Ladyspeak

Dr. Sujatha Mohan is a consultant ophthalmic surgeon and Associate Medical Director of Rajan Eye Care Hospital, Chennai.

I COME from a family of doctors, while my father was in general practice my grandfather was an ophthalmologist way back in 1924.I was always interested in ophthalmology as a medical student, which was due probably to the influence of my grandfather.

I did my medical degree at the Tanjore Medical college and my specialisation in ophthalmology from the renowned institution, Sankara Nethralaya under the guidance of Dr. S.S. Badrinath. I met my husband there and after marriage we joined his father's practice and in 1995 started the Rajan Eye Care hospital. Both my husband and I are completely involved with the hospital and we have four other doctors who lend their expertise. My special interest is in treating anterior segment disorders like cataract, glaucoma, and corneal problems. To this date I have performed more than 10,000-cataract extraction with intra-ocular lens implant surgeries, including small incision, suture less cataract surgery. I have also performed around 400 corneal transplant surgeries.

In 1996, in collaboration with the Rotary Club we started an eye bank, which is attached to our hospital. I have conducted a number of social awareness campaigns to popularise the eye bank and the concept of eye donation. I cannot explain the joy one experiences when helping a person regain his eyesight. That is complete professional satisfaction. However, there is a lot that still needs to be done.

This is one field which is considered a `non-emergency' field wherein medical emergencies are few and far in between. So in that way it is an ideal career choice for women. One does tend to feel exhausted after an intricate operation but I have never had a cause to be disenchanted with my career. I enjoy every moment of my work and never get stressed out much.

One rule I have always followed is never to bring work home. In fact, my home is next door to the hospital but I make sure that once I am home I am only a housewife and a mother. At no point do I try to mix my professional and personal life. I am keenly interested in the field of cosmetic ophthalmology and our next project is to acquire a Lasik laser for correction of refractive errors.

My dream is to set up an educational institution that will train professionals and which will aim at giving quality treatment to the people.

As told to MALINI SURYANARAYANAN