Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Multidisciplinary Cleft Clinic.

BACKGROUND: A retrospective review of cleft lip and palate surgeries at our hospital during 2001-2005 showed an increase in patients treated per year. The aim of the study was to review the activities of the clinic, hence to determine the variation in number of cleft lip and palate cases and surgeries from 2006 to 2009, and also to identify the commonest type of cleft cases during the same period. METHODS: Data for this retrospective study were obtained from the outpatient department records of the cleft clinic and operating theater. Information collected included demographic features of the patients, types of cleft lip/palate, number of attendance, and surgeries performed. The data were then analyzed using SPSS version 12.0. RESULTS: A total of 528 patients were operated on for cleft lip/and palate (ie, 132 surgeries per year). Most patients (54.2%, n=286) were boys. The age of the patients ranged from 1 to 25 months, with a mean age of 3.7 months. There was also an increase in cleft lip surgeries from 2006 to 2009, whereas cleft palate surgeries decreased toward the year 2009. In terms of types, cleft lip (73.1%, n=386) outnumbered cleft palate. Also, unilateral clefts (70.5%, n=372), in terms of position, were the majority. CONCLUSIONS: The number of cleft surgeries was found to increase per year, and unilateral cleft lip was identified as the commonest type of cleft cases. Financial, logistic, and training support to cleft clinics in developing countries would play an essential role in the treatment of cleft patients.

Cleft lip and palate surgery in Kumasi, Ghana: 2001-2005.

BACKGROUND: A retrospective review of cleft lip operations at our hospital during 1991-2000 showed that on average 17 patients per year were operated on for cleft lip and palate and that each year saw an increasing number of patients being treated. The purpose of this study was to determine the change that had occurred in the number of patients treated for cleft lip and palate during the five-year period from 2001-2005. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective review of cleft lip and palate operations carried out under general anesthesia at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. Operating room records were the source of data. Patients treated under local anesthesia were excluded. Information collected included age, gender, and diagnosis. The results were displayed in tables and graphs. RESULTS: A total of 344 patients were operated for cleft lip and palate during the five-year period, i.e. 69 operations per year. The patients comprised 58% males and 42% females and ranged in age from 1 month to 32 years with a mean age of 3.9 years. Unilateral cleft lip operations constituted 78% of all operations. Each succeeding year saw an increase in the number of operations being carried out year during the five-year period. CONCLUSION: The marked increase in the number of cleft operations per year in our hospital during the period under study was probably due to greater awareness in the community; free surgeries provided by local surgeons with financial support from a US-based NGO; and free operations by a visiting surgical team. Financial, logistical and training support to cleft teams in developing countries is likely to lead to more surgeries for children with cleft.