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Head and neck surgery global outreach: Ethics, planning, and impact
Author(s) -
Luginbuhl Adam,
Kahue Charissa N.,
Stewart Matthew,
Curry Joseph M.,
Weed Donald,
Zender Chad,
Netterville James,
Zafereo Mark
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.26643
Subject(s) - outreach , medicine , specialty , trips architecture , head and neck , general surgery , surgery , medical education , family medicine , political science , parallel computing , computer science , law
Background Head and neck surgical oncology and reconstruction are uniquely suited to address burdens of disease in underserved areas. Since these efforts are not well known in our specialty, we sought to understand global outreach throughout our society of surgeons. Methods Survey distributed to members of the American Head and Neck Surgery involved in international humanitarian head and neck surgical outreach trips. Results Thirty surgeons reported an average of seven trips to over 70 destinations. Identification of candidates, finances, on‐site patient care, complications, long‐term post‐surgical care, ethics, and educational goals are reported. We report a success rate of 90% on 125 free flaps performed in these settings. Conclusions The effort to answer the call for alleviating the global burden of surgical disease is strong within our specialty. There is a shared focus on humanitarian effort and teaching. Ethics of high resource surgeries such as free flap reconstruction remains controversial.