Economic Analysis of Children's Surgical Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Analysis.

Our findings show that many areas of children's surgical care are extremely cost-effective in LMICs, provide substantial societal benefits, and are an appropriate target for enhanced investment. Several areas, including inguinal hernia repair, trichiasis surgery, cleft lip and palate repair, circumcision, congenital heart surgery and orthopedic procedures, should be considered "Essential Pediatric Surgical Procedures" as they offer considerable economic value. However, there are major gaps in existing research quality and methodology which limit our current understanding of the economic value of surgical care.