Smith Institute for Urology, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra-Northwell
Introduction: Access to safe surgical care is a continued public health concern in underdeveloped populations. Since January 2014, the Northwell Health Surgical Service Line Global Health Initiative has executed annual mission trips to Quito, Ecuador in partnership with Medical Missions for Children and local Ecuadorian foundations and hospitals. These trips have expanded to include general surgery, plastic surgery, critical care, as well as oral and maxillofacial surgery. Pediatric urologic services were identified as a potential area for further development. Methods: Patients were prescreened and medically optimized by providers from the Padre Carollo Hospital Surgery Department. Patients were further evaluated onsite by Northwell surgeons and anesthesiologists. Most medical supplies were donated by Northwell Health and brought to the mission site by mission volunteers. All postoperative patients are evaluated and then follow with local surgical teams for any continued care. A needs assessment was performed to evaluate the urologic needs of this underserved population and identify low-risk urologic procedures that would best serve the community by improving quality of life with limited perioperative morbidity. Results: Twenty-nine Northwell personnel volunteered, including 10 attending physicians/surgeons, 3 residents, and 16 additional support staff (Table 1). In total, 100 patients were screened with 71 procedures performed over 4.5 days. These procedures included 53 adult and 21 pediatric cases, representing a 25% increase from the 2020 mission (Table 2). Assessment survey identified a need for pediatric urology procedures, which included circumcision, orchiopexy, hydrocelectomy, and inguinal hernia repair. Conclusions: Northwell surgical missions continue to have an increasing impact in Quito, Ecuador. A needs assessment during the most recent mission trip suggested that the addition of a pediatric urology team would provide high-impact, low risk services to the underserved community. SOURCE OF Funding: none
