The healthcare industry comprises several compassionate women leaders who work with extra empathy and care. However, despite the increasing contribution of women healthcare professionals, there has been a void in the top leadership positions. Very few women have been chasing their entrepreneurial dream in the healthcare industry. Among the praise-worthy personalities who are dedicated to serving in eye care, Dr. Vasumathy Vedantham is a name worth mentioning. Dr. Vasumathy is a Vitreoretinal surgeon specializing in diabetic eye disease, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

After bouts of professional attempts in healthcare, she is currently leading Radhatri Nethralaya as the Co-founder and MD. She was associated with premier eye institutes in the country such as Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, where she worked as a consultant for five years, and L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad where she received extensive training. In her previous stint, she has worked with big names like Moorfields Eye Hospital, London. Women entrepreneur India admires her leadership and appreciates her contribution to the ever-evolving healthcare sector.

We take pride to engage in an exclusive conversation with this meticulous leader. Peruse the following excerpt from the interview.

Take us through your early educational journey and the prior industry experience that you bring to the table.

I am an alumnus of Madras Medical College (MMC) & RIOGOH (Regional Institute of Ophthalmology), Chennai where I completed my M.B.B.S & M.S Ophthalmology. I completed my Vitreoretinal fellowship at L.V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), Hyderabad, and worked as a retina consultant at Aravind Eye Hospital for five years. I did my fellowship in the pediatric retina, ROP, and Electrophysiology of the Eye from Moorfields Eye Hospital, London.

Professionally, I am a consultant Vitreoretinal surgeon and one of the medical directors of Radhatri Nethralaya. I am also a member of the All India Opthalmology Society(AIOS), Tamilnadu Opthalmic Association (TNOA), Andhra Pradesh State Opthalmic Society (APSOS), Indian Women Ophthalmologists Society (IWOS) and Indian ROP Society. I was a national task force member in the Indian ROP research group for the prevention of childhood blindness due to retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in preterm babies.

She was a national task force member of Rashtriya Bala Swastiya Karyakram (RBSK) of the Govt of India for the prevention of blindness due to cortical visual impairment (CVI) in special children with cerebral palsy, and was invited to New Delhi by RBSK for a brainstorming.

What has been the driving force of your brainchild Radhatri Nethralaya?

Radhatri Nethralaya is driven by the vision and mission to ensure world-class ophthalmology (both diagnostic and therapeutic) for all patients regardless of socio-economic class. We are an NABH accredited organization specializing in Cataract, Retina, Pediatric Ophthalmology, and Adult Eye care services. Radhatri Nethralaya is well-known as a premium tertiary referral hospital for tiny preterm babies with ROP.

Myself and my husband Dr. Praveen Krishna (who is a Co-Founder of Radhatri Nethralaya) have been committed to the eradication of childhood blindness, which is a big challenge in India. Over 25 to 30 percent of school-going children in Chennai need to wear glasses but are unfortunately not wearing them due to a lack of awareness. For this, we have launched a series of vision screening camps along with Rotary and other NGOs, which are conducted every year helping more than 25,000 children see better annually. We have created 100 young vision ambassadors comprising of school children called Yuva Nethra Jyothi to promote awareness of preventable causes of blindness in the community.

We have been actively involved in community work by conducting eye camps, especially in schools, eye awareness programs and so on. Through our public charitable trust, Gurupriya Vision Research Foundation, we are striving to eliminate all causes of preventable blindness. Moreover, we do not compromise on the quality of care from day one. We also do a lot of teleophthalmology in rural Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Our van takes a specialised Retinal Camera and trained technicians to the villages and screens the eyes of preterm babies for a blinding condition called Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). So far more than 36,000 babies have been screened by us. Any baby who is detected to have ROP is immediately brought back to Radhatri Nethralaya for free vision preserving laser surgery and prevented from becoming blind.

How, in your opinion, has the field of ophthalmology evolved in India over the years?

With the advancement in technology and innovation, there are numerous efficient devices today to analyze the types of dry eye. We have subclinical laser surgery for Retinal disorders, which almost do not cause any visible burns and yellow laser is the most painless procedure as well, which is available with us. There is Femto Laser for Cataract and refractive procedure.

A surgical procedure for retina ‘Vitrectomy’ has also evolved into a suture-less procedure today. The treatment for Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) has also advanced to offer extremely effective results in the past few years. In fact, the entire segment has come a long way with state-of-the-art equipment, preservative-free eye drops, and more.

“My dream is to make radhatri nethralaya a legacy and touch the lives of as many patients as possible. Spread the light”

How has been your entrepreneurial journey so far?

Since 2008, it has been a long journey muddled with hurdles. Especially in 2015, we had a tumultuous time due to floods; we were devastated and on the streets. We lost almost a crore worth of equipment bought out of blood sweat and tears. While we were having second thoughts to continue and wanted to go back and join a corporate, there was this (Paati) old grandmother who came from the village carrying her tiny grandson to treat ROP. I had no equipment except a torch and I recommended to visit the nearest hospital but she refused and told me “See my grandson with this torch & touch his forehead. I will come next week and show you, you would be standing tall by then, everything will be alright. I will show him only to you”. At that point, I realized that everything lost was only material and we still had the belief and faith of all the patients we had seen so far. I should say, our patients have been the key support for our journey.

Dr. Vasumathy Vedantham, Md, Radhatri Nethralaya

Dr.Vasumathy has an excellent academic record with fifteen gold medals including the best outgoing medical student for M.B.B.S and M.S Ophthalmology. She is proud to be a recipient of the prestigious Rakesh Sharma memorial award conferred by the All India Ophthalmologic Society (AIOS) for best work in ocular trauma in India in 2005. She has been conferred with the coveted Hanumantha Reddy Award for the best work done in pediatric ophthalmology in India, by AIOS. Also, a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, UK,Vasumathy has topped the FRCS examination in 1999. Apart from 50 publications on retina in peer reviewed international and national journals, including major reviews on diabetic retinopathy, original article on Aflibercept in ROP, she has authored chapters in several text books, Prinicipal Investigator in an International Trial on AMD.

She has several awards to her Credit such as Sherpa Oration & endowment award from Nepal by ACOIN, Recipient of International XovaeXcellence in Ophthalmology Vision award Grant, Mahatma award, Health care warrior & Skoch order of merit, Gold medal & oration award from IMA Tamilnadu state & IMA Tambaram, Maruthuva Natchatiram Award from The Hindu & The IMA, AHPI Award from Association of Health Care Providers of India. She is the first recipient of the prestigious Dr. Badrinath Sankara Nethralaya Gold Medal. She & her Spouse Dr.Praveen Krishna were recognised as"Distinguished ophthalmology couple of India"by the ophthamologist of India. She was adjudged to be one amongst the top twenty women ophthalmologists in India by Ophthalmologt World Report.