Voyaging through the paediatric surgical maze: A multi-centre analysis of inter-hospital referrals to Johannesburg, South Africa.

Introduction: Paediatric surgery is a centralised service that is provided at only three public sector hospitals in Johannesburg, South Africa. These centres receive an overwhelming number of referrals from over fifty lower-level hospitals. The aim of this study was to analyse referrals to these specialist centres in order to quantify the unmet referred burden of disease and to identify ways in which paediatric surgical access in the region can be improved.

Posterior Cloacal Variant with Clitorolabial Transposition and a Rectoperineal Fistula.

We present a case and discuss the management of a posterior cloacal variant not as yet described in the literature. A 5-week-old infant presented to our institution with a posterior cloacal variant and transposition of the clitoris and labia. After initial radiological investigations, staged operative intervention was performed over a 1-year period.

The Burden of Disease and Pathology at a Rapidly Expanding Tertiary Paediatric Surgical Unit in South Africa.

Background: The precise burden of paediatric surgical care in South Africa is unknown. In the absence of epidemiological data, hospital-based study is a first step to gauge the burden and profile of paediatric surgical disease. We aim to describe the profile of pathology, pattern of referrals, and complications of paediatric surgical care at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH).

Primary paediatric chest wall tumours necessitating surgical management.

Introduction: Limited literature exists on oncological chest wall reconstruction in the paediatric population, with the field still largely undecided on the best surgical reconstructive techniques to employ. The use of biological grafts/meshes is gaining popularity in certain adult surgical procedures but their use in paediatric procedures is rarely reported in the literature. We present the outcomes of our institution's multidisciplinary approach to managing paediatric chest wall tumours as well as our experience with the use of biological grafts for chest wall reconstruction following oncological resections.