Specialization in acute care surgery in low-income and middle-income countries

Sojung Yi; Jennifer Rickard

doi:10.1136/tsaco-2017-000095

Specialization in acute care surgery in low-income and middle-income countries

Trauma Surg Acute Care Open. 2017 May 22;2(1):e000095. doi: 10.1136/tsaco-2017-000095. eCollection 2017.

Authors

Sojung Yi^{1

2

3}, Jennifer Rickard^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA.
² Program in Global Surgery and Social Change at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
³ Department of Surgery, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Kigali, Kigali, Rwanda.
⁴ Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

Abstract

Traumatic injuries represent the highest portion of surgical conditions worldwide, and the groups most vulnerable to these injuries are disproportionately in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). It is in this context that we recognize and propose an urgent opportunity for developing and strengthening the field of acute care surgery (ACS) in LMICs. In this article, we will briefly review the history and advantages of ACS as a specialty and recognize the unique opportunity and benefit it may have in LMICs.

Keywords: Acute Care Surgery; Eastern Africa; Global Health; Rwanda; Surgery.