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Spinal meningiomas are relatively rare tumours with often favourable surgical outcomes. There is paucity of data on spinal meningiomas in the Nigerian literature. This study was designed to evaluate the incidence, the anatomical distribution and outcome of surgical treatment of spinal meningiomas in our center. This was a retrospective study of patients who had surgery for spinal meningioma at our center during the study period. We obtain data from case note, operation and pathology registers. Univariate analysis was performed using SPSS version 15 (SPSS Science Inc; Chicago, IL, USA). There were 11 patients in the study all of whom were females with age range of 26-65 years. All the patients had motor deficit at presentation. Four patients (36.4%) presented within 6 months of onset of symptoms while the duration of symptoms was more than a year in 5 patients (45.5%). The preoperative functional grading was Frankel A in 2 patients (18.2%), Frankel D in 1 patient (9.1%), Frankel B and C each in 4 patients (36.4%). The tumours were located in the thoracic region in six patients (54.5%), cervical region in 2 patients (18.2%) while the tumours were cervicothoracic in the other 3 patients (27.3%). All the patients had gross total tumour resection. Post-operative neurological improvement occurred in 7 patients (63.6%) while 4 patients (36.4%) remained neurologically the same. All the patients in this study were women. Gross total tumour resection was achieved in all the cases with satisfactory functional outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Battered child syndrome (BCS) is a form of physical abuse that is characterised by multiple injuries and potentially fatal outcome. Despite the high prevalence of physical abuse in developing countries, BCS is rarely reported. Hence, this report highlighted a four-year-old Nigerian boy who suffered multiple injuries (scalp haematoma, bruises, right clavicular fracture, and burns) from the paternal uncle’s wife. This case report is discussed along the line of public health approach for curbing the social menace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hereditary multiple exostoses (HME) is a rare condition that is characterised by the development of bony swellings, usually at the growth ends of long bones. It is autosomal dominant, and may result in debilitating deformities. Porencephaly on the other hand is a cystic degeneration of the brain that is associated with the development of encephalomalacia. There is no established link between HME and porencephaly. This case report describes a seven year old female that has features of coexisting HME and porencephaly. She presented with afebrile seizures, learning impairment, stunted growth, macrocephaly and multiple bony swellings. Similar bony swellings were observed in the mother and the sibling of the index case. The coexistence of HME and porencephaly is rarely encountered in clinical practice. This presentation should stimulate the search for a possible link, which may perhaps herald the discovery of a new syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Orofacial cleft has a worldwide distribution but it is peculiar in the developing countries due to poor healthcare facility with resultant high incidence of unoperated adult cleft. Various model of surgical mission by foreign experts had existed to combat this menace. The indigenous rotatory model by Cleft & facial deformity foundation is hereby presented. Methods: Carrying out an outreach programme in a rural area begins with the identification of a hospital with optimum facility, followed by effective awareness campaign, then a pre-surgical meeting with the hospital management. Personnel, equipment and materials were mobilised to the site while surgery usually lasted one week. Results: Seventeen outreach programmes were carried out in 10 different hospitals from March 2011 to June 2017. There were 546 orofacial cleft patients, 280 (51.3%) males and 266 (48.7%) females. The age ranged between 1 week to 70years with a mean age ± (SD) of 9.3±11.5. Four hundred and forty eight (82.1%) of the cleft patients were operated. Three hundred and twenty two (59.0%) patients were treated under general anaesthesia while 126 (23.1%) were treated under local anaesthesia. Eight surgeons and 4 anaesthetics were trained during the study period with several local practitioners benefitting from exposure to standard practice. Standard techniques were employed for cheiloplasty and palatoplasty. Minor complications were recorded with one mortality. Conclusion: This model is an effective and efficient way of reaching out to the poor patients with orofacial cleft. Effective mobilization, large volume of safe and quality surgery, easy knowledge transfer and possibility of patient review are some of its advantages. With regular training and funding, it could be an effective way of minimising ignorance and eradicating adult cleft in Nigeria and other developing societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]