Abstract
IntroductionPlastic surgery for Down syndrome has not been embraced in sub-Saharan Africa. This study sought to determine the attitudes of some parents from sub-Saharan Africa to plastic surgery for their Down syndrome child.MethodsConsenting parents completed a questionnaire survey instrument that obtained demographic characteristics and contained a likert scale on attitudes to plastic surgery. Internal consistency of the scale was determined with Chronbach's alpha and Pearsons chi square analysis was used to analyze relationships between demographic variables and attitudes scores. Values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.ResultsMost (61.9%) of the 42 consenting mothers were above 35 years of age. The most disturbing of the Down syndrome characteristics were the protruding tongue, 18(42.9%), slanting palpebral fissures, 14(33.3%) and the flattened nasal bridge 14(33.3%). Although the mothers had low awareness of plastic surgery most of them had favourable attitudes towards it. A reliability analysis of the mother's attitudes on the likert scale showed good internal consistency. Chronbachs alpha 0.87.ConclusionThe parents in this study have favourable attitudes towards plastic surgery for Down syndrome. The prominent tongue was the most disturbing feature.
Highlights
Plastic surgery for Down syndrome has not been embraced in sub-Saharan Africa
Twenty-six (61.9%) of the mothers were above 35 year of age at the birth of the child while only 17 (40.5%) of the fathers were above 45 years of age at the birth of the child
We found that Down syndrome occurring in children of birth order of four and above were more likely to be borne to mothers who were older than 35 years of age
Summary
This study sought to determine the attitudes of some parents from sub-Saharan Africa to plastic surgery for their Down syndrome child. Methods: Consenting parents completed a questionnaire survey instrument that obtained demographic characteristics and contained a likert scale on attitudes to plastic surgery. The Down syndrome child has characteristic facial stigmatizing features These include a large tongue, flattened nasal bridge, small chin, the presence of epicanthal folds and a broad neck [1, 2]. Plastic surgery procedures done to erase these features are believed to improve societal acceptance of the child [3, 4]. This has been met with some criticism. The findings from this study would be instructive for counseling sessions for these procedures
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