Undescended testes: perspective from a developing country

Objective: This report details the findings at operation and challenges of managing undescended testes (UDT) in southeastern Nigeria.Methods: Prospective evaluation of children managed for undescended testis from January 2013 to November 2015 in Enugu, southeastern Nigeria.Results: There were 54 patients with total of 69 undescended testes (39 unilateral, 15 bilateral) involving the left side in 39 and the right side in 30 cases. The median age at operation was 5 years (Range 1 – 15 years). Three (4.35%) testes were localized at suprascrotal position, 12 (17.4%) were emergent, 33 (47.8%) canalicular, 18 (26.1%) abdominal, and 3 (4.35%) were vanishing. The volume of the localized testes ranged from 0.7mls to 8.5mls (mean 2.0mls). Epididymal anomaly was noticed in 31 (47%) with the commonest anomaly being head non-fusion. Age at operation was an independent predictor of testicular volume (OR 4.91). Single stage scrotal repositioning was achieved in 28/37 (75.7%) of cases and was not dependent on age (p=0.58). Testes localized distal to the internal ring are more likely to be mobilized to the scrotum at initial orchidopexy than those located in intraabdominal position (44/48 vs 4/18; p<0.05).Conclusion: Most of the patients with UDT in our setting had surgery at a later age than recommended. The age at operation correlated with the size of the testis but did not affect the location of the testis, and the success with one-stage scrotal repositioning. Long-term follow up and evaluation is imperative.Keywords: Undescended testes; anomalies; morphology; Challenges; Developing Countr

Patterns of Handedness and Socio-cultural Influences on Dextrality Amongst University of Nigeria Medical Students

There are three types of handedness with different prevalence rates reported from various parts of the world including Nigeria. The aim of the study was to establish the prevalence of handedness using the students of the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria Enugu Campus as the study group. A modified Edinburgh Inventory was applied to 1200 students. Of the questionnaires returned, only those that were correctly filled, were analyzed. Of the 1200 questionnaires, 880 (73.33%) were analyzed. Three hundred and seventy six (42.7%) were females and 504 (57.3%) males. The ages of the subjects ranged from 18 to 28 with a mean age of 22.13 (+ 2.236) years. Eight hundred and twenty nine (94.2%) of the respondents were Igbos and 99.5% Christians. Overall, 3.94% were left handed, 8.43% mixed handed and 87.63% were right handed. More males were left handed than females. More than 10% of the respondents were forced to switch from left hand to right hand in their formative years. A higher percentage of females were affected by the forced hand switch, and the success rate was higher with females. The prevalence of left handedness compared favourably with reports from Nigeria, and other African and Europeans countries. Forced hand switch or forced dextrality probably plays a significant role in keeping the prevalence of left handedness low in our country, and may be partly responsible for the higher prevalence of left handedness in males than in females.Key words: Handedness, Patterns, Medical students, Nigeri