ABSTRACT
Laparoscopy, with its benefits of shortened hospitalizations, decreased wound infection rates, diminished pain, and improved cosmesis, has revolutionized surgical care in low-and middleincome countries (LMICs). Further expansion of laparoscopy to the 85% of the world’s people who lack access has been previously limited because of several factors. Some of these factors have included: limited financial, physical, and human resources; difficult political and social conflicts; austere environments; and misconceptions of the need and abilities of the people in LMICs by those in more developed countries. Historically, surgery, especially laparoscopic surgery, has been perceived as a highcost intervention with very little role, if any, in public health, for LMICs.
