J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg
December 2014
Objectives: Cardiothoracic surgeons and practitioners of cardiovascular medicine have a long history of humanitarian aid. Although this is worthwhile at multiple levels and occasionally described in some detail, few efforts have a proven algorithm with demonstrable outcomes that suggest effective educational methodology or clinical results approaching accepted standards in developed countries.
Methods: Our report provides a stepwise approach to developing highly successful self-sustainable, replicable, and scalable humanitarian congenital cardiac surgical programs, and provides data to allow insight into the efficacy of our model.