Masters Degrees (Anatomy and Histology)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Anatomy and Histology) by Author "Lathe, Stephanie"

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    Pelvimetry of Males from the Western Cape with Rectal Cancer: Anatomical and Clinical Implication
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-12) Lathe, Stephanie; Baatjes, Karin J.; Forgan, T. R.; Alblas, Amanda; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Biomedical Sciences: Anatomy and Histology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Colorectal cancer represents an increasing healthcare burden that affects South African males more commonly than females. Surgical intervention, and specifically total mesorectal excision (TME), remains a key modality in the management of rectal cancer. This procedure occurs in the spatially restricted pelvic canal. Observations of increased difficulty during TME on South African males at the Tygerberg Academic Hospital (TH) led to the impression that they display an especially narrow pelvis. Multiple evolutionary factors, such as childbirth, thermoregulation, and bipedal locomotion, have moulded the size of the modern human pelvis, with males naturally displayinga narrower pelvis than female. Climate is geographically structured and is believed to play a pivotal role in pelvic dimensions. Population groups from lower latitudes tend to exhibit a narroweranddeeperpelves compared to those from higher latitudes.The primary aim of the study was to measure the dimensions of the bony pelvis in males from the Western Cape who have undergone potentially curative colorectal cancer surgery at TH, and to compare these results with other ecogeographical regions. Secondarily, it aimed to determine if an association exists between pelvic dimensions and morbidity documented in rectal cancers patients who have undergone a TME at TH.Pelvic size was investigated by conducting nineteen pelvimetric measurements on 3D bony pelvic reconstructions of male patients (n=158) using computed tomography data. Thereafter measurements were compared with other ecogeographical regions to investigate our relative pelvic size and relationships between latitude and pelvic dimensions using forest plots. Lastly, aone-way ANOVA with a post hoc Bonferroni test was performed to determine if significant differences occur in pelvic measurements among different groups of surgical complications. This population was found to display a relatively narrow transverse pelviccanal when compared to populations from higher latitudes, which was accompanied by an increase in anteroposterior dimensions of the canal. Some measurements were found to follow expected ecogeographical patterns. Significant differences inthe inlet anteroposterior measurement were found among patients in some surgical complication groups. However, no relationship between pelvic dimensions and patient morbidity was found.