate in research and educational activities involving our Fellows, residents and medical students. The Fellowship program is administered through the Office of Graduate Medical Education at Rush, and our Fellows receive all of the benefits accorded to members of the Rush house staff .

Our office in Highland Park includes comprehensive/general ophthalmology as well as cornea-external disease consultation and refractive surgery. We have the largest ophthalmology practice in Highland Park, an affluent community located on Chicago’s “North Shore”. We maintain a high-volume cataract surgery practice, employing the latest techniques in clear corneal incisions, toric and multifocal intraocular lens implants, topical anesthesia, etc. We utilize Highland Park Hospital for our surgeries.

Our office in Hoffman Estates, the Illinois Cornea Center, was founded by Jeffrey B. Robin, M.D. After we acquired this practice in 1994, we continued the Cornea Fellowship program that he instituted. In that office, we see a high concentration of refractive surgery patients, as well as patients referred for cornea-external disease consultations. We utilize St. Alexius Medical Center for our surgeries from this office.

We primarily utilize a Bausch & Lomb Technolas 217a laser and Hansatome, at our Highland Park office. We also have access to a VISX Star S4 Active Track excimer laser and AMO Amadeus microkeratomes, and to the Intralase femtosecond laser. At Rush, we utilize the Alcon Summit Autonomous laser and B-D microkeratome. This provides our Fellows with an unparalleled diversity of exposure to virtually every aspect of excimer laser and keratome technology that is currently available. Our practice has had the opportunity to participate in the excimer laser clinical trials for the treatment for astigmatism, hyperopia and high myopia.

We performed over 200 corneal transplants, 1000 cataract surgeries and 2000 refractive procedures in 2003. We have seen a steady growth in our refractive surgery practice, particularly in our discount Fellows’ Clinic. We are committed to active involvement by the Fellow in our surgical activities, as well as in our office consultation practice. At the conclusion of Fellowship training, our graduates are proficient in LASIK, LASEK, PRK, CK, phakic IOL technologies, astigmatic keratotomy/limbal relaxing incisions, and advanced Penetrating Keratoplasty/IOL exchange techniques. For more information, please see our website at www.chicagocornea.com.

Graduates of our Fellowship program have all gone on to secure exceptional practice positions, and have made important contributions to the literature. Incoming Fellowship trainees are expected to be proficient in contemporary cataract surgery techniques following their residency training. At the conclusion of the Fellowship, our trainees are experts in ocular microbiology and immunology, medical and surgical diseases of the cornea and external eye, and refractive surgery. This is accomplished via rotations with each of the three Attending physicians. Our Fellows are expected to make a substantial commitment to clinical research, and to be prolific and polished in their presentations and publications.

In addition to the clinical revenues the Fellows generate, our Fellowship Program is supported through unrestricted grants made to Rush University Medical Center, Department of Ophthalmology, by the following companies: Bausch & Lomb, Alcon Labs, Allergan Pharmaceuticals, and Santen, Inc. We ask that anyone anticipating completion of this Fellowship sign a restrictive covenant indicating their intentions to pursue career opportunities outside of the Chicago area upon completion of their training.