Pediatric Otolaryngology Short‐Term Mission Outcomes at a Surgical Mission Hospital in Guatemala

Abstract

ObjectiveThe frequency of humanitarian surgical mission trips has grown over recent decades. Unfortunately, research on patient outcomes from these trips has not increased proportionately. We aim to analyze the safety and efficacy of surgeries in a low‐ and middle‐income country missions‐based surgery center in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and identify factors that influence surgical outcomes.Study DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingGuatemalan surgery center is called the Moore Center.MethodsPediatric patients underwent otolaryngology surgery between 2017 and 2019. All patients required follow up. We analyzed the effect of patient, surgical, and geographic factors on follow up and complications with univariate and multivariate analyses.Results A total of 1094 otolaryngologic surgeries were performed between 2017 to 2019, which comprised 37.4% adenotonsillectomies, 26.8% cleft lip (CL)/cleft palate (CP) repairs, 13.6% otologic, and 20% “other” surgeries. Patients traveled on average 88 km to the center (±164 km). Eighty‐nine percent attended their first follow up and 55% attended their second. The 11% who missed their first follow up lived farther from the center (p < .001) and had a higher ASA classification (p < .001) than the 89% who did attend. Sixty‐nine (6.3%) patients had 1 or more complications. CL/CP surgery was associated with more complications than other procedures (p < .001). Of 416 tonsillectomies, 4 patients (1%) had a bleeding episode with 2 requiring reoperation.ConclusionThis surgical center models effective surgical care in low‐resource areas. Complications and follow‐up length vary by diagnosis. Areas to improve include retaining complex patients for follow up and reducing complications for CL/CP repair.