My career

I was attracted to the medical profession, so after school, I went to medical school. In those days, conscription was compulsory in South Africa, where I was brought up, so I went into the military and ended up in service for seven years. I was posted on to the operational areas in Namibia and the Caprivi strip where we managed civilian and military emergencies, with serious injuries “casevac’ed” by air (Helicopter and Hercules C130) to the main military hospitals.

It was pretty serious stuff at times, and I fought on the front line on the Caprivi Strip, adjacent to Zambia, Botswana and Namibia, where we managed medical emergencies such as high velocity missile injuries, as well as many chest and lung injuries.

In my early years as a doctor, I practiced all kinds of disciplines, including neurosurgery, ENT, orthopaedics, obstetrics and ophthalmology.

I seemed to be a pretty dexterous surgeon, and I particularly enjoyed microsurgery, which led me to specialising in ophthalmology. It was a field where there were all kinds of breakthroughs happening, and that made it an exciting challenge.

When I moved to Australia, I knew that I would have access to all the latest technical advances and, joining the Vision Eye Institute team meant I would be working alongside world class surgeons, using state of the art facilities.

Dr Howes explains his background

Dr Frank Howes explains his training and how it has helped him choose his sub-specialties.

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