[Management of cervico-cephalic plexiform neurofibromas: About 35 cases]. / Prise en charge des neurofibromes plexiformes cervico-céphaliques : à propos de 35 cas.

OBJECT: Plexiform neurofibroma is a characteristic lesion of Von Recklinghausen's disease. Conservative surgery is the most widely adopted treatment. However, it is very challenging because of its hemorrhagic nature and the infiltrative aspect of the lesions. The aim of this study was to evaluate our management. PATIENTS AND METHOD: A retrospective study over 16 years was realized and during this period 35 patients with neurofibroma with cervico-facial location were included. RESULTS: There were 18 men and 17 women with an average age of 23 years (3-50 years). The familial form was found in 9% of patients. Aesthetic discomfort was noted in all patients and functional impairment only occurred in 10% of patients. The NFP was localized at the hemiface in 11 cases, periorbital in 6 cases, naso-labial in 5 cases, scalp in 4 cases, jugal in 4 cases and cervico-chin in 5 cases. Size of the lesions averaged 11.6cm (4-45cm). Eighteen patients (51.4%) were operated including 10 by modeling resection, 05 cervico-facial lifting and 3 complete resections. Complication rate was 28% dominated by disunion wound. The average number of procedures was 1.6 (1 to 5). After 3 years average follow-up, aesthetic et functional results was assessed as good over 75 per cent of patients. CONCLUSION: Cervico-facial plexiform neurofibromas is challenging. Conservative surgery should be the gold standard and long time follow-up is recommended.

[Tuberculosis Abscess of the Chest Wall on an Immunocompetent Patient in the Teaching Hospital of Dakar (Senegal)]. / Abcès tuberculeux de la paroi thoracique chez une patiente immunocompétente au centre hospitalier universitaire de Dakar (Sénégal).

Tuberculosis remains a problem of public health, in spite of the numerous significant advances noted in the diagnosis in recent years. The involvement of the thoracic wall is a rare extra lung shape. Its clinical presentation is not specific and a collected thoracic tumefaction is the main clinical demonstration. The diagnosis is improved by the use of non-invasive tools such as the Xpert MTB/Rif® test with a good sensibility on the pus. Medical care is based on medical treatment and sometimes associated with surgical treatment.

La tuberculose demeure un problème de santé publique, malgré les nombreuses avancées significatives notées dans le diagnostic ces dernières années. L'atteinte de la paroi thoracique est une forme extrapulmonaire rare. Sa présentation clinique est non spécifique, et une tuméfaction thoracique collectée en est la principale manifestation clinique. Le diagnostic est amélioré par l'utilisation d'outils non invasifs tels que le test Xpert MTB/Rif® avec une bonne sensibilité sur le pus. La prise en charge repose sur le traitement médical quelquefois associé à un traitement chirurgical.

[Management of nasolabial clefts: the issue in Dakar]. / Prise en charge des fentes nasolabiales: problématique à Dakar.

The management of patients with a cleft lip in developing countries is often the prerogative of humanitarian missions from developed countries. The goal of our work is to conduct a first epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic assessment of the management of cleft lips by a local team and to evidence the difficulties faced by us in our working conditions. In a retrospective study covering a period of about five years (January 2004 to March 2009), 205 cases of nasolabial clefts are assembled. The mean age at the time of the first visit is 17 months. A slight female predominance is observed. The majority of patients are from the capital city. A close relative with a cleft is found in 6.8% of them. In 44.9% of cases, it is a simple cleft lip. A cleft palate is associated in 47.8% of cases. Associated malformations are observed in 10.5% of cases. We operated on 110 patients. The mean age at the first surgery is two years. Millard's technique is our technique of choice. No operative mortality is observed. In 17.4% of cases, operative morbidity occurred in the form of suppuration with partial or complete early suture release. The esthetic result is satisfactory in 67.7% of cases. This management could be improved by creating a multidisciplinary team including--in addition to surgeons--dentists, speech-language pathologists, psychologists, etc.

[Paediatric head and neck burns sequelae]. / Les séquelles de brûlures cervicocéphaliques chez l'enfant.

The skin is the body's protective barrier and is very much exposed to assaults and thus to burns. The aim of this work is to consider the special features of cervicofacial burns sequelae in children in a sub-Saharan environment and to review their management. This retrospective study, performed in the Department of Paediatric Surgery at Aristide Le Dantec Teaching Hospital in Dakar (Senegal), examined 27 patient files dating between May 2001 and April 2008. The children's average age at first visit was 6.7 years and the m:f sex ratio was 1.7:1. The sequelae were topographically distributed as follows: face (66.7%), neck (29.6%), scalp (11.1%). Regarding the type of sequelae observed, adhesions predominated (33.3%), followed by keloid or hypertrophic scars (25.9%), eyelid ectropions (18.5%), scalp alopecias (11.1%), chronic ulcerations (7.4%), and discolorations (3.7%).Surgical treatment was used in 55.7% of the cases: Z-plasty, followed or not followed by skin graft for adhesion treatment, as well as adhesion lysis followed by grafting for eyelid ectropion treatment. The surgical morbidity rate was 20% and no mortality was reported. Keloid scars were treated medically with intralesional corticosteroid injections. Apart from the emergency situation, cervicofacial burns in children lead to severe aesthetic and functional damage. Any improvement in prognosis in such burns depends on improvements in the quality of initial care and on raising parents' awareness of accidents in the home.

Application of the dynamic model of Saeman to an industrial rotary kiln incinerator: numerical and experimental results.

In order to simulate granular materials structure in a rotary kiln under the steady-state regime, a mathematical model has been developed by Saeman (1951). This model enables the calculation of the bed profiles, the axial velocity and solids flow rate along the kiln. This model can be coupled with a thermochemical model, in the case of a reacting moving bed. This dynamic model was used to calculate the bed profile for an industrial size kiln and the model projections were validated by measurements in a 4 m diameter by 16 m long industrial rotary kiln. The effect of rotation speed under solids bed profile and the effect of the feed rate under filling degree were established. On the basis of the calculations and the experimental results a phenomenological relation for the residence time estimation was proposed for the rotary kiln.

[Evaluation of the management of omphalocele at Dakar]. / Evaluation de la prise en charge de l'omphalocèle a Dakar.

Omphalocele is a congenital malformation of the abdominal wall of children, characterized by an ombilical defect living the abdominal organ visible through a translucent amniotic membrana. The goals of this study were to describe the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic characteristics at the University Teaching Hospital of Dakar. We conducted a retrospective study at the UniversityTeaching Hospital of Dakar from January 1997 to December 2002. Fifty cases of Omphalocele diagnosed at the Unit of Paediatric Surgery of the Department of General Surgery at Aristide Le Dantec Hospital, were included in this study. We described the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic characteristics of omphalocele. Omphalocele is a condition diagnosed late in boys from poor sphere. The study revealed that weight from birth, omphalocele size, local state, and existance of associated malformation correlated with death rate. The treatment option was a spontaneous epidermisation as described by Grob in the absence of omphalocele rupture wich imposed a primary closure of abdominal wall. The overall death rate was 42%. The improvement of results will need an antenative diagnosis, paediatric reanimation unit wich will notably reduce death rate.

[Urinary bacteriology in the elderly in the tropical zone: results of 5 years of activities at the CHU of Fann in Dakar]. / Bactériologie des urines chez le sujet âgé en zone tropicale: bilan de cinq années d'activités au CHU de Fann à Dakar.

The authors report a retrospective account on 5 years (1987-1991) studied on 300 specimen of urine, coming from subjects aged 65 or more and having been submitted to bacteriologic examination in Dakar, Senegal (microscopic examination, counting, isolation, identification of bacteria, antibiotic tests). On the whole, 8150 samples of urine were recorded during the same period in the Laboratory of Bacteriology (CHU de Fann). The results obtained show a particular exposure of the old subjects to urinary tract infection (37%, against 23% in subjects aged less 65 years). The isolation of bacteria was not attached to sex. E. coli and Klebsiella sp. are the most frequently isolated in urine. The most efficacy antibiotics on these agents are the Cepholosporins, the Aminosids, Nitroxolin and Oxolonic Acid.