Unnecessary surgeries may be on the rise in low and middle-income countries

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-11-08 03:00

Australia; International; QLD

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There is growing evidence that too many unnecessary surgeries are being performed in low and middle-income countries, according to international and Australian researchers. Surgeries that provide little to no benefit relative to the risks and challenges that come with them can be costly to healthcare systems and harmful to individuals who either have unnecessary surgery or miss out due to poorly allocated resources. The researchers compiled the results of 133 studies on surgery overuse across 63 countries, and say there was growing evidence of a problem in low and middle-income countries. Most of the evidence was related to unnecessary caesarean deliveries, and the researchers say there is limited data on many other types of surgeries.