Pattern of Neonatal Surgery at a Teaching Hospital in Nigeria: A Review of 101 Cases.

Background: Neonatal surgeries are a particularly challenging aspect of paediatric surgery following the peculiar physiologic and metabolic demands of neonates. Surgery in the neonates therefore will require specific anaesthesia, analgesia, intraoperative and postoperative monitoring. There are a wide range of surgical conditions requiring surgery in the neonates.
Methods: The study was a retrospective study of neonates who underwent various surgeries from 2010-2012.The study was carried out at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria. A total of 101 neonates had various surgeries during this period.
Results: A total of 53 males and 48 females were seen with a male to female ratio of 1.1:1. The ages at presentation of the neonates ranged between few hours to 28 days. A wide range of clinical conditions involving various systems of the body were seen requiring surgery. These varied from neurosurgical plastic to gastrointestinal conditions. Most of the cases were congenital anomalies involving the gastrointestinal system (87.1%). Adequate analgesia was achieved with use of intravenous paracetamol in our patients. This does not require monitoring unlike in the case of opiods. Active postoperative monitoring is crucial to achieving good outcome in neonatal surgery.