ABSTRACT
Practitioners who are used to working in operating rooms in high-income countries (HICs) may be amazed when they see what can serve as an operating room (OR) in many parts of the less developed world. It is crucial for anesthesia providers to adjust their expectations and focus on how to provide safe and effective care in these challenging environments. 1 Therefore, before leaving their home country, the team must have a realistic understanding of what physical and human resources will be available and plan accordingly. It is imperative for the success of the trip that these unique considerations are planned for before the anesthesiology team leaves their home country. Successful trips have primary plans for the daily running of the OR as well as multiple contingency plans to attempt to optimize the provision of safe care. This chapter will address many questions that anesthesiologists must deal with when organizing a short-term visiting surgical team trip. This chapter will not specifically address the different implications of setting up and managing an OR during a disaster response as that is outside the scope of this discussion.
