Ophthalmologist Dr Vinu Kotur has announced he will be retiring at the end of the year after 43 years of running his Kogarah surgery.
"I feel I had to listen to my family and decided to call it a day," Dr Kotur, 82, said.
"I have seen three generations of patients of the same family. A lot of patients, along with me, have also grown old," he said.
Dr Kotur was born in India and trained in the UK, gaining his Fellowship at the Royal College of Ophthalmologists at Edinburgh.
He arrived in Australia in October, 1976 and immediately found a home in Kogarah.
"I came to Kogarah straight from the airport because my friend came to meet me," he said.
"I stayed with him and was looking for a place to live. There was no surgery in Kogarah and I liked the area and decided to stay."
Dr Kotur came to Australia with his wife Shaila and eldest daughter Seema. He now has another two daughters Usha and Smita.
"I wanted to go to a young country that was coming up, where there was opportunity," he said.
"And weather-wise, it was the best place.
"There was a shortage of Ophthalmologists and I found work straight away."
Dr Kotur worked at the Concord Repatriation Hospital and Marrickville Hospital as Visiting Medical Officer, and at the Miranda surgery of Dr Michael Silva.
He also assisted Dr Silva in his work with Aboriginal patients at Walgett in outback NSW.
"I was always fascinated about the eyes right from when I first started training at the Grand Medical College in Bombay (now Mumbai)," Dr Kotur said,
"Eyes are a fascinating small organ of the body. I enjoy surgery of the eye. It is such precision surgery."
In his retirement Dr Kotur hopes to take up his former hobby of photography.
"When I came to Australia I didn't have any time to do it. I also used to jog. Now I will take walks with my wife and see my grandchildren and hopefully go travelling now that I have the time to explore Australia," he said.
"I have really enjoyed working in Kogarah and Marrickville. The patients are good and loyal and they appreciate what you are doing.
"When I started working in 1977, right from day one I felt I should not charge pensioners and heath card holders anything more than what Medicare would give.
"Now I am announcing my retirement from my ophthalmic practice effective from January 1, 2021. It was a hard decision. It has been a great pleasure providing for the eye care needs of my patients over the years
"I thank them for their loyalty."
