The Importance of Rockall Scoring System for Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Long-Term Follow-Up.

The aim of the study is to examine the importance of Rockall scoring system in long-term setting to estimate re-bleeding and mortality rate due to upper gastrointestinal bleeding. A total of 321 patients who had been treated for upper gastrointestinal bleeding were recruited to the study. Patients' demographic and clinical data, the amount of blood transfusion, endoscopy results, and Rockall scores were retrieved from patients' charts. The re-bleeding, morbidity, and mortality rates were noted after 3 years of follow-up with telephone. Re-bleeding rate was statistically significantly higher in Rockall 4 group compared to Rockall 0 group. Mortality rate was also statistically significantly higher in Rockall 4 group. Rockall risk scoring system is a valuable tool to predict re-bleeding and mortality rates for patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding in long-term setting.

FICE vs Narrow Band Imaging for In Vivo Histologic Diagnosis of Polyps.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Gastrointestinal cancers are the most frequently occurring cancers worldwide. Diagnosis and removal of polyps during screening endoscopy decreases the prevalence of colon cancer and cancer-related mortality, and it is considered to be the gold standard in gastrointestinal system cancer prevention. Technological innovations in endoscopy have led to revolutionary developments in many areas. Flexible spectral imaging color enhancement (FICE) and narrow-band imaging (NBI) are forms of digital chromoendoscopy and enhance the endoscopic images without the need for a dye. This study seeks to evaluate the efficacy of FICE and NBI on polyp screening and real-time histologic diagnosis with endoscopy and to compare them. METHODS: A total of 134 patients (male/female = 72/62) and 161 polyps were evaluated with FICE or NBI, and real-time histologic diagnosis predictions were classified as neoplastic or nonneoplastic, according to Kudo's pit pattern classification. Pathological results and real-time endoscopic diagnoses were statistically interpreted for both FICE and NBI. Positive predictive value, negative predictive value, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy rates were calculated and compared for both modalities. RESULTS: When both systems were compared, the negative predictive value of NBI was found to be higher than that of FICE statistically (P < .001). Specificity and positive predictive value in the FICE group were higher than in the NBI group, but the difference was not statistically significant (P = .082 and P = .153, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Aside from being safe in polyp detection, digital chromoendoscopy also helps the endoscopist in selecting the type of simultaneous intervention (eg, polypectomy, endomucosal resection, or submucosal dissection) by enabling endoscopic histologic diagnosis.

Giant juvenile fibroadenoma.

Juvenile fibroadenoma is a common cause of breast masses seen in adolescents and young women. Giant juvenile fibroadenomas are usually single and unilateral. The etiology is thought to be due to increased levels of estrogen during adolescence, although it is not yet fully understood. Treatment options range from simple excision to sub-cutaneous mastectomy according to the size of the lesion. This article aimed to present a case that was diagnosed with "giant juvenile fibroadenoma".

Unilateral spontaneous adrenal hemorrhage in a young patient.

The objective of this study was to report an unusual case of unilateral adrenal hematoma in; a 19-year-old young man who did not have a history of any specific systemic disease. The patient was admitted to hospital with chest pain that lasted for one day. Preoperative contrast-enhanced computerized tomography evaluated an adrenal mass (sized, 10.5 x 12.7 cm) adjacent to the anterior of the left kidney, and findings were indicative of adrenal hematoma. The final pathological diagnosis was adrenal adenoma.

The adaptation process of a teaching and research hospital to changing trends in modern breast surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Minimally invasive surgery is increasingly gaining importance in breast surgery parallel to other surgical branches. Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a method that has radically changed the approach to breast surgery in the last decade of the 20(th) century. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the adaptation process to these alterations in breast surgery at our clinic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients who underwent surgery with a diagnosis of breast cancer in our clinic between April 2010 and November 2013 were retrospectively evaluated in terms of demographic characteristics, the number of operations and type of surgical methods applied according to years, SLNB performance rate, and results of frozen section and histopathological analysis. The first year of SLNB practice was accepted as part of the learning curve, and 24 patients who were operated during that period underwent routine axillary dissection. RESULTS: The median age of 198 patients who were included in the study was 55 years (25-89). It was detected that the number of cases who underwent surgery for breast cancer increased in years, that the SLNB application rate increased from 37% to 66% between 2010 and 2013 (p=0.01), and SLNB staining rates increased from 70% to 94% (p=0.03). When only results from the last four years were evaluated, the mean staining rate in patients with SLNB (n=105) was 88% (n=92), with positive histopathology in 32% of these cases (n=30). Despite a decreasing trend over the years, a metastatic axillary lymph node was detected in paraffin block evaluation in spite of negative frozen section examination of SLNB in five cases, and 5 patients (5%) out of 97 patients who underwent breast conserving surgery required re-excision. The histopathological diagnosis was invasive ductal carcinoma in 84% (n=167) of patients. CONCLUSION: It was observed that during the four-year period of adaptation, the application rate of breast conserving surgery and SLNB reached accepted standards, and that both the technical problems encountered in SLNB and the requirement for re-excision after breast conserving surgery significantly decreased with increasing case volume and experience.

Unusual clinical case: extraluminal manifestation of a tapeworm from the eviscerated midline incision in a post-surgery patient.

Taenia saginata infestation is one of the most common cestode infestations in humans, that may cause gastrointestinal tract related complications as a result of obstruction, perforation or anastomotic leakage. A 55-year-old male patient who was receiving palliative chemotherapy for stage IV gastric cancer was admitted to the emergency department for abdominal pain. A hollow viscus organ perforation was diagnosed and an emergency surgery was performed. On postoperative day 5, the patient's midline incision eviscerated and a moving taenia emerged, with abundant particulated fluid from the incision line. The patient was admitted for abdominal surgery due to suspected bowel perforation. During the abdominal exploration, a relaxed purse stitch of the feeding tube was observed and no other bowel perforations were seen. The patient underwent two planned surgery for abdominal cavity lavage after the removal of cestode. Unfortunately, the patient died sixteen days after his admission to the intensive care unit. This is the first case describing an extraluminal manifestation of a tapeworm in a midline incision from evisceration without intestinal perforation.

Evaluation of the Probability of Non-sentinel Lymph Node Metastasis in Breast Cancer Patients with Sentinel Lymph Node Metastasis using Two Different Methods.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this retrospective clinical study was to evaluate the accuracy and feasibility of two different clinical scales, namely the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) nomogram and Tenon's axillary scoring system, which were developed for predicting the non-sentinel lymph node (NSLN) status in our breast cancer patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The medical records of patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer between January 2010 and November 2013 were reviewed. Those who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for axillary staging were recruited for the study, and patients who were found to have positive SLNB and thus were subsequently subjected to axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) were also included. Patients who had neoadjuvant therapy, who had clinically positive axilla, and who had stage 4 disease were excluded. Patients were divided into two groups. Group 1 included those who had negative NSLNs, whereas Group 2 included those who had positive NSLNs. The following data were collected: age, tumor size, histopathological characteristics of the tumor, presence of lymphovascular invasion, presence of multifocality, number of negative and positive NSLNs, size of metastases, histopathological method used to define metastases, and receptor status of the tumor. The score of each patient was calculated according to the MSKCC nomogram and Tenon's axillary scoring system. Statistical analysis was conducted to investigate the correlation between the scores and the involvement of NSLNs. RESULTS: The medical records of patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer and found to have SLNB for axillary staging was reviewed. Finally, 50 patients who had positive SLNB and thus were subsequently subjected to ALND were included in the study. There were 17 and 33 patients in Groups 1 and 2, respectively. Both the MSKCC nomogram and Tenon's axillary scoring system were demonstrated to be significantly accurate in the prediction of the involvement of NSLNs (p<0.05 for each). Among all the parameters, the only one that was found to be correlated with the risk of NSLN involvement was the presence of lymphovascular invasion. CONCLUSION: The MSKCC nomogram and Tenon's axillary scoring system both seem to be reliable tools for the assessment of NSLN status in SLNB-positive breast cancer in our breast cancer population. Nevertheless, the omission of ALNB in SLNB-positive breast cancer cannot be yet recommended because of the lack of long-term results of current nomograms and scoring systems.

Endoscopic balloon dilatation as an effective treatment for lower and upper benign gastrointestinal system anastomotic stenosis.

OBJECTIVE: Endoscopic balloon dilatation (EBD) is currently accepted as an effective, safe, and first-line treatment of postoperative benign gastrointestinal anastomosis stenosis (BGAS); however, a limited number of publications on the subject exist in the literature. The aim of the study was to retrospectively evaluate the efficiency of endoscopic dilatation in patients with postoperative intestinal anastomotic stenoses at a single surgical center. METHODS: Patients with postoperative BGAS treated by EBD at our institution from February 2008 to 2012 were included. The dilatations were all performed using through-the-scope balloons. The balloon was introduced into the stricture using a guidewire under radiologic guidance. Each dilatation session consisted of 2 to 3 two-minute multistep inflations of the balloon until adequate dilatation was achieved. RESULTS: Of the 48 patients included in the study, 44 patients (91.7%) fully recovered and 4 (8.3%) did not respond to treatment. The mean follow-up period was 24 months (range, 3 to 57 mo). Four patients who did not respond to the procedure were treated surgically. Two patients (4.1%) with intestinal perforation during EBD were treated conservatively with a stent. CONCLUSIONS: EBD has a low rate of complications and a high success rate, is well tolerated, and avoids further surgical procedures for BGAS. Therefore, EBD should be the first choice of treatment for postoperative anastomotic stenoses.

Two different methods for appendiceal stump closure: metal clip and Hem-o-lok clip.

INTRODUCTION: Closure of the appendiceal stump (CAS) is the most crucial part of appendectomy procedures because most of the complications occur by a leak of the stump. The aim of this retrospective clinical study is to emphasize two different methods (metal clip and Hem-o-lok(®) [Teleflex Medical, Research Triangle Park, NC] clip) for CAS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cases were divided into two subgroups according to the type of CAS. Subgroups were compared with each other according to age, intraabdominal abscess formation, operation duration, and complication rate. RESULTS: No intraoperative complications were seen in either subgroup. There were 22 postoperative complications in the metal clip subgroup (13 intraabdominal abscesses, 9 wound infections) and 8 postoperative complications in the Hem-o-lok clip subgroup (five intraabdominal abscesses, three wound infections). The cost of the closure was $7 for the metal clip group and $50 for the Hem-o-lok clip group. CONCLUSIONS: The use of Hem-o-lok clips and metal clip for CAS in laparoscopic appendectomy is a feasible, safe, and cost-effective procedure in patients with a mild to moderately inflamed appendix base of less than 10 mm in diameter.

The growing role of laparoscopic repair in patients with early diagnosed peptic ulcer perforation.

OBJECTIVE: Laparoscopy is gaining more importance in emergency abdominal surgery. Peptic ulcer perforation (PUP) constitutes a significant portion of surgical emergencies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the methods and results of patients who underwent surgery due to PUP in our department. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients who were admitted to the hospital in the early period and received Graham-patch (GP) repair due to PUP from January 2009 to January 2013 were divided into two groups as laparoscopic (group L) or open (group O) surgery. Demographic data of the patients, duration of the operation, conversion to open surgery, length of hospital stay, secondary interventions, re-admissions, morbidity and mortality rates were retrospectively evaluated. Patients with conversion to open surgery were included in Group O. RESULTS: Two hundred and nineteen patients were included in the study, 148 of which were in Group O (including the 47 patients with conversion), and 71 in group L. In patients with early admission, the rate of laparoscopically completed GP was 19.6% in the first year of the study, whereas this rate was 61.8% in the fourth year (p<0.001). The rate of conversion to open surgery was 50% in 2009, and 24.4% in 2012 (p=0.028). Length of hospital stay was shorter in group L (p=0.35). The complication rate was 4.2% in patients who had laparoscopic procedures, and was 6.1% in patients who underwent open surgery (p=0.57). Seventy-three percent (n=11) of re-hospitalized patients in the perioperative period (n=15) were treated conservatively. When costs related to secondary interventions and re-hospitalization were included, there was no significant difference between laparoscopic and open surgery groups in terms of cost (p=0.06). CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic surgery for PUP is a reliable method and has been used increasingly over the years in our department. The operative time is longer, the length of hospital stay is shorter, the complication rates are less than open surgery, and the conversion rate is significantly reduced. Laparoscopic GP is feasible in early-admitted patients with PUP, due to the above-mentioned advantages. We believe the rate of conversion to open surgery decreases with increasing experience in laparoscopy.