Neonatal mesenteric cyst in a 5-day-old patient: a case report.

Mesenteric cysts have been documented as a rare occurrence in children. They are mostly renowned to be benign intra-abdominal tumors with no known etiology. The symptoms are non-specific ranging from being asymptomatic to an acute abdomen.

Reducing surgical site infections and mortality among obstetric surgical patients in Tanzania: a pre-evaluation and postevaluation of a multicomponent safe surgery intervention.

Introduction: Despite ongoing maternal health interventions, maternal deaths in Tanzania remain high. One of the main causes of maternal mortality includes postoperative infections. Surgical site infection (SSI) rates are higher in low/middle-income countries (LMICs), such as Tanzania, compared with high-income countries.

A multimodal mentorship intervention to improve surgical quality in Tanzania's Lake Zone: a convergent, mixed methods assessment.

Background: Safe, high-quality surgical care in many African countries is a critical need. Challenges include availability of surgical providers, improving quality of care, and building workforce capacity. Despite growing evidence that mentoring is effective in African healthcare settings, less is known about its role in surgery.

Utility of ultrasound guided versus conventional fine needle aspiration cytology in diagnosing breast malignancies among patients with palpable breast lumps at Bugando Medical Centre, Mwanza Tanzania.

Introduction: breast lump is the commonest presentation for both benign and maligant breast conditions. Both ultrasound guided and conventional fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) have been used for diagnosing of breast malignancy among patients with palpable breast lumps. This study compared diagnostic utility of ultrasound guided versus conventional FNAC in diagnosing breast malignancies among patients with palpable breast lumps at Bugando Medical Centre.

Improving surgical quality in low-income and middle-income countries: why do some health facilities perform better than others?

Background: Evidence on heterogeneity in outcomes of surgical quality interventions in low-income and middle-income countries is limited. We explored factors driving performance in the Safe Surgery 2020 intervention in Tanzania's Lake Zone to distil implementation lessons for low-resource settings.

Methods: We identified higher (n=3) and lower (n=3) performers from quantitative data on improvement from 14 safety and teamwork and communication indicators at 0 and 12 months from 10 intervention facilities, using a positive deviance framework.

A Team-Based Approach to Introduce and Sustain the Use of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist in Tanzania.

Introduction: Millions of patients worldwide suffer disability and death due to complications related to surgery. Many of these complications can be reduced by the use of the World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC), a simple tool that can enhance teamwork and communication and improve patient safety. Despite the evidence on benefits of its use, introducing and sustaining the use of the checklist are challenging.

Predictors of Mortality Among Pediatric Burn Patients in East Africa.

Little is known about the outcomes of pediatric burn patients in resource-limited and rural locations of the developing world. In March 2013, our pediatric burn unit existing in this setting established an electronic registry of all patients. The authors analyzed the registry to determine overall mortality rates and predictors of mortality, including that of underweight status and body part burned.

Triple assessment as a preoperative diagnostic tool for breast cancer at Bugando Medical Centre in northwestern Tanzania.

The triple assessment in the pre-operative evaluation of breast cancer has been practiced in some hospitals in Tanzania. However, its validity and reliability has not been evaluated in any hospital in the country including the study area. This cross-sectional study was conducted at Bugando Medical Centre in northwestern Tanzania to determine the validity, reliability and applicability of triple assessment as an alternative to conventional open biopsy in the pre-operative diagnosis of breast cancer.

Surgical education at Weill Bugando Medical Centre: supplementing surgical training and investing in local health care providers.

Global surgery initiatives increasingly are focused on strengthening education and local health care systems to build surgical capacity. The goal of this education project was to support local health care providers in augmenting the surgical curriculum at a new medical school, thus promoting long-term local goals and involvement. Working with local surgeons, residents, and medical and assistant medical officer students, we identified the most common surgical conditions presenting to Weill Bugando Medical Centre in Mwanza, Tanzania, and the areas of greatest need in surgical education.

Survey of care and evaluation of East African burn unit feasibility: an academic burn center exchange.

Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, partnered with Weill Bugando Medical College and Sekou Toure Regional Referral Hospital, in Mwanza, Tanzania, to consider the development of a burn unit there. This institutional partnership provided a unique opportunity to promote sustainable academic exchange and build burn care capacity in the East African region. A Weill Cornell burn surgeon and burn fellow collaborated with the Sekou Toure department of surgery to assess its current burn care capabilities and potential for burn unit development.

Stage at diagnosis, clinicopathological and treatment patterns of breast cancer at Bugando Medical Centre in north-western Tanzania.

Breast cancer, although reported to be the commonest female malignancy worldwide has not been extensively studied in north-western Tanzania. The aim of this retrospective review was to describe in our setting, the stage at diagnosis, clinicopathological and treatment patterns among patients with breast cancer. Data were analyzed using SPSS software system.

Skin cancers among Albinos at a University teaching hospital in Northwestern Tanzania: a retrospective review of 64 cases.

Background: Skin cancers are a major risk associated with albinism and are thought to be a major cause of death in African albinos. The challenges associated with the care of these patients are numerous and need to be addressed. The aim of this study was to outline the pattern and treatment outcome of skin cancers among albinos treated at our centre and to highlight challenges associated with the care of these patients and proffer solutions for improved outcome.

Typhoid intestinal perforations at a University teaching hospital in Northwestern Tanzania: A surgical experience of 104 cases in a resource-limited setting.

Background: Typhoid intestinal perforation is still prevalent in many developing countries. Despite the advances in the management, the outcome in these patients in resource limited countries is still very poor. This study was to review our experiences on the surgical management of typhoid intestinal perforation and to determine the prognostic factors for mortality in our local setting.

Marjolin's ulcers at a university teaching hospital in Northwestern Tanzania: a retrospective review of 56 cases.

Background: Marjolin's ulcer is a rare but highly aggressive squamous cell cancer that is most often associated with chronic burn wounds. Although many individual case reports exist, no comprehensive evaluation of Marjolin's ulcer patients has been conducted in our setting. This study was conducted to describe the clinicopathological presentation and treatment outcome of this condition in our local setting and to identify predictors of outcome.

Splenic injuries at Bugando Medical Centre in northwestern Tanzania: a tertiary hospital experience.

Background: Splenic injuries constitute a continuing diagnostic and therapeutic challenge to the trauma or general surgeons practicing in developing countries where sophisticated imaging facilities are either not available or exorbitantly expensive. The purpose of this review was to describe our own experience in the management of the splenic injuries outlining the aetiological spectrum, injury characteristics and treatment outcome of splenic injuries in our local environment and to identify predictors of outcome among these patients.

Methods: A prospective descriptive study of splenic injury patients was carried out at Bugando Medical Centre in Northwestern Tanzania between March 2009 and February 2011.

Pattern of childhood burn injuries and their management outcome at Bugando Medical Centre in Northwestern Tanzania.

Background: Burn injuries constitute a major public health problem and are the leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide. There is paucity of published data on childhood burn injuries in Tanzania, particularly the study area. This study was conducted to describe the pattern of childhood burn injuries in our local setting and to evaluate their management outcome.

Schistosomal peritonitis secondary to perforated appendicitis.

In Tanzania, Schistosoma mansoni is endemic and causes intestinal schistosomiasis which affects various internal organs. However, worldwide there have been very few reports of cases of peritonitis due to schistosomal appendicitis. Here we report a rare case of schistosomal appendicitis with peritonitis in a 33 year-old male patient who recovered quickly after surgery.

HIV, appendectomy and postoperative complications at a reference hospital in Northwest Tanzania: cross-sectional study.

Background: Appendicitis is a frequent surgical emergency worldwide. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of HIV, and the association of infection with clinical, intraoperative and histological findings and outcome, among patients with appendicitis.

Methods: We performed a cross sectional study at Weill-Bugando Medical Centre in northwest Tanzania.