Surgical conditions contribute to significant global patient disability. This is not surprising given that close to 2 billion individuals around the world, mostly in low to middle-income countries, are estimated to not have access to basic surgical care. This pattern is equally applicable to conditions treated by plastic and reconstructive surgeons, which also contribute to a significant burden of disease, and disproportionately affect individuals in low to middle-income countries and underprivileged settings. This can be attributed to a combination of a lack of surgical expertise to treat certain conditions, combined with a backlog of untreated patients resulting from decades of limited access to care.
Providing access to plastic and reconstructive surgical care in a safe, timely, and effective fashion can help in addressing these global disparities. More importantly, building and reinforcing plastic and reconstructive surgical capacity in these settings is also critical for longitudinal, sustainable care, as well as empowering local healthcare providers and surgeons. This goal can be achieved through a multi-modal approach focusing on clinical care, research efforts, educational initiatives, and quality improvement processes.
In this special topic series, the goal is to review the issues mentioned above, emphasize the role of plastic and reconstructive surgery in global health, and underline its role in alleviating the global burden of disease attributable to surgical conditions. We hope to highlight studies pertinent to clinical initiatives, educational endeavours, research-focused interventions, quality improvement processes, systems-based practices, and capacity-building activities within plastic and reconstructive surgery that serve to alleviate the global surgical disease burden and disability.
Surgical conditions contribute to significant global patient disability. This is not surprising given that close to 2 billion individuals around the world, mostly in low to middle-income countries, are estimated to not have access to basic surgical care. This pattern is equally applicable to conditions treated by plastic and reconstructive surgeons, which also contribute to a significant burden of disease, and disproportionately affect individuals in low to middle-income countries and underprivileged settings. This can be attributed to a combination of a lack of surgical expertise to treat certain conditions, combined with a backlog of untreated patients resulting from decades of limited access to care.
Providing access to plastic and reconstructive surgical care in a safe, timely, and effective fashion can help in addressing these global disparities. More importantly, building and reinforcing plastic and reconstructive surgical capacity in these settings is also critical for longitudinal, sustainable care, as well as empowering local healthcare providers and surgeons. This goal can be achieved through a multi-modal approach focusing on clinical care, research efforts, educational initiatives, and quality improvement processes.
In this special topic series, the goal is to review the issues mentioned above, emphasize the role of plastic and reconstructive surgery in global health, and underline its role in alleviating the global burden of disease attributable to surgical conditions. We hope to highlight studies pertinent to clinical initiatives, educational endeavours, research-focused interventions, quality improvement processes, systems-based practices, and capacity-building activities within plastic and reconstructive surgery that serve to alleviate the global surgical disease burden and disability.