Abstract:Background
Effective dissemination of technology in global surgery is vital to realize universal health coverage by 2030. Challenges include a lack of human resource, infrastructure and finance. Understanding these challenges, and exploring opportunities and solutions to overcome them, are essential to improve global surgical care.
Methods
This review focuses on technologies and medical devices aimed at improving surgical care and training in low‐ and middle‐income countries. The key considerations in the deve… Show more
“…Every year, thousands of surgical procedures across the world are not performed because of lack of availability of qualified surgeons. Technological progress has made the gradual implementation of remote surgery and telementoring possible, mainly for topographic/anatomical indications, as well as assistance in the decision‐making process. However, transmission methods so far have suffered from significant limitations over long distances, with non‐optimal quality and quantity of the data transmitted, or with overlong latency times.…”
Safe and effective implementation of remote surgery and telementoring can have significant limitations. Fifth‐generation (5G) wireless networks could be useful in overcoming these drawbacks. As a proof of concept, the authors present technical and clinical details of two procedures assisted by telementoring using 5G that were also broadcast live.
Secure remote access advice
“…Every year, thousands of surgical procedures across the world are not performed because of lack of availability of qualified surgeons. Technological progress has made the gradual implementation of remote surgery and telementoring possible, mainly for topographic/anatomical indications, as well as assistance in the decision‐making process. However, transmission methods so far have suffered from significant limitations over long distances, with non‐optimal quality and quantity of the data transmitted, or with overlong latency times.…”
Safe and effective implementation of remote surgery and telementoring can have significant limitations. Fifth‐generation (5G) wireless networks could be useful in overcoming these drawbacks. As a proof of concept, the authors present technical and clinical details of two procedures assisted by telementoring using 5G that were also broadcast live.
Secure remote access advice
“…Secondary increases in activity were identified corresponding to noted global surgery conferences, hosted by the Academic Surgical Conference and Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences (KITS) International Symposium on Surgical Innovations and Healthcare and Hackathon, as well as corresponding to a special edition journal release regarding global surgery by the British Journal of Surgery occurring during the period of the study (Fig. 4 ) [ 14 ]. Fig.…”
Background
The purpose of this observational study is to characterize the use of social media content pertaining to global surgery.
Methods
A search for public posts on social media related to global surgery was performed over a 3-month window, from January 1st, 2019, to March 31st, 2019. Two public domains were included in the search: Instagram and Twitter. Posts were selected by filtering for one hashtag: #GlobalSurgery. A binary scoring system was used for media format, perspective of the poster, timing of the post, tone, and post content. Data were analyzed using Chi-squared tests with significance set to
p
< 0.05.
Results
Overall, 2633 posts with the hashtag #GlobalSurgery were publicly shared on these two social media platforms over the 3-month period. Of these, 2272 (86.3%) referenced content related to global surgery and were original posts. Physicians and other health professionals authored a majority (60.5%, 1083/1788) of posts on Twitter, whereas organizations comprised a majority of the posts on Instagram (59.9%, 290/484). Posts either had a positive (50.2%, 1140/2272) or neutral (49.6%, 1126/2272) tone, with only 0.3% or 6/2272 of posts being explicitly negative. The content of the posts varied, but most frequently (43.4%, 986/2272) focused on promoting communication and engagement within the community, followed by educational content (21.3%, 486/2272), advertisements (18.8%, 427/2272), and published research (13.2%, 299/2272). The majority of global surgery posts originated from the USA, UK, or Canada (67.6%, 1537/2272), followed by international organizations (11.5%, 261/2272). Chi-squared analysis comparing Instagram with Twitter performed examining media content, tone, perspective, and content, finding statistically significant differences (
p
< 0.001) the two platforms for each of the categories.
Conclusion
The online social media community with respect to global surgery engagement is predominantly composed of surgeons and health care professionals, focused primarily on promoting dialogue within the online community. Social media platforms may provide a scalable tool that can augment engagement between global surgeons, with remaining opportunity to foster global collaboration, community engagement, education and awareness.
“…Medical device companies, biomedical engineers and non‐governmental organizations should ensure that equipment that fits the context in LMICs is available commercially. The need for development of electrosurgery in LMICs has been highlighted, as well as laparoscopic equipment in conjunction with mobile technology, in order to decrease costs and reduce the number of devices required for laparoscopic surgery.…”
Background
Strategies are needed to increase the availability of surgical equipment in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). This study was undertaken to explore the current availability, procurement, training, usage, maintenance and complications encountered during use of electrosurgical units (ESUs) and laparoscopic equipment.
Methods
A survey was conducted among surgeons attending the annual meeting of the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) in December 2017 and the annual meeting of the Surgical Society of Kenya (SSK) in March 2018. Biomedical equipment technicians (BMETs) were surveyed and maintenance records collected in Kenya between February and March 2018.
Results
Among 80 participants, there were 59 surgeons from 12 African countries and 21 BMETs from Kenya. Thirty‐six maintenance records were collected. ESUs were available for all COSECSA and SSK surgeons, but only 49 per cent (29 of 59) had access to working laparoscopic equipment. Reuse of disposable ESU accessories and difficulties obtaining carbon dioxide were identified. More than three‐quarters of surgeons (79 per cent) indicated that maintenance of ESUs was available, but only 59 per cent (16 of 27) confirmed maintenance of laparoscopic equipment at their centre.
Conclusion
Despite the availability of surgical equipment, significant gaps in access to maintenance were apparent in these LMICs, limiting implementation of open and laparoscopic surgery.
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