The UC San Diego Fellowship in Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is a 24-month fellowship sponsored by the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS). The goal of this fellowship is to provide the fellow in-depth exposure to all aspects of functional, reconstructive and aesthetic ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery.
The first year will consist of extensive experience in ophthalmic plastic, reconstructive and orbital surgery. The fellow will have graduated responsibilities in both the clinics and in surgery in a tertiary academic care setting.
Clinics are located at the UC San Diego Shiley Eye Institute, UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest and the San Diego VA Medical Center. Surgery is performed at the Shiley Eye Institute, UC San Diego Hillcrest Hospital, UC San Diego Thornton Hospital, San Diego VA Medical Center and Children's Hospital. The fellow is an integral part of the surgical team at all sites and will primarily staff the VA Oculoplastics Service.
Several specialty clinics add to the experience. The fellow participates in the UC San Diego Thyroid Eye Center clinic, a multidisciplinary clinic staffed by ophthalmic plastics, strabismus, and neuro-ophthalmology specialists and the monthly multidisciplinary Craniofacial Clinic at Children's Hospital.
During the second year, the fellow will have the opportunity to gain additional experience in craniofacial surgery, plastic surgery, dermatology, Moh's surgery, head and neck surgery, and neuroradiology. The elective experience can be tailored to suit the fellow's interests and desires.
The fellowship integrates three types of learning experiences to prepare the fellow for practice in either an academic or private setting. The three types of experience are:
Clinical and surgical anatomy is stressed. Cadaver dissection and practical surgery session provide the fellow with an anatomic foundation prior to being the primary surgeon on complex orbital cases.
The fellow will hold an appointment in the UC San Diego Department of Ophthalmology as Clinical Instructor and will be an integral part of teaching in the UC San Diego Department of Ophthalmology and Division of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. The fellow will actively participate in grand rounds, clinical seminars, journal clubs, and lectures to the residents and will work closely with the resident who is assigned to the oculoplastics service. The fellow will also participate in the annual UC San Diego Wet Lab for residents.
The fellow co-directs a bimonthly Clinico-Pathological Conference with the ophthalmic pathologist to discuss interesting cases from the oculoplastics service.
Research is encouraged and expected of all fellows. The fellow is expected to complete and publish a thesis in accordance with the ASOPRS guidelines for fellowship and society membership. In addition to the thesis, the fellow is encouraged to participate in several other research projects within the division and to present these findings at Annual AAO and ASOPRS meetings. The fellow will additionally participate in the Annual Shiley Eye Institute Resident, Fellow and Alumni Day.
Don O. Kikkawa, M.D. is the primary preceptor and Bobby Korn, M.D., Ph.D. is an associate preceptor. Dr. Kikkawa is Division Chief of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at UC San Diego and Director of the Fellowship.
Additional associate preceptors include:
The fellow will spend the majority of time at UC San Diego with Dr. Kikkawa and Dr. Korn. All preceptors are committed to teaching and providing the fellow with the best learning experience possible.
Lilangi Ediriwickrema, MD is a Clinical Instructor, National Heed Fellow, and ASOPRS Oculofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellow at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Shiley Eye Institute. Dr. Ediriwickrema grew up in Cary, North Carolina. After graduating from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, she attended the University of Pennsylvania as both a Roy Vagelos and Benjamin Franklin Scholar, and in four years, graduated Magna Cum Laude with a dual degree including a Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry and Master of Science in Chemistry.
She received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the Yale University School of Medicine. Her interest in ethics led her to be chosen as 1 of 12 medical students nationally to travel to Germany and Poland to study medical ethics via the FASPE Program. In medical school, she conducted a project designing biodegradable scaffolds and co-cultured stem cell-derived retinal progenitor and retinal pigment epithelial cells through a joint Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Foundation for Fighting Blindness (HHMI-FFB) research fellowship. Dr. Ediriwickrema completed a transitional year internship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, an ophthalmology residency at the University of Southern California + Los Angeles County (LAC) Medical Center in Los Angeles, California where she was co-Chief resident, and a clinical neuro-ophthalmology fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University Wilmer Eye Institute under the mentorship of Professor Neil Miller.
Dr. Ediriwickrema’s clinical interests include oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgery, orbital disease, periocular and facial reconstruction, biomedical engineering, neuro-ophthalmology, and neuroprotection. Dr. Ediriwickrema has presented her research and given talks at national and international meetings such as the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), International Society for Ocular Cellular Biology (ISOCB) Meeting, and the North American Neuro-ophthalmological Society (NANOS). She has also authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and book chapters.
Dr. Ediriwickrema is committed to resident education at UC San Diego and VA Hospital and runs resident sutures sessions, BCSC review sessions, and cosmetic clinics. She enjoys traveling, dancing, hiking, and paddle-boarding up and down the California coastline, and she has proficiency in Spanish.