Dr Samir Mohapatra Secures Silver in Microsurgery Competition

What does it take to join blood vessels thinner than a millimeter? A steady hand, years of training, and surgical precision measured in seconds.

Dr Samir Mohapatra, Consultant Ophthalmologist at L V Prasad Eye Institute’s (LVPEI) Mithu Tulsi Chanrai (MTC) campus, Bhubaneswar, recently demonstrated exactly that by securing the silver level at the British Super-Microsurgery Competition 2026, held at the Queen Victoria Hospital (QVH) in East Grinstead, United Kingdom (UK).

The competition, conducted as part of the Annual John Corbett Memorial Lecture, is a certification program designed to assess the advanced microsurgical skills required for complex reconstructive procedures involving the face, head, and neck. Out of the 47 plastic surgeons who participated, eight progressed to the final certification round including Dr Mohapatra, where they had to perform three anastomoses [1] on 1 mm, 0.7 mm and 0.3 mm vessels respectively, both end to end, and end to side within a 60-minute time frame. Dr Mohapatra completed his procedure in 43.57 seconds, just two seconds behind the first place, and secured the silver level. His work was evaluated by a panel of five renowned plastic surgeons, including Prof S Raja Sabapathy from Ganga Hospital, India and Prof Jagtar Dhanda from the UK.

This achievement has already opened new avenues for international collaboration. Dr Mohapatra has been invited to participate in a research workshop, along with the final participants, where the surgeons’ anastomoses skills will be compared with a robot-assisted laser super microsurgery anastomoses.

Later this year, Dr Mohapatra will also present an oral paper at the European Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ESOPRS) Meeting 2026 in Portugal. His presentation will focus on the importance of early repair of the injured nerve and the vascularized nerve grafts in facial injuries.

Dr Mohaptra is currently on an international fellowship at the QVH, UK in the Department of Plastic Surgery and Facial Palsy, during which he got this opportunity.