Page 54 - GTM-3-1

Global Translational Medicine

PERSPECTIVE ARTICLE
Pixels to precision: Remote thoracic and

pediatric cardiac surgery mentorship with
Rods&Cones Technology in Kigali, Rwanda
®

1
Jessica D. Blum *, Yayehyirad Mekonnen Ejigu , Girma Tefera , and
2
3
James D. Maloney 4
1 Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison,
Wisconsin, United States of America
2 Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, King Faisal Hospital, Kigali, Rwanda
3 Department of Surgery, Division of Vascular Surgery, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison,
Wisconsin, United States of America
4 Department of Surgery, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Wisconsin Madison,
Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America

Abstract

Surgery is the final frontier in global medicine; yet, access to essential surgical
services in low- and middle-income countries remains a significant barrier to
equitable care. With a rise in non-communicable diseases and a shortage of skilled
surgeons, the need for mentorship becomes crucial to capacity building. The COVID-
19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for remote mentorship, leading to the development
of innovative solutions such as Rods&Cones . Herein, we describe one example of
®
remote mentorship conducted across a distance of more than 7,700 miles between
*Corresponding author:
Jessica D. Blum King Faisal Hospital in Rwanda and the University of Wisconsin Hospital in the US.
(jblum2@uwhealth.org) This paper aims to demonstrate how advances in remote mentorship technology
Citation: Blum JD, Ejigu YM, can overcome existing barriers and aid in expanding the global surgical workforce
Tefera G, Maloney JD. Pixels in thoracic surgery.
to precision: Remote thoracic
and pediatric cardiac surgery
mentorship with Rods&Cones Keywords: Global health; Global surgery; Remote mentorship; Mentorship; Thoracic
®
Technology in Kigali, Rwanda.
Global Transl Med. 2024;3(1):2795. surgery; Cardiothoracic surgery
https://doi.org/10.36922/gtm.2795
Received: January 21, 2024
Accepted: February 22, 2024
Published Online: March 26, 2024 1. Brain drain and capacity building
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). In the global health landscape, surgery has long been considered the “final frontier;” yet,
This is an Open Access article challenges persist in delivering essential surgical services to low- and middle-income
distributed under the terms of the
1
Creative Commons Attribution countries (LMICs). The World Health Organization estimates that provision of essential
License, permitting distribution, surgical services could prevent 6–7% of all avertable deaths in LMICs. Yet, issues with a
2
and reproduction in any medium, low-density skilled workforce and barriers to timely care lead to increased morbidity and
provided the original work is
properly cited. mortality, further stressing existing systems. The greatest burden of surgically treatable
diseases falls on people in LMICs, but the poorest third of people receive only 3.5% of
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with operations and have the lowest numbers of surgeons per capita. 3
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional With a decreased global incidence of communicable diseases, an increase in non-
affiliations. communicable diseases (NCDs) is the logical result of a larger, aging population. A study

Volume 3 Issue 1 (2024) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/gtm.2795