The use of the laparoscope in rural Thailand.

A survey of the use of laparoscopy in rural Thailand was undertaken between June 1974 and December 1977. All the physicians were trained at either Ramathibodi Hospital, Bangkok, or The Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics and the USA; about 30% and 46% of the physicians, respectively, were endoscopically inactive. The complication rate of rural laparoscopy was high and was inversely proportional to the degree of utilization. It is concluded that for a developing country with limited resources, laparoscopic sterilization in rural areas is not cost-effective; a technique using simpler and hardier equipment should be chosen.