Congenital Heart Disease in Cleft Lip and Palate Patients: How Common Is the Association?

Aims and Objectives:

To determine the prevalence of congenital heart disease in patients with orofacial cleft in a Nigerian population.

Materials and Methods:

A retrospective review of all the case files of patients with orofacial cleft managed at the Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery unit of the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital between 2007 and 2014. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.

Results:

A total of 133 patients with cleft lip and palate were seen during the period of study comprising 77 males and 56 females, giving an M:F ratio of 1:0.7. The age range was 15 days–36 years with a mean age of 6 years. There were five cases of congenital heart disease made up of two males and three females, giving a prevalence of 3.76 per cent.

Conclusion:

This study showed that the prevalence of congenital heart disease in patients with orofacial cleft was low. However, the need for routine echocardiography in all orofacial cleft patients especially children should not be overlooked.

Comparative study of the effect of warm saline mouth rinse on complications after dental extractions

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of saline mouth rinse on postoperative complications following routine dental extractions. Patients aged ≥16 years, who were referred to the oral surgery clinic with an indication for non-surgical extraction of pathologic teeth, were prospectively and uniformly randomized into three groups. Group A (n=40) were instructed to gargle six times daily with warm saline and group B (n=40) twice daily; group C (n=40) were not instructed to gargle with warm saline and served as controls. Information on demographic characteristics, indications for extraction, and the development of complications, such as alveolar osteitis, acute inflamed socket, and acute infected socket, was obtained and analyzed. There were no significant differences between patients who gargled six times daily with warm saline and those who gargled twice daily with reference to either alveolar osteitis or acute inflamed socket (P>0.05). However saline mouth rinses at either frequency were beneficial in the prevention of alveolar osteitis in comparison with those who did not rinse. A twice-daily saline mouth rinse regimen is more convenient, and patient compliance may be better than with a six times daily rinse regimen.

Pediatric maxillofacial injuries at a Nigerian teaching hospital: a three-year review

AIM

To determine the nature of pediatric maxillofacial injuries, according to etiology and characteristics of patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The records of patients aged 15 years and below who presented with maxillofacial trauma to the Maxillofacial Clinic of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria over a 3-year period were retrospectively examined. Patients' demographic and etiologic factors were obtained and analyzed. A P value of <0.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS

A total of 160 patients comprising males, 102 (63.8%) and females 58 (36.2%), were seen over the period of study. The age of patients range from 4 months to 15 years, mean 7.07 ± 4.52 years. There was no gender difference in terms of age (P < 0.05). Road traffic accident (RTA) was the most common etiologic factor accounting for 45.0% of cases. This was followed by fall (40.6%). Animal related injury and violence accounted equally for 3.8%. Soft tissue injuries in the form of abrasion, laceration and avulsion accounted for 70.0% of cases. Other anatomical sites included the mandible (16.3%), dento-alveolar fractures(12.5%), and midface (1.3%).

CONCLUSION

Road traffic accident and falls still remains the leading cause of maxillofacial injuries in children in this part of the globe. There is a need to reinforce existing traffic laws that aimed at minimizing the menace of RTA-related accidents.

Spectrum of oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures in Kano, Nigeria

The goal of the maxillofacial surgeon is to correct facial deformity while eradicating surgical diseases, prevent recurrence or complication and restore function. The aim of this paper is to review the surgical procedures carried out in a new tertiary teaching hospital. A retrospective study of patients with maxillofacial surgical diseases seen at the Department of Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria, between 2001 and 2003, was conducted. A total of 87 patients had various (primary and secondary) surgical procedures during the period under review. There were 51 males and 36 females, a male to female ratio of 1:0.61 with an age range of 3 days to 90 years and a mean age of 34.5 years. The majority of the patients were in the lower socio-economic group. Reduction and immobilization of the jaw fractures (n = 21, 23.3%) was the most common, followed by transosseous wiring (n = 12, 13.3%). The most common complications were malocclusion (n = 14, 29.8%) and facial defects (n = 12, 25.5%). Reduction and immobilization, and tumour surgery of the jaws seem to be the most common surgical procedures while osteotomy was the least. Reduction and immobilization with simple arch bars appeared to be very effective, more so when the patients could not afford more modern methods of treatment. Reconstructive surgeries of ablated jaws are advocated in view of the devastating aesthetic and psychosocial effects that these have on the patients.