Vold Vision Anterior Segment Fellowship Clinical and Research

The Vold Vision eye institute has one opening for a year-long clinical fellowship in anterior segment. The fellow will work closely with Dr. Steve Vold and Dr. Laura Voicu who are both anterior segment surgeons. Surgical experience will include the full range of glaucoma, cataract, cornea and refractive procedures. The fellow will receive full spectrum training in glaucoma lasers, minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries as well as the essential training in traditional trabeculectomy and tube shunt procedures. The fellow will participate in cornea transplantation techniques including full thickness and lamellar keratoplasty, ocular surface reconstruction and others. The fellow will be exposed to innovative techniques including HD ECP, Trabectome, KDB, XEN, CyPass, iStent inject, iStent supra, iDose, ABiC, trab/visco 360, Hydrus, InnFocus Microshunt, iStar suprachoroidal shunt, LASIK, SMILE, Raindrop, ICLs, IOP sensor technology, sustained release bimatoprost, Healios rings, punctal plug drug delivery systems, intraoperative aberrometry, light-adjustable lenses, other new IOL technologies, collagen cross-linking, and operating in 4K 3D. 1-2 days per week will be spent in surgery. Clinical experience will be broad including treatment of ocular surface disease, cornea and glaucoma. Emphasis will be placed on the treatment of complex cases in an innovative clinical and research environment. The fellow will have the opportunity to participate in clinical research with optional dedicated time for research, and will be supported to present at national meetings. International surgical volunteer opportunities will be optional with support for travel, for those interested in learning to develop such programs abroad. An introduction to running an efficient, research-focused private practice will be part of the learning process. The emphasis of our fellowship is to tailor to the fellow's ideal clinical and surgical experience in a positive and enjoyable environment, with great support staff. The fellow will be located at our state of the art Fayetteville clinic with on-site ASC, set in the foothills of the beautiful Ozark mountains. We have a full suite of imaging modalities used in our robust clinical trials programs. We look forward to supporting our fellow's educational goals. Please apply via the SF Match. We have availability for additional interview applicants in November.

We are also accepting applications for a year-long research fellowship, with the option for observing in clinic and surgery as well.

Here is an independently posted description of the fellowship by our excellent, current anterior segment fellow (posted a few weeks ago):

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Hello Ladies and Gentlemen!

I'm the current Advanced Anterior Segment fellow at Vold Vision in Fayetteville, Arkansas. 

I wanted to spread the word about the incredible experience I am having this year at this 1 year fellowship covering the entire anterior segment. Vold Vision is accepting applications on SFMatch (find under "Anterior Segment".

(NOTE: Scroll down to see my surgical numbers, over 250 PRIMARY surgeries and procedures in under 2 months)

I am in the OR 3 days a week, with minimal call, including no trauma...period. 

Leaving residency, I was torn between an academic and a private practice fellowship. I enjoyed the opportunities research provided, but wanted to learn how to run a private practice and operate in the world outside of academia. I also wanted a fellowship that would provide top-notch surgical training in as broad of an area as I could find in one year.

After interviewing at the top programs across the country in cornea, cataract, and refractive last year, I realized there was a huge range in the type of surgical experience you get as a fellow. Some places offered good volume for cornea, while others offered merely cataract and/or refractive. Few offered both, and none offered that plus glaucoma. 

I stumbled upon the fellowship at Vold Vision, and realized I had found a goldmine. This being the inaugural year of the fellowship, there was not any talk about it. When I interviewed, I realized this could be a career-changing opportunity. Not only Does Dr. Steven Vold perform possibly the most MIGS in the country, but his associate, Dr. Laura Voicu, has completed two top-notch academic fellowships, one in cornea and one in glaucoma. 

To top it off, Dr. Vold does over 100 eyes a month of refractive surgery. Two of those OR days I am operating in TruVision, a 3-D 4k heads up display. It's incredible.

In addition to an incredible surgical experience, the practice is involved in over 10 clinical trials currently, including new IOLs and MIGS devices, and has its own research department. This gives amazing opportunities to collaborate with industry. Every day there are people coming to observe surgery.

This fellowship is one of maybe two in the country that has the entire spectrum of anterior segment training. I mean EVERYTHING. Cornea, Glaucoma (including a TON of MIGS), Cataract, Refractive, and Dry Eye / Ocular Surface.

Phaco - 73

LenSX - 37

ORA - 10

LASIK - 38 

SMILE - 1

DMEK - 3

PKP - 5

DSAEK - 1

Cypass - 8 

Xen - 13

Hydrus - 1

KDB - 1

GATT/OMNI - 2

Micropulse - 1

Valves - 5

Trabs - 1

Trab revisions - 1

d-CPC - 1

YAG Cap - 43

YAG LPI - 3

SLT - 14

IPL - 14

Lipiflow - 1

Punctal Cautery - 1

Cataract/Femto/ORA 120

Cornea 8

Glaucoma 31

Refractive 38

Procedures 74

This sounds like an excellent fellowship (as long as the surgical numbers are truly primary).  I wish hybrid fellowships like this were around during my day.  Thanks for the post!

Sounds great! Very interesting article,you are well done!

Hi Everyone,

As the new fellow at Vold Vision this year, I wanted to update the thread. I'm 3 weeks into my fellowship training and have been credentialed to operate for 2 weeks. In those 2 weeks, I've logged over 50 primary cases. I'm doing phaco, lasers, MIGS, and corneal surgery. We're doing tubes, bleb revisions, draining choroidals, fixating IOLs. By the end of the year, I anticipate being confident doing any of the commonly performed surgeries within glaucoma and cornea, as well as a skilled and experienced cataract and refractive surgeon who can handle just about anything a cataract might decide to throw my way.

Fellowship training experiences that combine rigorous glaucoma training with comprehensive exposure to anterior segment surgery are exceptionally rare, and this fellowship provides just that! This is a fantastic fellowship for anyone looking for a high-volume surgical experience in a positive training environment with great support staff and excellent mentorship. Also, we have an amazing clinical research team, so there are tons of opportunities to get involved in research and it would be totally feasible to submit abstracts to ASCRS and/or AGS. Seriously, there is not another fellowship like this!

The current fellowship mentors are Dr Steven Vold and Dr George Tanaka, both glaucoma fellowship trained. Dr Tanaka is a very experienced glaucoma specialist who really has a fantastic grasp of everything in glaucoma, from the newer MIGS procedures to the more traditional tube/trab stuff. Dr Vold is a uniquely gifted individual who preceded Ike Ahmed as the Chief Medical Editor of Glaucoma Today. Like Dr Tanaka, Dr Vold has been a leader in the world of MIGS and interventional glaucoma. However, Dr Vold does everything anterior segment. When he started his practice in NW Arkansas, Dr Vold was the only anterior segment subspecialist in the region, so he visited a colleague to learn to do corneal transplants. He also is a leader in refractive surgery, and one of just a few experienced SMILE surgeons in the entire country.

Definitely check us out on SF Match! As well, here's a link to our newly updated webpage, where you can learn all about me and find out where our former trainees have gone:

Please feel free to reach out to me at any time, as I would love to interact with future anterior segment specialists and answer any questions you may have about the training experience at our program.

Hello! I am interested in learning more! Is there a way I can private message you? Thanks!