In the United States, many routine surgeries are just that: routine. They may or may not correct the condition, but the likelihood of death or of life-changing complications are minimal.
But if you live in a poorer nation, surgery -- even a cesarean birth -- is quite risky and hard to procure. For as many as 5 billion people, these basic procedures are out of reach, according to a recent report by the Lancet Commission, the focus of a recent Scope post and many other news articles.
There are numerous reasons for this surgical gap, as Stanford surgeon Thomas Weiser, MD, who contributed to the report, explains in an Inside Stanford Medicine Q&A.
First, surgery "requires a strong and continuous supply chain, highly technical skills and ongoing training, and intensive management to organize such services," Weiser said. In addition, most aid programs focus on a specific disease, while surgery is a therapy, leaving it outside the bounds of most international development programs, he said.
So what does the future hold? Weiser is optimistic:
I hope that these findings and the new data presented in the commission report will increase attention and awareness of the vital role surgical care plays in a health system. Ideally, we will see increased leadership from organizations like the WHO and the World Bank in the form of attempts to standardize data collection, identify high-performing health systems, publicize successful programs and promote their adoption and replication in other health settings, and support improved investments in surgical capacity and quality improvement as a way to strengthen the health system more generally.
Previously: Billions lack surgical care; report calls for change, Stanford Medicine magazine opens up the world of surgery and Global health expert: Economic growth provides opportunity to close the "global health gap"
Photo by skeeze
