Modified thoracoabdominal nerves block through perichondrial approach for laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

OBJECTIVE: A new block, namely, modified thoracoabdominal nerves block through perichondrial approach, is administered below the costal cartilage. We sought to compare the analgesic efficacy of the modified thoracoabdominal nerves block through perichondrial approach block with local anesthetic infiltration at the port sites in an adult population who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. METHODS: Patients who will undergo laparoscopic cholecystectomy were randomized to receive bilateral ultrasound-guided modified thoracoabdominal nerves block through perichondrial approach blocks or local anesthetic infiltration at the port insertion sites. The primary outcome was the total amount of tramadol used in the first 12 h postoperatively. The secondary outcomes were total IV tramadol consumption for the first postoperative 24 h and visual analog scale scores. RESULTS: The modified thoracoabdominal nerves block through perichondrial approach group had significantly less tramadol use in the first 12 h postoperatively (p<0.001). The modified thoracoabdominal nerves block through perichondrial approach group's visual analog scale scores at rest (static) and with movement (dynamic) were significantly lower compared with the port infiltration group (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Patients who received modified thoracoabdominal nerves block through perichondrial approach block had significantly less analgesic consumption and better pain scores than those who received port-site injections after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Determination of Diabetes Health Literacy Levels of Patients Followed Up With Diabetic Foot Diagnosis: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study.

The number of studies on the diabetes health literacy of patients with diabetic foot is very limited. The aim of this study was to determine the diabetes health literacy levels of patients with diabetic foot. The data in this cross-sectional, descriptive study were collected using a sociodemographic data collection form and the Health Literacy Scale (HLS). Data were analyzed using SPSS for Windows Version 25.0 software. The HLS total score was 35.96 ± 10.70, and the Functional, Interactive and Critical subscale scores were 11.90 ± 5.04, 13.10 ± 4.80, and 10.96 ± 4.19, respectively. The diabetic health literacy level of the patients was seen to be affected by general education level, the status of having received education about diabetes, and family history of diabetes (P < .05). The diabetes health literacy level of patients with diabetic foot can be said to be low. This demonstrates the necessity of determining and increasing the health literacy levels of patients diagnosed with diabetes before the development of diabetic foot.

Rare causes of acute abdomen and review of literature: Primary/secondary omental torsion, isolated segmental omental necrosis, and epiploic appendagitis.

BACKGROUND: Primary/secondary omental torsion (POT/SOT), isolated segmental omental necrosis (ISON), and primary epiploic appendagitis (PEA) are rare causes of acute abdominal pain that often lead to misdiagnosis. Although the differential diagnosis may vary according to the localization and severity of the pain, and associated symptoms such as nausea-vomiting and fever, depending on the disease and site of involvement, the character of the pain is generally similar and in a continuous form. Depending on pain localization, it can mimic different clinical pictures such as acute appendicitis, acute diverticulitis, ovarian pathologies, urinary tract stones and acute cholecystitis, and patients are often diagnosed after surgical exploration. With the increased availability of computed tomography and awareness of these diseases, more patients can be diagnosed in the preoperative process and unnecessary operations can be avoided. In particular, PEA is a self-limiting local inflammatory disease and can often be managed conservatively. For all diagnoses, the surgical treatment option is local excision of the relevant epiploic appendix or omental segment, preferably laparoscopically. The most common surgical indication is diagnostic confusion and the second is persistent pain. METHODS: The data of patients followed up and treated for a diagnosis of POT, SOT, ISON or PEA between 2006 and 2021 were recorded in a specially prepared database. The demographic characteristics of the patients, and the data regarding the diagnosis and treatment process were evaluated retrospectively and discussed in the light of the relevant literature. RESULTS: The reason for hospitalization and treatment in 12 of the 42 patients included in the study was necrosis of a part of the omentum. Of these patients, 4 were followed up and treated with a diagnosis of POT, 3 with SOT, 5 with ISON and 30 with a diagnosis of PEA. Thirty-three of the patients were diagnosed preoperatively, and 9 intraoperatively, 22 patients were operated on, and 20 patients with PEA were treated conservatively. After surgical or medical treatment, all the patients were discharged without complications. In the comparisons between the patients, no significant difference was observed in terms of clinical and laboratory findings. CONCLUSION: POT, SOT, ISON and PEA should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with acute abdominal findings. In patients with PEA diagnosed in the preoperative period, a conservative approach should be considered first. In patients with a diagnosis of POT, SOT, and ISON, a surgical or conservative approach should be evaluated according to the patient's clinical condition.

Laparoscopic liver right posterior sectionectomies; surgical technique and clinical results of a single surgeon experience.

Objectives: Laparoscopic liver resections have been performed with increasing frequency in recent years. With increasing surgical experience and technological developments, more complex laparoscopic liver resections can now be applied. Laparoscopic right posterior sectionectomy (LSPS) requires a sophisticated and highly challenging surgical technique due to the length of the parenchyma transection line and the camera out of view in laparoscopic surgery. The aim of this study was to share tips and tricks about resection which will contribute to the operation time and technique. Material and Methods: Evaluation was made of the laparoscopic major liver resections performed consecutively between 2015-2020 in our center. During the resections, three different inflow control techniques were used; hilar, glassonian and intraparenchymal approach. Results: A total of 14 LSPS surgeries were performed. Mean age of the patients was 51.6 ± 10.2 years (34-68), and mean operation time was 300 ± 58 (200-440) minutes. The Pringle maneuver was applied to all patients, with a mean time of 58.4 ± 14.4 (30-75) minutes. Mean perioperative bleeding was measured as 290 ± 105 (140-550) mL. Additional surgery was performed on six patients in the same session. Complications occurred in three patients. No perioperative mortality was observed. Conclusion: LSPS is a technically difficult process, which requires advanced skills in both liver surgery and laparoscopic surgery. Surgeons should consider applying this method, which offers different advantages depending on the location and nature of the lesion, after completing the learning curve by performing laparoscopic liver surgery of the correct number and type. In our article, we stated the tips and tricks that make it easy to perform laparoscopic right posterior sectionectomies, which have been thought to be difficult until recently and these difficulties have been clearly stated in many articles.

The use of autologous epidermal grafts for diabetic foot ulcer emergencies: A clinical study.

BACKGROUND: There are various surgical and invasive treatment systems such as conservative skin grafts and autologous epider-mal grafting (AEG) for diabetic foot ulcers. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of using a novel epidermal graft harvesting system in diabetic foot ulcer emergencies. METHODS: A retrospective clinical study was conducted with 15 diabetic foot ulcer patients, and after written and signed consent forms were taken, AEG system was applied to all patients. All of the clinical data of the patients such as their American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Physical Status Classification System scores, size of pre-application wound area (cm2), time to complete re-epithelization of the wound, pain scores using the visual analog scale (VAS) for both donor and recipient sites, changes in size of wound, complete dermal response time, and patients' demographics, comorbidities were recorded. The age, gender, pre-post appli-cation wound area (cm2), time of healing, ASA, and VAS variables were compared each other and analyzed statistically. P<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: The mean of time for complete wound healing was 5.9 (range 4-8) weeks. There was no statistically difference between recipient wound size and patient's age; size of both types of wounds (cm2) and time (weeks) for complete reduction for both types of wounds; and time to complete both types of wound healing and gender (p=0.509, 0.788, and 0.233, respectively). ASA scores did not impact the time required for complete healing of the wound (p=0.749). CONCLUSION: The current study has tried to evaluate the efficacy of the AEG system in a homogenous population with diabetic foot ulcers. An epidermal harvesting system may be used effectively and safely in patients with diabetic foot ulcer emergencies.

Effect of Spray Use on Mouth Dryness and Thirst of Patients Undergoing Major Abdominal Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of spray use on mouth dryness and thirst of patients undergoing major abdominal surgery during the postoperative period DESIGN: This research was conducted as a randomized controlled trial. METHODS: One hundred thirty patients undergoing abdominal surgery were assessed for eligibility; the sample consisted of N = 104. Subjects were randomized into one of three groups. Subjects in the control group were administered a small amount of water at room temperature using a syringe (clinic routine application, approximately 1-2 mL). Subjects in the second group were administered cold water spray orally (0.4 mL per application). Subjects in the third group were administered cold saline (0.9% NaCl) spray orally (0.4 mL per application). Applications were performed twice every hour. Subjects' postoperative thirst severity, mouth dryness severity, oral health condition, and pH values of saliva were evaluated after 8, 20, 24, 36 and 40 hours. Subject satisfaction was evaluated at the end of the second postoperative day. FINDINGS: In our study, no significant difference was found between the three groups in terms of age, gender, American Society of Anesthesiologists grade (ASA), preoperative thirst and mouth dryness, and preoperative oral health condition (P > .05). A significant difference was found between the groups in terms of subjects' thirst and mouth dryness severity scores after 8, 20, 24, 36, and 40 hours (P < .05). The intervention group that received cold water spray demonstrated statistically significant differences when compared to the control and saline moistening groups. No significant difference was found between subjects' oral health condition and pH scores after 4, 8, 20, 24, 36, and 40 hours (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study show that cold water spray was more effective on the thirst and mouth dryness scores of subjects undergoing major abdominal surgery compared to cold normal saline spray and water applied using a syringe, although it was not an effective factor on oral health condition and pH values of saliva.

Analysis of anatomical localization and severity of injury in patients with blood transfusion in urban terrain hospital.

BACKGROUND: Blood loss is the most significant cause of mortality in trauma cases. In injured patients, rapid evaluation and appropriate transfusion is lifesaving. The present study aims to analyze the blood/blood products requirement based on available data and find any associations between the transfusion requirements and injury severity scores (ISS) and anatomical locations of injuries of transfused patients. METHODS: Between 30 July 2014 and 30 July 2016, casualties admitted to the urban terrain hospital (UTH) and transfused at least one unit of red blood cell (RBC) were included. UTH Transfusion Record Notebook data included patients' age, mechanism and anatomical location(s) of the injury, admission hemoglobin (g/dL) level, injury severity score (ISS), transfused units of erythrocyte suspension (ES), warm fresh whole blood (WFWB), fresh frozen plasma (FFP), and massive transfusion (MT) rate. RESULTS: In this study, all patients were male; the mean age was 28.7±7.8 years. Overall, 59 of 579 (10%) patients were transfused 458 units of RBC (ES+WFWB). Torso (thorax ± abdomen) injury was present in 61% of the casualties who underwent transfusion, and 93% of these patients underwent massive transfusion. In 71% of patients, the ISS was >15, and there was statistically significant high blood/blood products use and MT rate in these patients, respectively (p=0.021, p=0.006). CONCLUSION: Anatomical location of injuries and ISS are valuable in the rapid determining of MT and survival rates of casualties. Especially in torso injuries, bleeding control is difficult and transfusion requirement and mortality rates are high. This study presents the trauma of urban terrain conflict-related transfusion data from a UTH.

Surgically Confirmed Intra- and Extratesticular Hematoma Clinically Mimicing Epididymo-Orchitis and Radiologically Mimicing Traumatic Torsion.

BACKGROUND: Scrotal blunt trauma may result in injuries, such as testicular rupture, dislocation, torsion, hematoma, spermatic cord injury or contusion, and epididymal, scrotal, and urethral injuries. Ultrasonography (US) has a crucial role in the evaluation of those kinds of pathologies. Early diagnosis of testicular rupture may lead to the salvaging of the testicle by prompt surgical exploration within 72 h. CASE REPORT: A 21-year-old male with right scrotal swelling and pain complaints was admitted to another hospital one month ago. Epididymo-orchitis was diagnosed and the patient was given medical treatment. The patient was admitted to our emergency service with ongoing complaints. The patient stated that the pain and swelling suddenly developed after prolonged marching. On US, a large hematoma was detected between the leaves of the tunica vaginalis, and rupture from the lower pole was diagnosed. On color Doppler US, no vascularity was observed in the heterogeneous testicular parenchyma. Traumatic torsion was primarily suggested. Intraoperatively, an extratesticular hematoma, hematocele, and rupture were confirmed but torsion was not found. Because the hematoma entirely replaced the normal parenchyma, orchiectomy was performed. CONCLUSIONS: Testicular rupture may occur even after moderate sportive action such as prolonged marching. If any delay occurs in diagnosis and/or operation, the coagulum may replace the entire parenchyma. We think that US and clinical findings may sometimes mislead the physicians and cause misdiagnoses, such as inflammation or torsion. In this paper, we present a complex delayed diagnosed example case of testicular rupture clinically mimicing epididymo-orchitis and radiologically mimicing traumatic testicular torsion.

Urinary and sexual dysfunction rates and risk factors following rectal cancer surgery.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to express the effects of demographic characteristics, the type of the surgery, tumour characteristics and adjuvant therapy on urinary and sexual dysfunctions. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Pre-operational urinary and sexual dysfunctions of the patients were evaluated by using the surveys prepared according to International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) in men and Index of Female Sexual Function (IFSF) in women. FINDINGS: A total of 56 patients were included in the study; 20 of them were women and 36 of them were men. The mean age was 56. Abdominoperineal resection (APR) was performed on 11 patients, and low anterior resection (LAR) was performed on 45. The post-treatment IPSS classes were worsened at a rate of 12.7 % compared to the pre-treatment. The mean post-treatment sexual dysfunction score of both men and women were decreased by 27.5 and 17.8 %, respectively. Rectal tumours located in the lower part resulted in more sexual dysfunction. CONCLUSION: The tumour in the 1/3 lower part of the rectal area was determined to be the most effective factor that caused both urinary and sexual dysfunction. Patients should be informed about the urinary and sexual dysfunctions in the pre-operative consultations.

A rare pathology that caused high-level intestinal obstruction: Left paraduodenal hernia.

The aim of this report is to assess clinical findings and surgical treatment of left paraduodenal hernia, which is an unusual type of internal herniation, in light of the literature. The diagnosis and treatment course of a 42-year-old male patient with findings of intestinal obstruction was assessed and presented together with literature search. The patient underwent surgery with a preliminary diagnosis of intestinal obstruction and the definitive diagnosis of internal herniation was made intraoperatively. Nearly two-thirds of the small intestine was found to be herniated into the retroperitoneal space from the left paraduodenal region. Small bowel loops were pulled out of the hernia sac and anatomically positioned in the intraperitoneal area. The hernia sac was repaired primarily. The patient was discharged on the fourth postoperative day, uneventfully. Left paraduodenal hernia should be considered as a part of differential diagnosis in patients who have recurring abdominal pain episodes accompanied by symptoms suggestive of intestinal obstruction. Timely diagnosis is important to prevent complications. Reduction of hernia content followed by primary repair of the defect appears to be a safe and effective treatment.

Abdominal aortic injury due to lumbar disc surgery: A case report.

Complications arising from lumbar intervertebral disc surgery are rare but fatal. Major vascular injury is one complication that may end in death unless it is diagnosed and treated immediately. Herein we report an abdominal aortic injury due to L3-L4 intervertebral disc surgery that was treated successfully and discuss it in light of current literature. Diagnosis and treatment of an abdominal aortic injury in a 31-year-old male patient operated on for L3-L4 intervertebral disc degeneration is discussed. Interestingly, in spite of abdominal aortic injury this particular patient was hemodynamically stable. The diagnosis was made 12 hours after disc surgery and laparotomy was performed immediately. As the injury in the aorta was large and had irregular margins, it could not be repaired with primary repair but an end-to-end anastomosis with partial resection was performed. In lumbar intervertebral disc hernia surgery, peroperative hemodynamic instability should raise suspicion of major vascular injury with high mortality and appropriate surgical treatment should be done as soon as possible. If there is any finding suggesting an intraoperative vascular injury, the patient should be kept under close monitoring in order not to delay diagnosis and treatment. It should not be forgotten that hemodynamic stability does not rule out major vascular injury.

The use of single port surgery for polyps located in the rectum.

Transanal endoscopic microsurgery is a minimally invasive technique for the treatment of rectal lesions which was introduced by Buess. In this report the first clinical experience of transanal endoscopic surgery was performed by a single incision laparoscopic surgical port adapted through the anal canal. In single port surgery, the single incision laparoscopic surgical port has to be stitched around anal orifice. There is no need to use a fixation apparatus. In transanal endoscopic microsurgery procedure, a rigid rectoscope 40 mm in diameter is introduced into the anus by stretching anal sphincter. A single incision laparoscopic surgical port can be disposed through the anal canal where there is no harmful cause because it is made an elastic. The dissection in the transanal endoscopic microsurgery procedure needs specific equipment to improve the surgery; however we could complete the surgical dissection using standard laparoscopic devices with articulated ones. The other factor makes single port surgery easier than transanal endoscopic microsurgery procedure is insufflation. It is easy and controlled way to be insufflated by a particular pump and cheaper than any insufflators. Furthermore, in the operating room, the patient's position on the table was not a limiting factor. As a conclusion, we report that for selected patients, single port surgery can be performed using a single incision laparoscopic surgical port as an adjusted surgical technique. It gives safe and feasible way to remove benign and malign polyps and tumors up to 20 cm in the rectum.