Author(s)

Guy Aristide Bang^1,2, Goura a Goura¹, Joseph Cyrille Chopkeng^3*, Eric Patrick Savom^2,4, Yanick Mahamat Ekani Boukar⁵, Daniel Biwole Biwole², Amanda Missi⁶, Bernadette Ngo Nonga^1,2

¹Department of Surgery, Yaoundé Hospital and Teaching Center, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
²Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
³Regional Hospital Limbe, Limbe, Cameroon.
⁴Surgical Department, Yaounde General Hospital, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
⁵Surgical Department, Yaounde Emergency Centre, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
⁶Radiology Department, Yaounde University Hospital, Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Background: Data on emergency digestive oncology surgery are limited in Cameroon. The aim of this work was to give the short-term results of emergency digestive carcinological surgery in our context. Patients and Methods: We conducted a descriptive and analytical observational study with retrospective data collection in four reference hospitals in the city of Yaoundé. Files of patients who had emergency digestive oncological surgery, for an acute complication, from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2020, were included. The outcomes of the patients in the 30 days following the surgery had to be known. Results: We collected 41 patients, representing 20% of the digestive oncological surgery activity. Their average age was 51.76 ± 16.59 years with a male predominance (63.4%). The cancer complication was inaugural in 27 patients. The main tumor sites were colic (56.1%), rectal (19.5%), and gastric (9.7%). The indications for surgery were: acute bowel obstruction (60.9%), acute generalized peritonitis (29.3%), and gastrointestinal bleeding (4.9%). The tumor was diagnosed intraoperatively in 10 patients (24.4%). The main operative procedures were left colectomy (21.9%) and Hartmann’s intervention (19.5%). The morbidity and mortality rates were 60.9% and 43.9%, respectively. Preoperative anemia (p = 0.019), peritonitis as indication for surgery (p = 0.039) and TNM stage 4 (p = 0.015) were identified as associated with an increased risk of death. Conclusion: In our context, one-fifth of digestive oncological surgery is done urgently in front of an acute complication which is inaugural for cancer in nearly two-thirds of patients. Postoperative morbidity and mortality are significant.

Digestive cancer, Emergency, Acute abdomen, Oncological Surgery, Cameroon

Bang, G. , Goura, G. , Chopkeng, J. , Savom, E. , Boukar, Y. , Biwole, D. , Missi, A. and Nonga, B. (2022) Emergency Digestive Oncological Surgery in Yaounde (Cameroon): Indications and Short-Term Results. Surgical Science, 13, 198-206. doi: 10.4236/ss.2022.134025.