Dr Geetha Iyer
FRCS (Glasgow) · FRCS (Ed) · FRCOphth
For over two decades, she has been the person patients come to when every other door has closed, restoring sight for patients with some of the most challenging ocular surface disorders. She is a globally recognised leader in cornea and ocular surface disease, known for pioneering clinical innovations and advancing the care of complex ocular surface disorders.
Surgeries
Experience
Research
Medical Director
CODE Eye Care · Chennai
HER JOURNEY
The doctor who chose the hardest cases
Most people who lose their sight to Stevens–Johnson Syndrome, severe chemical burns, or corneal failure are told there’s little that can be done.
Dr Geetha Iyer built her career on proving that wrong.
01
—– KEM Hospital, Mumbai → Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai
Her training began at KEM Hospital, Mumbai — one of India’s most rigorous medical schools — before she moved to Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, where she spent over two decades developing some of the most advanced ocular surface techniques in the country.
02
—-Miami · Rome · Boston
She didn’t stop there. Observerships with the world’s leading cornea specialists, including Prof. Scheffer Tseng in Miami, Prof Giancarlo Falcinelli in Rome and Prof. Claes Dohlman in Boston (pioneer of Boston Keratoprosthesis (KPro)), shaped her into a surgeon who genuinely operates at the frontier of what’s possible.
Today, as Founder & Medical Director of CODE Eye Care in T Nagar, Chennai, she brings that depth of training directly to patients, without the bureaucracy, the waiting, or the detachment that can come from large institutional settings.
She is an internationally recognised ocular surface specialist and Board Member of the Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society (TFOS).
She has performed over 400 keratoprosthesis surgeries.
She has played a major role in advancing the management of ocular complications of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome globally.
She led the national campaign against corneal blindness from chemical injuries.
A strong person makes others strong.
— Dr Geetha Iyer
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
What she treats
01
Dry Eye Disease
Diagnosis and long-term management, including AI-assisted tools for dry eye monitoring.
02
Ocular Surface Disorders
Limbal stem cell deficiency, OCP, severe dry eye & surface reconstruction.
03
Stevens–Johnson Syndrome
Her work helped shape contemporary standards of care and long-term visual rehabilitation for affected patients.
04
Artificial Corneal Transplants (KPro)
Boston KPro and MOOKP (tooth-in-eye) surgery for patients with no other options. 400+ keratoprosthesis surgeries performed.
05
Chemical Eye Injuries
Developed the CODE Score grading system for ocular burns.
06
LASIK & Refractive Surgery
Precise, individually tailored freedom from glasses.
07
Ocular Surface Cancers
Diagnosis and surgical management of tumours of the eye’s surface — a rare but critical subspecialty.
EDUCATION & TRAINING
How she got here
DEGREE
MBBS with Distinction in Ophthalmology
KEM Hospital, University of Mumbai — one of India’s most rigorous medical schools.
POSTGRADUATE TRAINING
Cornea & Refractive Surgery Fellowship
Two-year fellowship at CU Shah Postgraduate Training Centre, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai. Adjudged Best DO Candidate (2001) and Best Postgraduate Student by FDC (2001).
INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP
Observership in Ocular Surface Disorders
With Prof. Scheffer C G Tseng, Ocular Surface Centre, Miami, USA (2006).
MENTORS
Trained under global pioneers
Prof. Giancarlo Falcinelli (Rome) — pioneer of MOOKP tooth-in-eye surgery — and Prof. Claes Dohlman (Boston) — pioneer of Boston KPro surgery.
FELLOWSHIPS
FRCS · FRCOphth
FRCS (Glasgow) · FRCS (Edinburgh) · FRCOphth (Royal College of Ophthalmologists, UK).
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Where she shows up beyond the clinic
Her influence reaches well past the consulting room — shaping how ocular surface disease is taught, researched and led, both in India and worldwide.
- CURRENTLY ACTIVE
Adjunct Faculty
Singapore Eye Research Institute
Managing Editor
Journal of Cornea & Ocular Surface (JCOS) — Official Journal of the Cornea Society of India
Board of Directors
Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society (TFOS)
Member
Steering Committee, KPro Study Group
- PREVIOUSLY
President
Cornea Society of India
Founder Member
Cornea Society of India
Senior Consultant
CJ Shah Cornea Services, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai
Organising Secretary
OSKON 2012, 2015, 2018, 2023 — India’s flagship international meeting on Ocular Surface Disorders
16
honours &
recognitions
2018-26
across three
continents
First Indian recipient of the Meibom–Mooren Medal
2025
Recent honours
2024
International recognition
2023
A milestone year
RESEARCH
Selected publications
Published in peer-reviewed journals including Cornea, the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, and The Ocular Surface.