Beyond borders: an appraisal of the global congenital cardiac surgery workforce

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common congenital abnormality worldwide. Patients in resource-constrained environments experience higher levels of mortality and morbidity from CHD. Many studies have quantified the incidence of CHD in resource-constrained environments and compared these to availability of surgeons per population. However, no study to date has compiled and created a repository of the global paediatric cardiac surgical workforce. We aimed to quantify the number and details of the congenital cardiac surgeons globally, compare the population of under 15's in each respective countries, and address the workforce gaps that currently exist within paediatric cardiac surgery.

Cardiothoracic Surgery Network (CTSNet) was searched in 2021 to extrapolate the current paediatric cardiac surgical workforce. The data was evaluated with the current literature to address current gaps in workforce planning and sustainability to produce this appraisal.

A total of 4,027 congenital cardiac surgeons were identified from CTSNet with 75% residing in high-income countries (HICs) or upper-middle-income countries (UMICs) despite these income groups only accounting for 16% of the world population. Despite similar incidence and prevalence of CHD globally, we found an unequal distribution in the availability of congenital cardiac surgeons worldwide.

The disparity in the availability of surgeons between HICs and low-middle-income countries (LMICs) is a global health issue that will require serous thought and planning to resolve. The high proportion of preventable deaths from CHD cases is a regrettable figure that governments and medical organisations should further strive to decrease. Education and proactive investments in training up local teams in LMICs will allow for sustainability in global congenital cardiac surgery.