Harry S. Brown, MD, FACS, founder of SEE International, dies

Harry S. Brown, MD, FACS, founder of SEE International, died April 16 at the age of 86, the organization announced.

Educated at the University of Missouri and George Washington University Medical School, Brown completed a residency program at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA before beginning a year-long trip around the world where he worked as a visiting ophthalmologist in Johannesburg, South Africa, North Gujarat, India, and Kabul, Afghanistan.

“It was on this journey that Dr. Brown realized how badly the developing world needed an organization of volunteer doctors to perform free sight-restoring surgeries for people who lacked resources or access to quality care,” SEE International said on its website.

He helped to create a mobile eye surgery system that allowed surgeons to perform procedures in medically underserved populations and founded SEE International in Santa Barbara, California, where he also began a private practice.

Brown received numerous awards during his career for humanitarian achievements, including the International President Award from Lions International, a tribute by the U.S. House of Representatives, the Honor Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American College of Surgeons/Pfizer Surgical Humanitarian and Volunteerism Award.

“He was a man of exceptional vision and compassion who dedicated much of his life to restoring sight to those who would otherwise be forced to live in darkness only because they lacked resources or access to care,” SEE International wrote.