Report of hereditary gingival fibromatosis in two Nigerian siblings

Background: Hereditary Gingival Fibromatosis (HGF) is a rare condition with a prevalence of 1:750,000, and can present as an isolated disorder or more rarely as a syndrome component. It is characterised by a slow and progressive enlargement of both maxillary and mandibular 28rganiza with varying severity between individuals within the same family. This paper reports the occurrence of HGF in two young patients from the same parents.Materials: Detailed clinical evaluation revealed a positive history of generalised gingival swelling in the two patients, in the eldest child of the family, and an uncle. There was no history of intake of drugs that could predispose to the development of gingival hyperplasia. Intra oral examination showed generalised gingival hyperplasia involving thelingual and buccal regions of both maxillary and mandibular arches.Conclusion: Screening other siblings of patients who present with delayed eruption and gingival enlargement for HCF with the view of instituting early and effective plaque control in order to reduce severity of the enlargement is recommended

Nutritional and haematological parameters of cleft lip and/or palate patients in Lagos, Nigeria.

Introduction: Cleft Lip and Palate (CLP) deformities are the most common congenital abnormalities of the orofacial structures. The deformity is associated with certain peculiar problems including feeding disorders and recurrent infections. These may combine to affect the nutritional status of the patients. This study was carried out to assess the prevalence of malnutrition among patients with CLP deformities in Lagos, review the prevalence of anaemia and the burden of bacterial infections.Materials/methods: Serum albumin levels of patients with CLP invited for surgical intervention in Lagos between 2006 and 2008 were assessed to determine the nutritional status, the Packed Cell Volume for the presence of anaemia and total White Cell Count (WBC) to screen for the possibility of bacterial infection.Results: Two hundred and twenty five patients were studied comprising of 112 males and 113 females. Mean age was 5.05 ± 7.73 years. One hundred and one (44.89%) patients had complete cleft of the lip and palate, 27.22% had cleft lip, 13.78% had cleft of the lip and hard palate, while 7.11% had cleft of the soft palate alone. Various types of rare cleft deformities occurred in 8.88% patients out of which macrostomia or lateral cleft constituted 6.67%. Forty-eight (21.3%)patients had malnutrition. The type of CLP deformities was found to have no significant effect on the serum albumin level (p = 0. 089). Sixty-eight (30.2%) patients had anaemia. There was an association between the types of CLP deformities and the PCV levels (P=0.001). Twenty-two (9.8%) patients showed haematologic evidences of on-going bacterial infections with raised total WBC count.Conclusion: The prevalence of anaemia in patients with CLP is however higher than that of the general population. Patients with CLP require nutrition support and continuous medical monitoring