Obesity and the Need for Bariatric Surgery in Nigeria: A Review.

Obesity was mainly regarded as a disease of developed countries, but currently there is a growing rise in the population of patients with obesity in developing countries of Africa. A body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or higher is regarded as obesity, and this may be associated with comorbidities such as metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, orthopaedic and psychiatric conditions, and cancer. There is conclusive scientific evidence that shows that obesity is caused by complex psychosocial, genetic and environmental factors.

Predicting Major Complications Following Laparotomy for Gastrointestinal Conditions Using Surgical Apgar Score: A Prospective Analysis in a Nigerian Population.

Background: Surgical Apgar score (SAS) is one of the risk assessment tools used in predicting postoperative complications. It is a simple and inexpensive tool composed of three intra-operative variables; lowest heart rate, lowest mean arterial blood pressure, and estimated blood loss, which are scored with a total of 10 points, based on which patients are risk stratified for developing post-operative complications. SAS was found to have good predictive accuracy for post-operative morbidity and mortality.