Neonatal surgical care: a review of the burden, progress and challenges in sub-Saharan Africa

The outcome of neonatal surgery has significantly improved over the decades in high-income countries. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), however, it has lagged behind. This is a review of the current state of neonatal surgery in SSA. The conditions requiring surgery in the newborn are largely congenital but the rate of emergency surgery is high, reaching 40% of all neonatal surgery in some settings. Most operations are for intestinal obstruction, commonly owing to anorectal malformations and intestinal atresia, as well as abdominal wall defects. Many of the patients are delivered outside a hospital facility and often present or are referred late and are very ill at time of presentation. The morbidity following surgery is high, particularly from surgical site infections and respiratory problems. Mortality is high, sometimes reaching 45%, but has decreased in recent times. Because of a lack of trained paediatric anaesthetists, anaesthesia is often problematic and surgery is sometimes undertaken using a local anaesthetic. Further care, including bowel management and orthopaedic and neurological rehabilitation, are sub-optimal owing to a lack of appropriately trained personnel and financial constraints. While the number of paediatric surgeons has increased, there are still few anaesthetists. In order to significantly improve the outcome for neonates with surgical problems in SSA, paediatric surgery, anaesthesia, neonatology and neonatal nursing capacity need to be scaled up and fast-tracked. To make neonatal surgery safer in these settings, neonatal intensive care facilities need to be provided and improved.