Purpose. Congenital anomalies and injuries of the hand are often undertreated in low-middle income countries (LMICs).\nHumanitarian missions to LMICs are commonplace, but few exclusively hand surgery missions have been reported and none have\nattempted to demonstrate their cost-effectiveness. We present the first study evaluating the cost-effectiveness of a humanitarian\nhand surgery mission to Honduras as a method of reducing the global burden of surgically treatable disease. Methods. Data were\ncollected froma hand surgery mission to San Pedro Sula,Honduras. Costs were estimated for local and volunteer services.Thetotal\nburden of disease averted from patients receiving surgical reconstruction was derived using the previously described disabilityadjusted\nlife years (DALYs) system. Results. After adjusting for likelihood of disability associated with the diagnosis and likelihood\nof the surgery�s success, DALYs averted totaled 104.6. The total cost for the mission was $45,779 (USD). The cost per DALY averted\nwas calculated to be $437.80 (USD), which is significantly below the accepted threshold of two times the per capita gross national\nincome of Honduras. Conclusions.This hand surgery humanitarian mission trip to Honduras was found to be cost-effective. This\nmodel and analysis should help in guiding healthcare professionals to organize future plastic surgery humanitarian missions.
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