Establishing Sustainable Cardiothoracic Surgery Programs in Underserved Countries.

Establishing Sustainable Cardiothoracic Surgery Programs in Underserved Countries.
Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2018 Aug 24;:
Authors: Fenton K, Cardarelli M, Molloy F, Novick W
Abstract
Congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect worldwide, and accounts for a high proportion of the world's infant mortality. About 9 of every 10 babies born each year are born in areas without adequate access to heart surgery; overcoming this problem will necessitate addressing the worldwide shortage of an estimated 3,700 pediatric cardiac surgeons. Establishing sustainable heart surgery programs requires more than an investment of money: political, social, and cultural issues unique to each environment need to be addressed. Organizations desiring to help develop cardiac surgical centers need to focus on communication and bidirectional education, and to make a long-term commitment to each site. By identifying and addressing obstacles, success rates are high.
PMID: 30142634 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: The Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeon - August 24, 2018 Category: Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Authors: Fenton K, Cardarelli M, Molloy F, Novick W Tags: Thorac Cardiovasc Surg Source Type: research