Neurosurgery in Iraqi Kurdistan: An Example of International Neurosurgery Capacity Building

The medical infrastructure of Iraqi Kurdistan, a semiautonomous region in the northern part of Iraq, lags disproportionately behind relative to the otherwise booming industrial advances of the region. Although neurosurgical training is available, the local population lacks trust in its own neurosurgeons. Medical facilities suffer from a lack of basic resources, such as high-speed drills, intracranial pressure monitoring, and stereotaxy to care for neurosurgical patients. Since 2012, American volunteer neurosurgeons have delivered lectures and mentored local neurosurgeons in performing neurosurgical procedures. Over the last 4 years, the visiting neurosurgical team has seen hundreds of patients in consultation and performed more than 50 complex cranial and spinal operations jointly with local neurosurgeons. This article discusses our experience as volunteer neurosurgeons in building neurosurgical capacity in Iraqi Kurdistan.