Orient Journal of Surgical Sciences

This 3rd Volume of the Orient Journal of Surgical Sciences is out with a bang. An Orthopaedic article is featured along with original articles from the fields of Ophthalmology and General surgery.

As is consistent with the policy of the Journal, each published article provides unique valuable clinical and scientific information on the respective subjects presented.

ABSTRACT

Objectives: To describe the incidence and pattern of conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma at the Guinness Eye Center Onitsha, Nigeria.

Materials and Methods: The case files of all patients with ocular and adnexal tumors at the Guinness Eye Center Onitsha between 2005 and 2017 were reviewed. Those with histological diagnosis of conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma were selected and analyzed. Information obtained included age, sex, disease duration, diagnosis and co-morbidity. Results: There were 30 patients (0.03% of all new patients and 31.8% of all ocular and adnexal cancers); age range was 25 - 70 years; median - 33 years; 17 males, 13 females. Twenty eight out of the 30 (93.3%) patients were HIV-positive. All were unilateral. Four (13.3%) patients presented with orbital metastasis; 2 (6.6%) intraocular invasion and 1(3.3%) had recurrence after surgical excision. Seventeen (56.7%) patients presented with acuity 6/18 while 6 (20.0%) were blind in the affected eyes.

Conclusions: The incidence of conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma in our hospital was at least 0.03%. It occurred commonly in young adults most of who were also HIV positive. Nearly half of the affected eyes presented with impaired vision, with 20.0% blindness rate.

Key words: Conjunctiva, Cancer, Squamous cell, HIV

ABSTRACT

Background: High arch foot is not uncommon among the pediatric age group. It predisposes the foot to further structural abnormalities and painful calluses due to unequal weight distribution over the metatarsal heads. The prevalence of this condition is not documented in our environment.

This study was done to estimate the prevalence of high arch foot among a paediatric population and also to assess its relationship with age, sex, and body mass index.

Patients and Methods: One thousand seven hundred and fifty-eight children aged 5 to 13 years were randomly selected from eight primary schools within the study area. Each child's sex, age, weight and height were documented. The body mass index was calculated using weight (kg)/height (m3). Each child's foot print was obtained by the ink method for both right and left feet, and graded into normal and high arch using the instep method. All data were entered into SPSS version 21 for sorting and analysis.

Results: Twelve children (8 females, 4 males) representing a prevalence of 0.7% were found to have high arch foot. The mean age of the population was 9.18±2.170 years with 1191 (67.8%) being 10 years and below. The mean BMI was 15.09±2.145 kg/m2 with 1641 (93.3%) being underweight. All the 12 cases with high arch foot were underweight. There was no significant relationship with age, sex, and BMI.

Conclusion: High arch foot is an uncommon foot abnormality in our environment. Sex, age, and BMI do not affect the prevalence.

Key words: High arch, Foot, Prevalence, Foot deformity.

ABSTRACT

Aim: To determine the relevance of human immunodeficiency virus seropositivity among patients with herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) seen at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital Awka, Nigeria.
Methods: This is a retrospective hospital based study done at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital Awka. We retrospectively studied folders of patients diagnosed of herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) between January 2014 and December 2019 in the Eye Unit of the institution. Relevant information on demographic data which included age, sex and marital status, as well as the relevant signs and symptoms were extracted for the audit. The results were analysed using descriptive statistics.
Results: Out of the 32 patients with herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO), 6(18.8%) were seronegative while 26(81.2%) were seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Of the 32 patients, 11(34.4%) were males and 21 (65.6%) were females, with male to female ratio of 1:1.9. The age range was 25 years to 76 years. Seven (21.9%) patients were aged between 41 and 45 years, median age was 47 years. Nine (28.1%) patients came with early symptoms and signs of HZO consisting of tingling sensation, pains and vesicular eruptions.
The last follow-up visual acuity were 6/6 - 6/18 in 13 (40.6%) individuals, < 6/18 - 3/60 in 9 (28.19%) patients and <3/60 in 10(31.3%) others.
Conclusion: The association between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositivity and herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) is authentic. Viral screening and early presentation of all patients with HZO should be encouraged. Not all HZO patients are seropositive for HIV. Some cultural practices which retain women in their parental homes to perpetuate the family lineage should be abolished as this tends to encourage promiscuity with the attendant risk for HIV and HZO.

Keywords: Relevance, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Seropositivity, Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus, Nigeria.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Breast cancer in Nigerian and African women is characterized by young age at presentation. They present approximately a decade earlier than patients in western countries.

Objective: The aim of the study is to evaluate the demographic and histopathological features of pre- menopausal women with locally advanced breast cancer.

Methodology: All premenopausal patients who presented with histologically confirmed locally advanced breast cancer were counseled and recruited into the study. The patients were evaluated demographically and clinically. The data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical software version 23.0 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS Inc.) 2015.

Results: A total of 49 patients had confirmation of breast carcinoma via core needle biopsy of their breast lesions. The age of the study population ranged from 24 - 54 (40.92±7.98) years. The majority of the patients, 41 (83.7%) out of 49, gained secondary education. All had primary education. Only 6 (12.2%) of the patients were nulliparous. Thirty (61.2%) had parities of 4 and above.

Invasive ductal carcinoma was confirmed in 45 (91.8%) of the patients. The duration of breast lump before presentation ranged from 1-36 months with a mean duration of 10.02±8 months.

The size of the breast masses ranged from 3.0-25.0cm with a mean of 9.70±4.33cm. The size of the breast masses and the duration showed a positive correlation, Pearson's correlation +0.575(0.00).

Conclusion: There is a 100% literacy level among the patients in our study population yet there is still a general delay in hospital presentation. The invasive ductal carcinoma is the predominant histological type of breast cancer in our centre.

Key words: Premenopausal breast cancer, Histology, Demography, Features.