What MCh Vitreo-Retinal Surgery residents and departments actually read in 2026 — with journals, a year-wise reading plan, and the references you will need for your thesis and exit practical.
These 15 titles are the standard references for Vitreo-Retinal Surgery — the books Indian teaching departments work from and examiners expect answers to be traceable to. Each is shown with the edition in circulation now, so you can print or buy the right one first time.
The books most residents actually buy. These are the editions in circulation now, with a note on whether each is something you read through, keep as a reference, or open only for the viva.
Three years of superspecialty training goes faster than it sounds, and most of it is spent on the floor. The order below is what works for most MCh Vitreo-Retinal Surgery residents.
Kanski to consolidate general ophthalmology, then Gass' Atlas and The Retinal Atlas for pattern recognition; daily indirect ophthalmoscopy and drawing practice; Duker's OCT handbook; register the thesis protocol.
Ryan's Retina systematically by section (basic science, medical retina, surgical retina, trauma, tumours) with Charles' Vitreous Microsurgery read alongside operating; wet-lab vitrectomy; thesis data collection.
Peyman for surgical technique breadth, Wilkinson and Rice for detachment, landmark trial review (ETDRS, DRCR Protocols S/T/AB, SCORE, CATT, EVRS/SPR study), and intensive mock clinicals, imaging spots and surgical video discussion.
Protocol, methodology and reporting standards examiners expect you to have followed.
Cases, spotters and stations that come up again and again in the exit exam.
MCh Vitreo-Retinal Surgery is offered by a select group of institutions, and the exit examination follows the parent institute's or university's own scheme under NMC Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations. In practice this means four theory papers of 100 marks (typically basic sciences applied to the retina and vitreous; medical retina; surgical vitreo-retina; and recent advances) followed by clinical examination with long and short cases, indirect ophthalmoscopy and imaging spots, instruments, operative video discussion, and viva with logbook and thesis.
The titles on this page are the ones residents and departments actually use, each with the edition in circulation now. Start with the first one listed and add the references as your reading deepens.
Ryan's Retina (3 vols) by SriniVas R. Sadda, Andrew P. Schachat, Charles P. Wilkinson, David R. Hinton, Peter Wiedemann, K. Bailey Freund is the usual anchor. The definitive retina reference; the whole syllabus is traceable to it.
MCh Vitreo-Retinal Surgery is a superspecialty course taken after a broad-specialty MD, MS or DNB, so the reading is narrower and deeper. The broad-specialty texts are assumed knowledge by the time you start.
No. Most residents own two or three and use the department or library copy for the rest. That is exactly why printing selected chapters from a PDF works out cheaper than buying volumes you will open twice.
We print from the PDF you send us. Send the file on WhatsApp with your page count and whether you want colour, black and white or mixed, and we print, bind and deliver anywhere in India. We do not supply copyrighted book files.
Black and white is 50 paise a page, colour is Rs 1 a page, and binding is Rs 40 per bound volume. A 400-page mixed set with binding usually works out around Rs 300 plus delivery.
Send the PDF on WhatsApp — colour Rs 1/page, B&W 50p/page, binding Rs 40. Printed, bound and delivered anywhere in India.
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