Abstract
Background and objectives Tumors of the abdominal wall are uncommon but diverse. The surgical challenge
is double. The tumor must be completely removed and the abdominal wall repaired. Our aim was to describe
the indications, techniques, and results of surgery on these tumors in an African context.
Methods Retrospective, multicentric and descriptive study conducted in three West African surgical oncology units.
We included all abdominal wall tumors followed up between January 2010 and October 2022. Histological type, size,
surgical procedure, and method of abdominal wall repair were considered. Survival was calculated using the Kaplan–
Meier method and comparisons of proportions were made using the Student t test.
Results We registered 62 tumors of the abdominal wall and we operated on 41 (66.1%). The mean size of the tumors
was 14.3±26 cm. Dermatofbrosarcoma and desmoid tumor were present in 33 and 3 cases respectively. In 31.7%
of cases in addition to the tumour, the resections carried away the muscular aponeurotic plane. Parietal resections
required the use of a two-sided prosthesis in 6 cases. In 13 cases, we used skin faps. The resections margins were
invaded in 5 cases and revision surgery was performed in all of them. Incisional hernia was noticed in 2 cases. The
tumor recurrence rate was 12.2% with an average time of 13 months until occurrence. Overall survival at 3 years
was 80%.
Conclusions Surgery is the mainstay of treatment for abdominal wall tumors. It must combine tumor resections
and parietal repair. Cancer surgeons need to be trained in abdominal wall repair.
Keywords Lumpectomy, Parietal repair, Abdominal mesh, Skin faps

Lumpectomy, Parietal repair, Abdominal mesh