A three-year review of lung cancer patient characteristics in a tertiary hospital.

Objective: The study sought to determine clinical characteristics and histologic subtypes of a cohort of lung cancer patients in a tertiary facility. Design: Retrospective review of the medical records of histology-confirmed lung cancer cases at the respiratory clinic over a 3-year period. Setting: Respiratory Clinic, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana. Participants: All adult patients with histologically diagnosed lung cancer were enrolled. Main outcome measures: Lung cancer histological types. Results: The proportion of lung cancer cases was 12.4%. The majority were women (57.8%) and the mean age at diagnosis was 55.8±16.0 years. The patients were predominantly non-smokers (61%). Common symptoms were chronic cough and chest pain. More than two-thirds of the cases presented in clinical stages III and IV with the predominant histological subtype being adenocarcinoma in smokers and non-smokers. Genetic testing for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and Anaplastic Lymphoma kinase (ALK) mutations were largely absent. Conclusions: The majority of lung cancer patients presented late with advanced disease. Adenocarcinoma was the predominant histological subtype in a predominantly non-smoking population, with an increased prevalence among women less than 60 years. This should encourage testing for genetic mutations to improve patient survival. Funding: None declared.

Colon bypass with a colon-flap augmentation pharyngoesophagoplasty.

Extensive caustic stricture of the upper aero-digestive system (oro- and hypo-pharynx) is a severe injury with limited surgical options. We adopted augmentation of the cicatrized upper aero-digestive tract with colon as our preferred management option. The aim of this report is to describe our initial experience with the technique of colon-flap augmentation pharyngo-esophagoplasty (CFAP) for selected patients with severe pharyngo-esophageal stricture. Between October 2011 and June 2013, three male patients (aged 16, 4 and 18 years respectively) underwent CFAP following extensive pharyngo-esophageal stricture. Postoperative recovery was uneventful in all three cases and all started swallowing within 7-10 days after surgery without significant dysphagia. Colon-flap augmentation pharyngo-esophagoplasty is an effective procedure for reconstruction of the pharynx and the hypopharynx after extensive caustic pharyngoesophageal structure in selected cases.