Lakshmana Kooragayala, M.D.

Dr. Kooragayala joined Marietta Eye Clinic in 2005, serving as the Retina specialist. He practices out of the main office on Canton Rd.

Born the youngest of six children in Anathapur, India, Dr. Lakshmana Kooragayala, "Dr. K," faced a major life decision at a relatively early age. In the education system of his homeland, 10th grade students must choose to follow either the mathematics or science career path in order to continue their education. Preferring science, Dr. K. entered medical school when he was only seventeen years old.

Dr. K. attended the Kakatiya Medical College in Warangal, India, and graduated in 1985. It was during his one year internship that followed when he first became enamored with the human eye. "I became immediately fascinated with the examination of the eye. There is so much we can see and learn about the body just by looking into the eye," he says.

Dr. K. was also interested in surgery, and during his internship he began to consider specializing in ophthalmology. "I discovered ophthalmology would allow me to combine two interests," he explains. He went on to continue his medical education as a resident at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, a three hundred bed hospital where only eye surgeries are performed. The Institute trains only the best of the best among medical students, allowing just six new students a year to walk its halls. Dr. K. was one of those six.

During the three years Dr. K. spent training at the Institute his interest in the eye became even more focused. He turned his attention to retinal surgery, and desiring to acquire the highest level of skill, he moved on to yet another level of training. He completed a one year fellowship at the Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, at one of the largest eye hospital in the world.

"In retinal eye surgery a patient can be completely blind one minute and then able to see immediately after the surgery," Dr. K. says. "The most rewarding aspect of my work is to hear my patients’ exclamations when they first open their eyes."

By the time Dr. K. finished his fellowship he had been in training for eleven years. One might have expected him to immerse himself in his profession and begin reaping its rewards. However, by then things had changed in India and he came to worry about what opportunities would be available for his two children, twin boys.

It was then when he decided to move his family to America, even though it meant he would have to complete his specialty training all over again in the U.S. For Dr. K., moving to American literally meant starting over.

Settling initially in New York, he completed his second internship, this time in Internal Medicine, at the New York Medical College, Lincoln Hospital. Quickly his talents were realized, and he found himself in the unique position if being on the medical faculty while completing the internship.

This joint physician in training/faculty role was repeated when Dr. K. entered his second residency and subsequent fellowship training at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, Louisiana. At times he found himself lecturing to the very people who worked alongside him as fellow residents.

It was during his time in Louisiana when Dr. K. obtained his U.S. citizenship. "After having to train an additional ten years to become board certified in America, I was here to stay," Dr. K. says with a grin. "Besides, this is where my sons can pursue their dreams, whatever they may be."

Married twenty years, the Kooragayalas recently watched their sons enter Emory University. One is himself interested in medicine, the other, law.

Dr. K. does manage to relax when at home. In addition to growing vegetables native to India, he enjoys puttering around the house. “I like being a handyman,” he says, “although I have to be careful with my hands.” Operating at the micron level inside the eye, Dr. K. must protect his highly hands; he’s invested over twenty years in them. “That’s why I want to take up watercolor painting and drawing,” he says with a laugh.

Dr. Kooragayala sees patients at the Main office.

Meet Dr.Kooragayala