Volunteering Overseas — Lessons from Surgical Brigades

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Abstract
Dr. Mark Migliori's approach to international surgical care is minimalist. With another surgeon, two anesthesiologists, and two or three nurses, he travels to a rural hospital in Guatemala. The group evaluates dozens of children from the surrounding villages whom local health care workers have identified as potential candidates for surgery — primarily the repair of cleft lips and palates. Each surgeon operates on as many as 15 children each day with the use of local hospital equipment augmented with supplies brought from home. When they leave, local health care workers provide follow-up care, consulting with Migliori by e-mail as necessary. Migliori has made such trips twice a year since 1993, leaving his Minneapolis practice to serve patients who normally face insurmountable financial or geographic barriers to surgical care. The budget for such a visit is less than $10,000.

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