Designing a model for training physicians with no formal training in pediatric surgery to perform a safe colostomy on a newborn
Team Lead: Dr Emmanuel Ameh, Professor & Chief Consultant Paediatric Surgeon, National Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria
Lead Institution: National Hospital, Abuja
Team Countries: Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Canada, United States
The team is designing a model for training physicians with no formal training in pediatric surgery to perform a safe colostomy on a newborn. The model is designed to teach gentle tissue handling skills. Research shows that over half of surgical errors made by trainees are caused by excessive use of force.
These skills can be transferred to other life-saving surgeries. By training surgeons in these delicate procedures, it can bring quality surgical care to the estimated 1.7 billion infants and children globally who currently lack access to safe, timely and affordable interventions.
The team will use their award to validate that their low cost model can assist in training and self-assessment.
The performance of a colostomy on a newborn is a delicate procedure. Over half of surgical errors by trainees are caused by excessive use of force. The Colostomy in Newborns team, led by Dr Emmanuel Ameh, hopes to teach general surgeons and medical officers gentle tissue handling skills, to enable them perform surgery safely on children.
There are a variety of indications for the performance of a colostomy in a newborn. Whatever the indication, the construction, care and complications of these colostomies present problems that are unique to this age group. According to an article from the Annals of Pediatric Surgery[1], “paediatric surgical care [in LMICs] is generally seen as an expensive specialty due to the peculiar surgical conditions, distinct anaesthetic challenges and unique perioperative needs.”
Pediatric surgical care, therefore, represents a significant unmet need among millions of neonates and children worldwide.
“The workforce available to perform this delicate procedure in low- and middle-income countries is very limited,” says Dr Ameh, who is Professor and Chief Consultant Paediatric Surgeon at National Hospital in Abuja, Nigeria.
In preparation for the Global Surgical Training Challenge, Dr Ameh established a collaboration between the University of Abuja, in Nigeria, the Paediatric Surgical Foundation at Mulago Hospital, in Uganda, the African Biomedical Engineering Consortium based at Kenyatta University, in Kenya, and Medical Makers, a global community of healthcare innovators headquartered in Canada. The team — with members in Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Canada, and United States — plans to translate the documentation into the six official languages of the United Nations.
The intention is that these skills will be transferable to other surgical procedures, in both children and adults, that call for gentle handling of delicate tissues.
