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Updated: Feb 13, 2026

Surgical Correction for Pediatric Epiblepharon and Trichiasis
Published on: July 8, 2025
Racial disparity in an outreach pediatric surgical service
Canaan Aumua1, Sanjeev Krishna2, Udaya Samarakkody3
1Waikato District Health Board, Department of Pediatric Surgery, New Zealand; University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Aim:
The aim of this study was to investigate whether racial disparities in healthcare exist within a New Zealand pediatric surgical outreach service in a high indigenous Māori population.
Methodology:
This retrospective study assessed all pediatric surgical procedures performed within a secondary center in New Zealand between May 2014 and May 2016. The days between the date of surgery booking on the waiting list and actual date of surgery were calculated and compared to their corresponding elective surgery waiting target times set by the New Zealand Ministry of Health (MoH). Patient demographic data were collated to then identify any discrepancy between ethnic groups.
Results:
A total of 203 pediatric surgical procedures were performed on 193 patients. Of the 194 (95%) procedures that were included in the study, 30 breached a maximum waiting time. Though this represented a small proportion of patients, Māori were significantly over represented in this group.
Conclusion:
The majority of our patients with delayed elective surgery were of Māori ethnicity, for reasons not entirely accounted for by common socioeconomic determinants of health. Our study suggests the possibility of innate systemic causes not detected by standard models of health. However, further research with larger cohorts is needed.
Level Of Evidence:
III.
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