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Cardiac structure size influences surgical decision making in pediatric cardiac surgery. Lack of universally adopted normative cardiac structure dimensions may confound decision making. A review of the relevant literature contained in 2 large databases was performed with a view to determine the optimal normative cardiac structure dimensions for clinical use. The current article initially discusses technical issues related to cardiac structure measurement and measurement normalization. It then describes the literature search strategy and examines the quality of published data in subjects below 19 years of age. The optimal normative dimension data set is then recommended.

Surprisingly few (26.3%) studies mention what pulmonary annulus size "cutoff" was used to decide when to insert a TAP. Z-scores derived from different populations were used by different studies and it is possible that this may have contributed to the varied "cutoffs' quoted. Recommendations to perform valve-sparing surgery in pulmonary annuli as small as -4 may not be warranted. Future papers should record "cutoffs" employing recommended z-score data set.

The use of varied tricuspid valve annuli z-score data sets may have contributed to gross variations in reported "cutoffs" for successful biventricular repair. This could lead to inappropriate surgical pathway allocation.

Objectives:To determine the utilisation rate of design specific eye protection by surgeons and to assess the risk of conjunctival contamination with blood splashes during surgery. Design: Cross sectional, observational study. Setting: The theatre suite of Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi Subjects: Surgeons from all specialties operating in the theatre suite. Results: The minority of surgeons, 5.2% utilised protective eye goggles compared to 3.5% of assistants. Prescription eye spectacles were the most common form of eye protection at 41.9 and 20.9% respectively for surgeons and their assistants. The contamination rate for provided protective eye wear was 53.1% with the average number of droplets being 2.48 per procedure for the principal surgeon. The duration of surgery and the use of power tools influenced the contamination rate. Conclusions: The utilisation rate of design specific protective eye wear is low and with a significant risk of conjunctival contamination, changes in attitudes and practices are needed to increase utilisation.

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Background: Inguinal hernia repair surgery is one of the most frequently performed surgical procedures worldwide. This study sought to highlight factors that may influence decisions concerning inguinal hernia repair techniques. Methods: This descriptive crosssectional study was carried out in September 2014 among surgical trainees and surgeons. Data collected included: qualification of the operating doctor, level at which practical training on inguinal hernia repair occurred, awareness of the various inguinal hernia repair methods, inguinal hernia repair method(s) used for the past three (most recent) inguinal hernia operations and reasons for using that /those repair method(s). Results: Fifteen surgeons and sixty surgical trainees were recruited. Awareness levels and practical training were highest in the modified Bassini and Lichtenstein repair techniques. Experienced peers play a major role in training on