title: Congenital anomalies in low- and middle-income countries: the unborn child of global surgery.
abstract: Surgically correctable congenital anomalies cause a substantial burden of global morbidity and mortality. These anomalies disproportionately affect children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to sociocultural, economic, and structural factors that limit the accessibility and quality of pediatric surgery. While data from LMICs are sparse, available evidence suggests that the true human and financial cost of congenital anomalies is grossly underestimated and that pediatric surgery is a cost-effective intervention with the potential to avert significant premature mortality and lifelong disability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA, nasitkin@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Nicole A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Sitkin
authors.forename: Doruk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ozgediz
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Donkor
authors.forename: Diana L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Farmer
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000379:methods; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014943:Global Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011203:Poverty; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*