The NEWS2 score predicts prolonged hospitalization in the intensive care unit in major surgery patients.

Objective: Gynecological malignancies are significant causes of mortality and morbidity in women worldwide. Although surgery is an important treatment method, both the extent of the surgery and the factors related to the patient affect postoperative processes. The National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) is a simple, inexpensive, and safe early warning score developed in 2012 and updated in 2017. Although it is not commonly used in surgical patients, its use in patients who will undergo major surgery may provide insights about the postoperative process. This study investigates the importance of NEWS2 and its relationship in patients with for major gynecologic oncology surgery. Materials and Methods: Forty-four patients with gynecologic malignancies scheduled for major abdominal surgery were included in this study. Patients with a NEWS-2 score of <3 were included in group 1, and patients with a NEWS-2 score of more than 3 were included in groups 2. NEWS2 Score, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation 2 scores (APACHE 2) were calculated. In addition, postoperative routine clinical and laboratory parameters were evaluated. Operation time, duration of intubation in the intensive care unit (ICU), the length of the intensive care stay, and length of hospitalization were recorded. Results: Duration of intubation in the ICU in group 1 with a NEWS2 <3 [8.2 (0-18) vs 16.2 (3-39), respectively; p<0.01], ICU length of stay [21.6 (4-27) vs 47.3 (4-113), respectively; p<0.01], length of hospitalization [11.6 (5-56) vs 18.6 (8-67), respectively; p<0.01]. NEWS2 >3 was significantly higher compared to group 2. The SOFA score was significantly higher in group 2 compared with group 1 [1.2±0.5 vs 4.1±1.9; respectively; p<0.01]. In the correlation analysis, the NEWS2 score level was positively correlated with the SOFA score (p<0.001, r=0.81) and hospitalization time (p<0.001, r=0.60) and neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (p<0.001, r=0.47). Conclusion: These findings suggest that the NEWS2 score may be correlated with the length of intensive care intubation, length of intensive care stay, and length of hospitalization. NEWS2 is an effective and simple scoring system that provides information about postoperative outcomes in gynecologic oncology patients scheduled for major surgery.

Determination of the Readability Level of Consent Forms Used in the Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic at Suleyman Demirel University.

Background This study aimed to evaluate the readability level of consent forms used for interventional procedures in the obstetrics and gynecology clinic and to determine the readability of the texts according to the education level of the patient. Methodology This study determined the readability of patient consent forms used before interventional procedures in the gynecology and obstetrics clinic at the Suleyman Demirel University Hospital, Isparta. The consent forms were divided into two main groups according to their use in obstetrics and gynecology procedures. The readability level of consent forms was assessed using two readability formulas developed by Atesman and Bezirci-Yilmaz, which determine the readability level of Turkish texts in the literature. Results When the consent forms were analyzed according to Atesman's readability formula, they were found to be readable with more than 15 years of education at the undergraduate level, while according to Bezirci-Yilmaz's readability formula, they were found to be readable with 17 years of education at the postgraduate level. Conclusions Easy-to-read consent forms will ensure that patients are more informed about interventional procedures and participate more effectively in the treatment process. There is a need to develop readable consent forms suitable for the general education level.

The expression of stanniocalcin-1, estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor in endometrioid endometrial cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the expression of stanniocalcin-1 (STC-1) and to investigate the correlation of STC-1 with expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and clinical parameters, histopathological findings and prognostic factors in endometrioid endometrial cancer (EEC). Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, STC-1 (cytoplasmic), ER (nuclear), and PR (nuclear) stainings were applied to tissue microarray sections of 89 EEC, 27 endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia (EIN), and 21 normal endometrium (NE). Prognostic factors such as age, tumor size, depth of myometrial invasion, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, and lymph node metastasis were compared with the expression of these markers. Results: ER showed significantly higher positivity in grade 1 EEC. PR expression was also higher in grade 1 EEC, but these findings were not statistically significant. Strong expression of STC-1 was observed in EIN and EECs compared with NE. STC-1 showed low staining in the NE, and high staining was also noted in the EIN foci adjacent to the NE. STC-1 expression was positively correlated with grade 1 EECs. Conclusion: STC-1 expression was positively correlated with low histologic grade in EECs. STC-1 can be used for distinguishing low-grade endometrioid tumors and high -grade endometrioid tumors in curretage specimens. Since STC-1 is related to well differentiated tumors, it can also be regarded as a good prognostic factor in EECs.

Artificial intelligence for prediction of endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia and endometrial cancer risks in pre- and postmenopausal women.

BACKGROUND: The current approach to endometrial cancer screening requires that all patients be able to recognize symptoms, report them, and carry out appropriate interventions. The current approach to endometrial cancer screening could become a problem in the future, especially for Black women and women from minority groups, and could lead to disparities in receiving proper care. Moreover, there is a lack of literature on artificial intelligence in the prediction and diagnosis of endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia and endometrial cancer. OBJECTIVE: This study analyzed different artificial intelligence methods to help in clinical decision-making and the prediction of endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia and endometrial cancer risks in pre- and postmenopausal women. This study aimed to investigate whether artificial intelligence may help to overcome the challenges that statistical and diagnostic tests could not. STUDY DESIGN: This study included 564 patients. The features that were collected included age, menopause status, premenopausal abnormal bleeding and postmenopausal bleeding, obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking, endometrial thickness, and history of breast cancer. Endometrial sampling was performed on all women with postmenopausal bleeding and asymptomatic postmenopausal women with an endometrial thickness of at least 3 mm. Endometrial biopsy was performed on premenopausal women with abnormal uterine bleeding and asymptomatic premenopausal women with suspected endometrial lesions. Python was used to model machine learning algorithms. Random forest, logistic regression, multilayer perceptron, Catboost, Xgboost, and Naive Bayes methods were used for classification. The synthetic minority oversampling technique was used to correct the class imbalance in the training sets. In addition, tuning and boosting were used to increase the performance of the models with a 5-fold cross-validation approach using a training set. Accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and F1 score were calculated. RESULTS: The prevalence of endometrial or preuterine cancer was 7.9%. Data from 451 patients were randomly assigned to the training group, and data from another 113 patients were used for internal validation. Of note, 3 of 9 features were selected by the Boruta algorithm for use in the final modeling. Age, body mass index, and endometrial thickness were all associated with a high risk of developing precancerous and cancerous diseases, after fine-tuning for the multilayer computer to have the highest area below the receiver operating characteristic curve (area under the curve, 0.938) to predict a precancerous disease. The accuracy was 0.94 for predicting a precancerous disease. Precision, recall, and F1 scores for the test group were 0.71, 0.50, and 0.59, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our study found that artificial intelligence can be used to identify women at risk of endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia and endometrial cancer. The model is not contingent on menopausal status or symptoms. This may be an advantage over the traditional methodology because many women, especially Black women and women from minority groups, could not recognize them. We have proposed to include patients to provide age and body mass index, and measurement of endometrial thickness by either sonography or artificial intelligence may help improve healthcare for women in rural or minority communities.

The Prognostic Effect of HER2 Gene Amplification in High-Grade Endometrial Carcinomas and its Correlation with Protein Overexpression.

Introduction. New therapeutic agents and biomarkers are needed for the treatment of aggressive endometrial cancer subtypes. Recently, HER2 has been recommended to be tested routinely in serous endometrial cancers. The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between HER2 (ERBB2) protein overexpression and HER2 gene amplification and the relationship of HER2 gene amplification with prognosis in cancers with serous morphology. In addition, the concordance of HER2 testing in paired curettage and hysterectomy specimens is also investigated. Methods. Twenty five serous carcinomas and 8 carcinosarcomas with a serous morphology were included in the study. HER2 staining was performed on whole tissue sections by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). The system, which was proposed by Fader et al was used to evaluate the stainings. Results. Protein overexpression was detected in 27.3% (n = 9) of the cases, and gene amplification in 30.3% (n = 10). A significant positive correlation was found between the two methods (P < .0001). HER2 IHC revealed a heterogeneous staining pattern, such as intense complete membranous in solid areas, and basolateral in papillary and glandular areas. HER2 gene amplification was significantly associated with shorter overall (P = .005) and disease-free (P = .014) survival. The concordence of the results in curettage and hysterectomy specimens was also significantly high. Conclusion. HER2 is an important prognostic and predictive marker for endometrial cancers with serous morphology. HER2 IHC/ISH testing can be performed by using diagnostic curettage specimens which contain enough viable tumor cells. However, pathologists should be aware of the intratumoral heterogeneity for HER2 staining.

The comparison of the prognostic value of scored patient generated subjective global assessment and Computed Tomography measured sarcopenia in patients with gynecological cancer.

BACKGROUND: Screening of the nutrition status is recommended for the early detection and treatment of cancer-associated malnutrition to improve the prognosis. We aimed to compare the prognostic value of Patient Generated-Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) and CT measured sarcopenia in patients with gynecological cancer. METHODS: A total of 107 patients of which were 57 endometrial, 37 ovarian, and 13 cervical cancer who underwent surgery and evaluated by PG-SGA were enrolled. Skeletal muscle index (SMI) was calculated by automatic segmentation of the muscle area at the L3 level on abdominal CT scan and defined by the cut-off value of 38.9 cm2/m2. Karnofsky and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status scorings were performed. Hospitalization length (HL), overall- (OS), and progression-free- survival (PFS) were analyzed. Body muscle index (BMI) (kg/m2) was calculated. Serum CA-125 and albumin levels were obtained. RESULTS: The prevalence of malnutrition and sarcopenia were 67% and 26.2%, respectively. BMI was significantly associated with PG-SGA (p = 0.02) and SMI (p = 0.01). PG-SGA significantly correlated with CA-125 (r = 0.33, p = 0.002), ECOG (r = 0.29, p = 0.002), Karnofsky (r = -0.34, p < 0.001), and HL (r = 0.27, p = 0.004). PG-SGA showed a significant association with PFS (p = 0.007) and OS (p = 0.001). PG-SGA≥9 showed a significant relationship with prolonged HL, mortality, and progression (OR = 1.08; p = 0.03, OR = 23.09; p = 0.003, and OR = 5.39; p = 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: PG-SGA can identify patients at nutritional risk earlier than SMI. PG-SGA shows a higher correlation with HL and clinical performance scores than SMI. PG-SGA is a better prognostic factor for prolonged HL, OS, and PFS.

Endometrial cancer: the role of MRI quantitative assessment in preoperative staging and risk stratification.

BACKGROUND: New methods to reduce subjectivity in preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) staging of endometrial cancer are needed. PURPOSE: To investigate the role of MRI quantitative assessment in staging and risk stratification of endometrial cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Preoperative T2-weighted (T2W) images and diffusion-weighted imaging of 42 patients were analyzed retrospectively by two radiologists. Tumor area ratio (TAR) and tumor volume ratio (TVRseg) were calculated by semi-automatic segmentation of the tumor and uterus on T2W imaging and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). TVR was also calculated by the 3D metric method (TVRmetric). Mean ADCtumor was calculated. The patients were allocated to risk groups regarding the stage, grade, and lymphovascular invasion (LVI) status. RESULTS: TAR, TVRmetric, T2W TVRseg, and ADC TVRseg showed a significant difference between the superficial and deep myometrial invasion groups (P < 0.001). All of these parameters showed a good diagnostic performance for detecting deep myometrial invasion (AUC>0.82), the highest accuracy rate (85%) was found with T2W TVRseg. LVI was significantly associated with TAR (P = 0.002) and T2W TVRseg (P = 0.014), while the cervical invasion was associated with TAR (P = 0.03). ADCtumor was significantly lower in high-grade tumors (P = 0.002). There was a significant difference in ADCtumor (P = 0.002), TAR (P = 0.004), and T2W TVRseg (P = 0.038) between the low- and high-risk groups. AUC of TAR and T2W TVRseg for detecting high-risk groups were 0.80 and 0.77, respectively, while AUC of ADCtumor for the low-risk group was 0.75. CONCLUSION: MRI quantitative assessments such as TAR, TVR, and ADCtumor may improve the accuracy of preoperative staging and can help in risk stratification of endometrial cancer.

Vaginally Assisted Laparoscopic Urethrolysis and Mesh Excision after Tension-free Vaginal Tape.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To present technique of vaginally assisted laparoscopic urethrolysis and mesh excision after tension-free vaginal tape. DESIGN: Demonstration video. SETTING: Despite the Food and Drug Administration's warning to limit the use of mesh, midurethral sling surgery (MUS) has not significantly decreased, but operations for complications have increased 3 times [1]. Urethral obstruction after MUS has an incidence of 2.7% to 11% [2] that requires resurgery, which ranges from pull-down, mesh excision to urethrolysis and is chosen by the surgeon's experience. Retropubic urethrolysis and mesh excision are reported to be more successful [3]. Urethrolysis can be performed by a retropubic, transvaginal, or suprameatal approach. Transvaginal mesh excision and urethrolysis are not satisfactory in all cases, and it might be difficult to identify the mesh if it is dislocated proximally or buried in dense fibrosis, which may increase urethral/bladder injuries. Although vaginal urethrolysis and mesh removal are usually preferred as the primary approach, there is no randomized controlled trial comparing retropubic and vaginal urethrolysis with/without mesh removal. Gynecologists should master each technique to provide individualized treatment. Laparoscopic urethrolysis has the advantage of the identification of neighboring structures and provides a safer operation (Fig. 1). Combined vaginal and laparoscopic approaches can be used to totally remove the mesh and for difficult surgeries at the junction of the retropubic urethra and the midurethra (Fig. 2). INTERVENTIONS: (1) Timing of urethrolysis is controversial. Although urethral loosening or pulling down in the first few days and mesh excision in the first 15 days can be useful, urethrolysis can be chosen for delayed cases with marked fibrosis. Preoperative diagnostic cystoscopy to exclude urethral mesh erosion is essential. Intermittent catheterization until surgery should be done. (2) The technique is described in 5 steps. The arcus tendineus is an important landmark [4] (Fig. 3). CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic urethrolysis for urinary obstruction after MUS can be a safe and successful procedure after failed vaginal approach or can be considered as a primary approach in select cases.

Correlation of 18F-FDG/PET SUVmax, SUVmean, MTV, and TLG with HIF-1α in Patients with Colorectal Cancer

Objectives: Post-hypoxia hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α activation plays a vital role in colorectal cancer (CRC) angiogenesis. Although glucose metabolism is induced in some cancer types via HIF-1α, the prognostic significance of HIF-1α in CRC and its correlation with 18fluorinefluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) uptake in positron emission tomography (PET) remain controversial. This study aims to investigate the association between 18F-FDG/PET parameters and HIF-1α expression in CRC. Methods: Thirty-six histopathologically confirmed patients with CRC who had 18F-FDG/PET scans before surgery were enrolled in the study. The correlations between the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), SUVmean, metabolic tumor volume (MTV), total lesion glycolysis, HIF-1α overexpression, and histopathological features were evaluated. Results: The tumor location, tumor diameter, perineural invasion, lymphovascular invasion, T and N stage were not significantly correlated with HIF-1α overexpression. In contrast, the tumor differentiation was negatively correlated with HIF-1α expression (r=-0.332, p=0.048). None of the 18F-FDG/PET parameters was significantly correlated with HIF-1α overexpression. A significant relationship was found between tumor differentiation, tumor necrosis percentage, and MTV (p=0.030, p=0.020). Conclusion: The expected association between HIF-1α overexpression and 18F-FDG/PET parameters was not found in this study. However, there was a relationship between MTV, tumor differentiation, and tumor necrosis percentage. Hence, further studies are required to predict the pathological and prognostic courses of CRC using a diagnostic 18F-FDG/PET evaluation.

Radical vulvectomy with right gluteal and left medial thigh V-Y advancement flap reconstruction

Vulvar cancer is rare. The vulva constitutes the external female genitalia and it is associated with the perineum with the intersection of urinary, sexual and anal systems. The deep anatomy of the perineum in the urogenital and anogenital triangle should be well-known to gynecological oncologists. Radical vulvectomy is the surgical treatment of choice in gross tumors expanding over the vulvar skin. After this type of excision, reconstruction is critically important because it is not always feasible to suture the vulvar defect in a primary manner. Thus, the reconstruction options should also be known to gynecological oncologists. Here, we present a video of radical vulvar cancer surgery, which was performed on a cadaver with gluteal and medial thigh V-Y advancement flap reconstruction.

Surgical risk assessment for gynecological oncologic patients.

OBJECTIVE: Preoperative surgical risk assessment is important in terms of postoperative morbidity and mortality. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the efficacy and safety of these surgeries via an ideal risk assessment model, and reduce risks via applying some findings (for instance, perioperative beta-blockers). There are some risk assessment systems, but these have generally not been verified for patients with gynecologic cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the risk of surgery for gynecological oncologic patients and suggest an easy risk assessment model and risk reduction by applying our findings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 258 gynecologic patients with cancer. Age, diagnosis, staging, performance scale, metoprolol use, heart, renal diabetes, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease, diabetes, operation type and length, carcinoma antigen 125, ascites, albumin, surgical procedure, hospitalization length, and complications were recorded. RESULTS: Of the 258 patients, 173 patients (67.1%) had no complications, 43 patients (16.7%) had one and 42 patients (16.3%) had two or more complications. The most common complication was the acid-base imbalance (14%), followed by urinary tract infection (9.7%). Parameters associated with complications were performance status, ascites, operating length, metoprolol use, and upper abdominal surgery. In our proposed scoring model with a total score range 0-23, cut-off value points for both the presence and rate of complications was found as >5. CONCLUSION: In gynecological patients with cancer, the addition of metoprolol use and upper abdominal surgery within preoperative risk assessment evaluation parameters are significantly effective in predicting the rate and severity of complications. Moreover, we have suggested a simple, practical, and convenient scoring model for this evaluation.

The parameters to estimate postoperative severe complications classified through Clavien-Dindo after upper abdominal surgery in patients with primary and recurrent ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVES: The more surgical effort and performing extensive upper abdominal surgery (UAS) are often required to accomplish the highest rates of optimally cytoreduction in patients with ovarian cancer. Nonetheless, the rate of complications increases with extensive surgery. We have studied the upper abdominal surgery complications by Clavien-Dindo Classification (CDC) and analyzed parameters affecting post-operative severe complications classified through Clavien-Dindo. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort of patients diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer from January 1st 2009 to April 30th 2016 was evaluated. Patients who underwent at least one UAS procedure with or without optimal cytoreduction for epithelial ovarian cancer (stage IIIC-IV or recurrent) were included. Postoperative complications were recorded according to the Clavien-Dindo Classification. RESULTS: In total, 58 patients were included. There were 120 UAS procedures performed on the 58 patients. Diaphragm peritonectomy was the most performed surgery (50%, 29/58), and then the other UAS procedures were liver surgery (39.7%, 23/58), cholecystectomy (24.1%, 14/58), splenic surgery (24.1%, 14/58), full-thickness diaphragm resection (22.4%, 13/58), pancreatic surgery (19%, 11/58), resection of tumor from porta hepatis (17.2%, 10/58), celiac lymph node excision (8.6%, 5/58), partial gastrectomy (1.7%, 1/58), respectively. Thirteen patients (22.4%) had post-operative grade 3-5 complications according to CDC within 30 days after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: This current study demonstrated that the addition of extensive upper abdominal surgery procedures were not associated with increased postoperative severe complications in patients with recurrent or advanced ovarian cancer. These procedures are safe and feasible for patients in need and also can be performed with acceptable mortality and morbidity.

Prognostic value of metabolic tumor volume and total lesion glycolysis assessed by 18F-FDG PET/CT in endometrial cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Surgical staging is the most confidential method for prognosis prediction. However, in which stage the surgery is needed and the treatment management of these patients is controversial. Presentation of new determinant factors with imaging methods for prediction of poor prognosis can provide better disease management. The aim of our study was to demonstrate the ability of metabolic tumor volume and total lesion glycolysis as a prognostic factor to predict the disease-free survival time, necessity of adjuvant radiotherapy-chemotherapy, and the association of these parameters with the clinicopathological features. METHODS: Forty-four endometrial cancer diagnosed patients whose PET/CT scans were performed for treatment planning were included in our study. Metabolic parameters (SUVmax, metabolic tumor volume, total lesion glycolysis) of the primary tumor were calculated. Abdominal hysterectomy was performed for all patients. Histopathologic findings were noted. Patients were followed for 31.4 ± 14.8 months. RESULTS: Metabolic tumor volume and total lesion glycolysis were significant prognostic factors for disease-free survival, whereas SUVmax did not effect disease-free survival. According to regression analysis, only metabolic tumor volume was found significant for radiotherapy planning (cutoff metabolic tumor volume; 26.30 ml). There was significant association between metabolic tumor volume, total lesion glycolysis and early-stage, myometrial invasion, and lymph node positivity. We observed only weak association between SUVmax and myometrial invasion. ROC curve calculated metabolic tumor volume and total lesion glycolysis cutoff values as 19.6 ml and 90 g for early-stage, 14.3 ml and 173.4 g for myometrial invasion, and 29.7 ml and 283.1 g for lymph node positivity, respectively. CONCLUSION: Metabolic tumor volume and total lesion glycolysis may be used as prognostic factors for endometrial cancer. The association between SUVmax and clinical findings, disease-free survival, histopathological features are weak. Further studies are needed for demonstrating the prognostic value of metabolic volumetric parameters.

Palliative pelvic exenteration using iliofemoral bypass with synthetic grafts for advanced cervical carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Recurrent cervical cancer can cause severe morbidity. Despite the severe morbidity after surgery, pelvic exenteration is still used today for mainly curative intent. This intention is neither based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) nor high quality non-RCTs with adequate patient numbers comparing medical management with surgery. The same is true for exenteration for palliative intent, so the patient selection for either curative or palliative intent must be considered on a patient-by-patient basis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 35-year-old patient who had undergone primary chemo-radiotherapy for advanced cervical cancer presented with intractable pain on the swollen left leg and pelvis 8 months later. Left lower extremity Doppler ultrasound revealed echogenic thrombus in the external iliac, femoral, and popliteal veins, consistent with acute deep vein thrombus. She underwent total exenteration, end colostomy, ileal urinary conduit, pelvic lymphadenectomy, paraortic lymph node sampling, and ilio-femoral arterial and venous bypass. RESULTS: The procedure relieved her pain, the leg diameter dramatically decreased from 75 cm to 44 cm, and circulation of the leg was reestablished. The procedure deferred leg amputation for about five months. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a palliative pelvic exenteration for cervical cancer with combined iliofemoral arterial and venous bypasses. These procedures, with high morbidity and mortality, are also more controversial when undertaken for just palliation of symptoms. They must be considered in the basis of each patient, and the benefits and risks must be discussed thoroughly in a realistic perspective with the patient.

Effect of using magnifying loupe glasses on lymphocele formation and surgical outcomes in gynecologic oncology.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of using magnifying loupes during surgery on surgical outcomes and lymphocele formation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 36 patients with gynecologic cancer who underwent pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy. Age, body mass index, menopausal status, type of cancer, comorbid diseases, preoperative albumin and albumin replacement therapy, performance status, serum CA125, hemoglobin, platelets and white blood cells, surgical procedure, blood loss, blood transfusion, the count of removed lymph nodes, presence of metastatic lymph nodes, total amount of drainage, postoperative complications, operation length, and count of used hemoclips were recorded. Patients were randomized into two groups: group 1 operated using loupe glasses, and group 2, without loupes. RESULTS: In the loupe-negative group, total drainage volume was 6698 mL, whereas in the loupe-positive group, it was only 1049 mL (p<0.01). Postoperatively, the mean drainage duration was 10.6±5.1 days in loupe-negative group and 4.8±2.4 days in the loupe-positive group (p=0.0001). There were no differences between the two groups in terms of surgical site infections, fascial defects, and pulmonary thromboembolism (p=0.39, 0.33, 0.59, respectively). There was no significant difference in the number of harvested lymph nodes in patients who underwent surgery with or without loupes being used. The count of used hemoclips were 50.22±8.05 and 41.38±9.7 for the loupe-negative and positive groups, respectively (p<0.01). There was no lymphocele in the loupe-positive group, but we detected 5 (27.8%) lymphocele in the loupe-negative group (p=0.05). CONCLUSION: Gynecologic oncologic surgeons can add magnifying loupe glasses to their armament and benefit from this technical device; lymphocele development, total drainage volume, length of drainage time, and clip counts can be decreased by using loupe glasses in gynecologic cancer surgery.

Impact of diabetes on gastrointestinal and urinary toxicity after radiotherapy for gynecologic malignancy.

OBJECTIVE: Although diabetes is a common co-morbidity in patients with gynecologic cancer, information about its impact on radiation toxicity in patients with gynecologic cancer treated with external pelvic irradiation is scarce. We aimed to investigate the relation of diabetes with acute toxicity in patients with gynecologic tumors who underwent pelvic +/- paraaortic radiotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred twenty-nine patients with endometrium or cervix carcinoma were enrolled in the study. Demographic features, presence of diabetes, incidence and severity of upper gastrointestinal (UGIS), lower gastrointestinal (LGIS), and urinary symptoms were recorded from files. Correlation and logistic regression analysis was used to determine the impact of diabetes, age, chemotherapy, paraaortic irradiation on toxicities, and a prediction model was developed. RESULTS: The median age of 77 patients with endometrium cancer and 52 cervix cancer was 61 (range, 25-92) years, and 28 (21.7%) of them had diabetes. The median pelvic and tumor/tumor bed dose was 5040+247.65 cGy and 5040+222.91 cGy, respectively. Age and Gr 0 UGIS toxicity were significantly related (p=0.047). LGIS Gr 0 toxicity was found to be significantly higher in patients with diabetes (p=0.045). Gr 0 and 2 UGIS toxicities were both found to be significantly correlated with paraaortic irradiation (both p<0.001). Diabetes is also an important determinant on UGIS toxicity in patients who underwent paraaortic irradiation. CONCLUSION: The correlation we found between toxicity and diabetes, concurrent chemotherapy or paraaortic radiation necessitates special care and risk stratification for patients with diabetes. Further prospective studies with long follow-up and larger patient groups are warranted.

Incidence of suspicious axillary lymph node involvement in fluorine-18 fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography in gynecologic cancers.

OBJECTIVE: There is scarce information about axillary lymph node involvement in gynecologic cancers. We analyzed the incidence of suspicious axillary lymph nodes in gynecologic cancers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the positron emission tomography/computed tomography findings of 251 patients with endometrial, cervical, and ovarian cancer. There is no cut-off value documented for axillary metastases from gynecologic cancers; therefore we adopted the cut-off standardized uptake values (SUVs) proclaimed in breast cancer. RESULTS: A total of 251 patients records were available for analysis; 40 patients (15.9%) with suspicious axillary lymph nodes were included in the study. Twenty-one and a half percent (n=20/93) of patients with endometrium cancer, 14.1% (n=14/99) of patients with ovarian cancer, and 10% (n=6/59) of those with cervical cancer had suspicious axillary lymph nodes. Patients with an maximum SUV (SUVmax) uptake higher than 3 underwent axillary lymph node biopsy. None of them was found to have axillary metastases of gynecologic cancers in the pathologic evaluation. In one patient with endometrial cancer, an obscure breast ductal carcinoma was diagnosed, another patient with endometrial cancer was found to have follicular lymphoma. The third patient with endometrial cancer had no malignancy in axillary lymph node biopsy, but had Hurthle cell neoplasia in a thyroid biopsy; the patient did not accept any surgical or medical treatment for endometrial cancer and died 23 months later. There were three (7.5%) metachronous cancers out of 40 gynecologic cancers; two patients were explained above, the third patient with endometrium cancer, who was not histopathologically evaluated although the axillary SUVmax was <3, had rectosigmoid cancer and glioblastoma metachronously. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that an important ratio (14-21%) of patients with gynecologic cancer has suspicious axillary lymph nodes. Increased SUVmax, particularly above 3, might be used as an indication for axillary biopsy and may help to identify secondary metastatic cancer.

Management of vesicovaginal fistulas after gynecologic surgery.

OBJECTIVE: In developed nations, surgery, especially gynecologic procedures, is the major cause of vesicovaginal fistulas (VVFs). We retrospectively evaluated our treatment modalities for VVF repair caused by a gynecologic surgery, and discussed the reasons of selecting certain surgical techniques and their outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We compared the surgical procedure preferences of surgeons and their results with patient and surgeon characteristics for the management of VVFs after an inciting gynecologic surgery in Süleyman Demirel University Hospital, Isparta over a 10-year period. The surgical procedures were undertaken in departments of urology and obstetrics and gynecology. RESULTS: Abdominal repair was chosen for 65%, vaginal repair for 25%, and laparoscopic repair for 10% of patients. For the 75% of the patients that urologists operated, they chose the abdominal route. The mean parity number of patients who underwent abdominal repair was lower than that for vaginal repairs (p<0.05). For the patients managed with the vaginal route, 20% had a Martius flap, and 80% had a simple excision and repair. For patients operated via the abdominal route, 18% needed omental flap; no tissue interposition was used for the rest. The mean hospitalization time was less in patients managed with transvaginal repair (3.4 days) compared with transabdominal repair (9.2 days) (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The choice of repair method depends on surgeon's training (gynecology vs. urology). The vaginal route should be the first choice because it does not compromise the success rate and the mean hospitalization time is less. For the transvaginal approach, access to the lesion is the most important factor for the success of the procedure. No flap is needed for tissues that appear well vascularized.

Things may not go as planned: The role of aortoiliac dilation and elongation during the estimation vascular structures' anatomical course.

•Variation of aortic morphology such as aortic dimensions, branching points, and correlation with adjacent structures is highlighted.•The mechanism of variance relies on the diseases such as arteriosclerosis, syphilis and hypertension.•Patients with hypertension, atherosclerosis, and aortic aneurysm should be excluded from the study because of the variation of aortic morphology is concluded.