Aravind’s Uvea Clinic was established in 1993. There are only a few full-time Uveitis Clinics in India. Aravind’s Uvea clinic is one among them and is known for its high volume. Aravind centres at Madurai, Chennai, Coimbatore, Pondicherry and Salem offer this service.
There are two landmark achievements in the history of Uvea clinic at Aravind. One, is the identification of etiological agent of an epidemic outbreak of an infectious uveitis named Leptospiral Uveitis in 1996. Further studies on this entity have helped in characterization of the clinical pattern of this rare form of uveitis. After realizing the endemic nature of the disease, Aravind established a regional Leptospirosis laboratory with the collaboration of the Royal Tropical Institute, the Netherlands and Indian Council of Medical Research. The laboratory is conducting basic research on etiopathogenesis of Leptospiral uveitis.
Another milestone is the identification of paediatric Trematode Granulomatous Uveitis, accomplished in collaboration with Professor Narsing A. Rao of the Dohney Eye Institute in Los Angeles. The study resulted in the first report of trematode-associated granulomatous uveitis in the literature.
