WOFAPS 2025 8th World Congress of Pediatric Surgery

Taiye Ibiyeye ¹, Nickhill Bharkta ², Ayomide Omotola ², Lily Johnson ², Miriam Gonzalez-Guzman ², Heather Forrest ², Alyana Alvarez ², Nadya Sullivan ², Janet Middlekauff ², Srikanth Naradasu ², Yichen Chen ², Meenakshi Devidas ², Paola Friedrich ²

¹ Federal Teaching Hospital Lokoja, Nigeria
² St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Memphis, TN, USA

Introduction: Systemic inadequacies place significant burdens on surgeons and compromise their ability to deliver timely, safe, and effective care Purpose: To presents findings from the national PrOFILE (Pediatric Oncology Facility Integrated Local Evaluation) survey, which assessed pediatric oncology service across 13 Nigerian institutions, offering a comprehensive look at the conditions under which pediatric surgeons operate and the urgent need for system strengthening. Methods: Data was collected on 12 module forms in each institution and submitted on an electronic data collection platform, the St. Jude PrOFILE team generated an aggregate report with all cohort data. Results: Pediatric surgeons are available in all 13 institutions, 4 had Pediatric hemato-oncologists, none had specialized pediatric hemato-oncology (PHO) nurses. X-rays and ultrasound are available in all, however, CT scans, MRIs, bone scans, MIBG, and PET scans show inconsistent availability, timeliness, and reliability. Ten institutions have operating rooms within their facilities, 6 institutions report having most surgical subspecialties, with dedicated operating room time for PHO patients. Staffing for complex cases is adequately provided in 4, none have facilities for intraoperative frozen sections, only 1 offers limb-sparing surgery. Post-operative ventilator support is available in 3, seven institutions are equipped to promptly identify and manage post-op complications, 3 had Pediatric Intensive Care Units, timely access to clinical pathology is available in 11 and anatomical pathology in 12. Four facilities have laminar hoods for preparing chemotherapy, none had chemotherapy prepared by the pharmacy, nor uses infusion pumps for chemotherapy delivery. Supportive care protocols are in place in 6 institutions, timely access to blood bank services is reported in only 3 facilities, only one facility has access to linear accelerator. Conclusion: The system-wide deficiencies threaten surgical safety, highlighting the need for system strengthening, an effort pediatric surgeons should lead through active advocacy, given their central role in cancer care delivery.