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Background: Access to quality and timely care prevents unnecessary deaths and morbidity from potentially curable surgical diseases. This study describes the magnitude of unmet surgical needs in a Nigerian community and describes the experiences garnered during a surgical outreach organized by a tertiary institution in an underserved community., Methods: This is a descriptive study highlighting details of a surgical outreach to a community in south-Western part of Nigeria. The project was based on a collaboration between a University Teaching Hospital (gown) and the community (town). Details of the patients' demographic and disease characteristics as well as barriers to seeking medical care were obtained. The operational workflow, treatment offered, and outcomes are highlighted. Results are presented as descriptive statistics., Results: Over a two-day period, 83 out of 3,056 patients who were screened had surgically treatable conditions (2.7%), predominantly hernias (37, 46.6%), goitres (13, 15.7%) and soft tissue swellings (9, 10.8%). The majority were adults (56, 67.5%) while 27 (32.5%) were in the paediatric age group. The mean duration of symptoms was 8.64 months ± 9.5 months. About half of the patients (46.9%) had never visited a medical facility on account of their index illnesses. Lack of funds was cited by many patients as the main reason for having not presented at a hospital. Sixty-three surgical operations were performed with no peri-operative adverse events., Conclusion: Lack of financial access was the major barrier to surgical care in the sampled community. Moving from 'gown to town' helped address a significant proportion of the unmet needs over a relatively short period. Tertiary hospitals can provide surgical oversight to communities within their jurisdiction using this approach., Competing Interests: The Authors declare that no competing interest exists, (Copyright © 2023 by West African Journal of Medicine.)

Timely repair is essential to maximizing outcomes in patients with traumatic rib injuries, whether in the presence or absence of flail chest (FC) or existing as single or multiple rib fractures (MRF), due to its high morbidity and mortality rate. This review focuses primarily on the plating system as an effective surgical approach to stabilizing these injuries. Literature was surveyed using the Google Scholar, PLOS One, and PubMed search engines between August 2021 and April 2022. A total of 34 articles were included herein, and primary and secondary outcomes were assessed. The primary outcomes of interest were intensive care unit length-of-stay (ICU LOS), hospital length-of-stay (HLOS), ventilatory requirements, and mortality rate. The secondary outcomes of interest were postoperative pain level and postoperative complications. The majority of the studies included herein reported lower ICU LOS, HLOS, and ventilation requirements in surgical patients when compared to conservatively managed patients. However, variables such as the presence or absence of FC also impacted outcomes in certain studies. Mortality rate and postoperative pain were largely underreported in the selected studies, but limited data from these studies suggest that these outcomes tend to be lower in surgical patients compared to those treated conservatively. When present, postoperative complications were often less severe amongst surgical patients compared to conservatively managed patients. Results further suggest that surgical repair is associated with lower pain severity as early as 72 hours postop. Likewise, findings suggest that early rib fracture stabilization is superior to late stabilization and often yields a sooner return to a baseline health status. Few studies report little to no statistical difference in primary and secondary outcomes between operative and conservative treatment. However, there is greater evidence that suggests the contrary, with better short-term and potential for better long-term outcomes in patients who undergo rib fixation., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2022, Adereti et al.)

The endothelins and their receptors are best known for their regulation of the vascular system. Their widespread expression in epithelial cells and their overexpression in some tumors has prompted investigation into their ability to regulate cancer progression. In this study, we assessed the mRNA expression of the major endothelin B receptor gene (EDNRB) isoforms and found differences in both mRNA and protein expression in normal breast cells and breast cancer cell lines. Knocking down the EDNRB gene in breast cancer cells altered invasiveness toward endothelin 3 (ET3), and we observed EDNRB isoform-specific regulation of breast cancer cell invasion and cell signaling, as well as isoform- and subtype-specific differences in breast cancer patient survival. The results reported in this study emphasize the importance of the endothelin B receptor in breast cancer. To our knowledge, this study is the first to clarify the differential expression and roles of specific EDNRB isoforms in breast cancer., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists., (© The author(s).)