Aesthetic Surgery & the Indications at A Sub-Urban Tertiary Hospital in Edo State, Nigeria

Background: Aesthetic surgery though growing at an exponential rate in developed countries is still not well developed in Nigeria. Though lately, there has been an increasing demand for cosmetic procedures in Nigeria but still, the practice is still slow growing.

Objective: Few reports of the scope of aesthetic surgery are available from the sub region and Nigeria as a whole. In this study we seek to determine the aesthetic procedures and its indications in our centre, a sub urban teaching hospital in Irrua, Edo State, Southern Nigeria.

Methods: A retrospective study of all aesthetic surgery cases carried out over a 5-year period – Jan 2019 to December 2023 at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital. Data from theatre records and case notes were analysed with respect to age, sex, procedure and indications for surgery done. Descriptive analysis of variables, means and percentages were considered.

Results: In the period of study, 1,066 plastic surgery procedures were documented: 34 (3.19%) were for aesthetic indications. Sixteen of the patients (47.1%) were male and 18 (52.9%) female. Age range of patients that had aesthetic surgery was 1 - 60 years and the mean age was 24.1 + 18.08 years. The commonest aesthetic procedure was cleft repair 14 (41.17%) following cleft lip/palate, the rest were scar revisions 6 (17.65%) with the commonest indication being unsightly scar, otoplasties 5 (14.70%) following traumatic injury to the ear, liposuction 3 (8.82%) indicated by lipodystrophy, rhinoplasties 3 (8.82%) post traumatic injury to the nose, mammoplasties 2 (5.88%) which were done post mastectomy, and one (2.94%) cranioplasty following gun-shot orbital injury.

Conclusion: There is paucity in the volume of cosmetic procedures in Irrua and the pattern of requests here differs in many respects from western centres. With the current reduced pool of aesthetic surgery, it is advisable to establish an aesthetic surgery sub-unit in most tertiary institutions. This sub-unit should be fully functional including special clinic days, as this could help attract future clients and develop this branch of Plastic Surgery.