Mr Crewe-Brown in Erbil, Kurdistan

Mr Crewe-Brown acts as a Project Consultant and Visiting Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon to the new Swedish Specialist Hospital in Erbil, capital of the self-governing region of Kurdistan in Northern Iraq. This is a four storey state-of-the art Eye Hospital, the first in a chain of other specialist facilities to serve this rapidly expanding region in the Middle East.

Unlike the southern regions of Iraq, Kurdistan is stable, safe and has a booming economy. Urban life at Erbil can be dated back to at least 6000 BC and it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Having been involved in the planning stages of the Refractive Surgery Department of the hospital, Mr Crewe-Brown returned last week from his first clinical visit to the hospital. He was very impressed with the nearly completed hospital, its facilities and equipment. He saw patients with a variety of refractive conditions and looks forward to performing surgery on some of these during future visits, the next surgical visit being in early August.