The outcome of burn injuries in Nepal is very poor. Children and females are at high risk. There is a lack of knowledge about burn prevention, proper first aid, and skin donation among the Nepalese population. Delay in presentation and extensive burns are poor prognostic factors. Awareness programs about the proper first aid and the need of a skin bank has to be done to improve the burn scenario in Nepal. Availability of allograft can increase the chances of survivability of patients with extensive burns in Nepal.
Reconstructive microsurgery is challenging in Nepal and more generally in developing settings. However, persistent technical support such as training and workshops can make it feasible.
Introduction: Timely repair of cleft lip and palate maximises the benefits of surgery. Developing countries have large number of adults with unrepaired clefts. The impact of a cleft program can be determined by observing the trends of lower age at surgery. Public Health Concern Trust, Nepal has been providing a comprehensive nationwide cleft service since 1999. This study was conducted to see any change in the age at surgery.
Methods: A retrospective cross sectional study was conducted to analyse the data of all the individuals’ age at primary cleft surgery from July 1999 to June 2010. Mean and median age of individuals as well as the proportion of individuals operated on at the right age in different years were calculated and compared.
Results: The median age for cleft lip surgery decreased from 100 to 24 months. Similarly the median age for cleft palate surgery decreased from 70 to 28 months. Proportion of surgeries carried out in the recommended age also increased. A change in the policy of the program reaching out to more remote areas and removing the age barrier for surgery resulted in older adults receiving surgery and increased median age especially for cleft palate repairs.
Conclusions: A nationwide cleft program for a decade had a small impact on age at surgery. There are still many individuals who are missing the ideal age for surgery. The program needs to reach more remote areas. This information will be useful for governmental as well as non-governmental organizations working in the area of clefts.
Keywords: age; cleft lip; cleft palate; Nepal.
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