Impact of bariatric and metabolic surgery education program on the knowledge and attitude of medical students.

Objectives: Bariatric and metabolic surgery (BMS) is the most effective treatment method of morbid obesity. Optimum education of medical students regarding BMS is important for proper assessment of morbidly obese patients in the future. Material and Methods: Medical students from five and six years were determined as the targeted study population. A survey including 17 questions was applied through a web-based survey platform. Students who replied the survey were classified into two groups: distinct bariatric and metabolic surgery education program (BMSEP) (+) and (-). The answers of two groups were compared using Chi-square test. Results: In total, 845 students replied the survey. Surgery referral rates were higher (33.4% vs. 26.5%, p <0.05), referring to alternative treatment methods were low (4.9% vs. 11.9%, p <0.05), the answer rate of "absolutely agree" was higher and "have no idea" was lower in questions regarding the indications of BMS for the sample patient with body mass index (BMI)> 40 kg/m2 and the sample patient with BMI between 35-40 kg/m2 in the BMSEP (+) group (p <0.05). However, the two groups were comparable for the answers given for the sample patient of BMI 30-35 kg/m2 with uncontrolled diabetes. The rate of first-degree relative referral to BMS when indicated was higher in the BMSEP (+) group. Effectiveness of surgery, cost and risk perception were comparable between the two groups. Conclusion: This study showed that medical students who have a distinct BMSEP in their medical school have better level of knowledge and comparable risk perception regarding BMS. Structured education programs in BMS may directly improve knowledge, perception, and attitude of medical students and indirectly increase the role of primary care physicians in patient referral to BMS and long-term follow-up.

Bilateral 4-quadrant laparoscopic-assisted transversus abdominis plane block reduces early postoperative pain after laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A prospective, single-blind, randomized study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the efficacy of bilateral 4-quadrant laparoscopic-assisted transversus abdominis plane (BLTAP) block in laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). METHODS: This study was carried out at Private Medicabil Hospital, Bursa, Turkey, between September 2021 and March 2022. Patients were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=40, each): i) the standard analgesia (SA) group received the block and port-site infiltration with normal saline (NS); ii) the local anesthetic group received the block with NS and port-site infiltration of bupivacaine; iii) the unilateral laparoscopic-assisted transversus abdominis plane (ULTAP) block group received 2-quadrant block with bupivacaine on the right and NS on the left and port-site NS infiltration; and iv) the BLTAP block group received bilateral bupivacaine and port-site NS infiltration. Postoperative 1-, 3-, 6-, 12-, and 24-hours visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores at rest and during cough, opioid requirement, presence of nausea and vomiting, and satisfaction scores were recorded. RESULTS: The one-hour VAS score at rest was lower in the BLTAP block group than in the SA and ULTAP block groups. The change in VAS score was higher in the SA group than in the BLTAP block group. During cough, the one-hour VAS score was lower in the BLTAP block group than in the SA group. There were no differences among groups in other parameters. CONCLUSION: Bilateral 4-quadrant laparoscopic-assisted transversus abdominis plane block technique is more effective than SA, local anesthetic infiltration, and ULTAP block in preventing early postoperative pain after LC.Clinicaltrials.gov No.: NCT04641403.

Turkish primary care physicians' attitudes and knowledge of obesity and bariatric surgery: a survey study.

OBJECTIVES: This survey study attempted to determine Turkish primary care physicians' (PCP) knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of obesity treatment and bariatric surgery. Moreover, the relationship between the duration of practice as a physician, and especially the indications for bariatric surgery and referral to surgery were investigated. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A survey of 27 questions was administered via social media and the internet using the SurveyMonkey platform. The physicians who responded to the survey were grouped based on the duration of working life. Among these groups, the responses to the questions about bariatric surgery were compared using univariate analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1044 physicians responded to the survey. The number of physicians who strongly agreed that a PCP should play role in the treatment of obesity was 743 (71.1%). The most important reason for not undertaking this treatment was reported as the requirement for a multidisciplinary approach to obesity treatment (51.5%, n= 537). The percentage of those who thought that patients with a body mass index (BMI) above 40 kg/m2 should be referred to surgery was 72.3%,while the percentage of those referring patients with a BMI of 35-40 kg/m2 and comorbidities to surgery was 53.3%, and the percentage of those referring patients with a BMI of 35-40 kg/m2 and uncontrolled diabetes to surgery was 35.9%. Physicians who were new to the profession were found to evaluate surgical indications more positively (p <0.05). CONCLUSION: This study found that PCPs in Turkey had a basic knowledge of obesity treatment and were willing to treat and follow up these patients. However, it was observed that they could not adequately focus on this issue due to the requirement for a multidisciplinary approach to the disease and the workload. It was found that the young physiciansð level of knowledge of bariatric surgery was higher, but their attitudes towards patient referral were similar.

Effect of chitosan coating on surgical sutures to strengthen the colonic anastomosis.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the feasibility of chitosan-coated sutures for intestinal anastomosis strength through wound-healing effect. METHODS: Vicryl and PDS sutures were coated with 2% chitosan. While laparotomy was applied to the first group, chitosan was applied in the peritoneal cavity in the second group. Then the following materials were applied to colon anastomosis, in order: Vicryl, PDS, chitosan-coated Vicryl, and chitosan-coated PDS sutures. On the 7th and 14th days, eight rats from each group were euthanized. RESULTS: The adhesion scores of chitosan and control groups were lower than the suture groups. The vascularization of Vicryl-chitosan was lower than PDS-chitosan on the 14th day (p=0.038). Fibroblast cells and vascularization of anastomosis with chitosan-coated Vicryl were lower than Vicryl and chitosan-coated PDS on the 14th day (p<0.05). The tensile strength of Vicryl-chitosan increased more than Vicryl in vitro (p<0.05) on the 14th and 7th days, but there was no difference in vivo. The tensile strength of PDS-chitosan decreased more than PDS on the 7th day in vivo (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The chitosan-coating effect on the adhesion and reinforcement of anastomosis in some parts of Vicryl in vitro and PDS in vivo was slightly improved.

The protective effect of ClinOleic against post-surgical adhesions.

BACKGROUND: Although the English-language literature is full of studies about post-surgical adhesions, no definitive method has yet been identified to prevent them. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of ClinOleic on reducing post-surgical adhesion formation. METHODS: Surgery was performed on 40 adult female Sprague-Dawley rats that were randomly assigned to receive either intraperitoneal ClinOleic, which was used to mimic chyle (ClinOleic group), soybean oil (soybean oil group), olive oil (olive oil group), or 0.9% NaCl suspension (control group). All rats underwent laparotomy, side-wall and cecal abrasion, and primary closure. On the 30th day following surgery, rats were sacrificed and examined using the Majuzi adhesion classification and histopathological grading scales. RESULTS: The adhesion and histopathological scores of the ClinOleic group were significantly lower compared to the control group (0.9% NaCl) (p<0.05). A statistically significant decrease in fibrosis was observed in the soybean and olive oil groups when compared to the control group (p<0.05). However, the adhesion grades of the ClinOleic, soybean and olive oil groups were comparable. We did not observe any post-surgical adhesions in the ClinOleic group. CONCLUSION: The parenteral nutrition solution ClinOleic may be an effective and readily available agent for the prevention of post-surgical adhesions.

Treatment of sleeve gastrectomy leak with an endoscopic stent.

Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is used increasingly for obesity treatment. The most important complications of this procedure are bleeding and staple line leak. In this article, a 44-year-old female patient who developed a leak at the gastro-oesophageal junction following a revision laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is presented. The leak was recognized by computerized tomography and fluoroscopy that were performed during endoscopy. A fully expandable covered stent was inserted to the leak site. The stent was removed endoscopically after three weeks and the fistula healed completely. Early use of stents is an effective treatment method in leaks that have developed after sleeve gastrectomy.

Acute chylous peritonitis: Report of a case.

INTRODUCTION: Acute chylous peritonitis, a rare condition, is defined as an abrupt chylous fluid accumulation in the peritoneal space in the absence of a significant underlying pathology. Diagnosis is difficult due to abrupt onset and accompanying acute abdomen signs. PRESENTATION OF CASE: Here we presented the case of a 32-year-old female patient who underwent laparoscopy due to acute abdomen findings and was diagnosed with acute chylous peritonitis. No underlying pathologies were detected, and only irrigation and drainage were applied. She was discharged unproblematically with a low-fat diet and somatostatin administration. No recurrence occurred, and no other pathologies were encountered during her 9-month visit. DISCUSSION: Chylous fluid accumulation is reported to arise from various etiological factors such as trauma, chronic liver diseases, tuberculosis, filariasis, radiation, abdominal aorta surgery, different peritoneal infection and extended lymph node dissections. We have presented an acute chylous peritonitis case that was admitted with acute abdomen findings and followed up and treated with laparoscopy. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, this case demonstrates the effectiveness of laparoscopy in acute abdomen cases in which a specific preoperative diagnosis cannot be made. Aspiration of the fluid and drainage comprise a sufficient therapy if a focus cannot be found. Postoperative somatostatin use may be beneficial.

Ogilvie's syndrome following bilateral knee arthroplasty: a case report.

Ogilvie's syndrome, also known as acute colonic pseudo-obstruction, is an uncommon but severe postoperative complication of total hip and knee arthroplasty. This syndrome should be borne in mind after arthroplasty surgery. We present a case of this serious postoperative complication and aim to identify the risk factors and alert surgeons to the possibility and appropriate management of Ogilvie's syndrome.

Factors affecting mortality in patients with thorax trauma.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to define the epidemiologic properties and correlation of physiological and anatomical risk factors with the mortality rate among patients with thorax trauma and to ensure early prediction of severe trauma. METHODS: Files of 371 cases were retrospectively examined. Their initial state in the emergency department was analyzed in terms of mortality development. Age, gender, trauma mechanism, systolic blood pressure and respiration type on admission, accompanying injuries, thorax pathology, trauma scores, and treatment approaches in exitus and surviving cases were compared. Survival probabilities and unexpected mortality rates were computed using the Trauma Revised Score-Injury Severity Score (TRISS). RESULTS: Age, hypotension, pathologic respiration, blunt injury, accompanying injury, abdominal trauma, high Injury Severity Score (ISS), and low Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Revised Trauma Score (RTS), and TRISS were the factors affecting mortality, and presence of blunt injuries, TRISS <85, ISS >22 and GCS <13 were found to be independent prognostic factors. The strongest factor indicating mortality was TRISS. Thirty-four of 307 cases with survival probability of over 50% died. CONCLUSION: In the presence of factors affecting mortality, patients with thorax trauma should be evaluated as being in a high-risk group and treatment strategies must be aggressive. Case analysis based on the TRISS model would further reveal the mistakes and may improve patient care.

Maspin expression in gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the role of maspin expression in the progression of gastrointestinal stromal tumors, and its value as a prognostic indicator. METHODS: In the study 54 patients with GIST diagnosis were included in Uludag University of Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pathology between 1997-2007. The expression of maspin in 54 cases of gastrointestinal stromal tumor was detected by immunohistochemistry and compared with the clinicopathologic tumor parameters. RESULTS: The positive expression rates for maspin in the GISTs were 66.6% (36 of 54 cases). Maspin overexpression was detected in 9 of 29 high risk tumors (31%) and was significantly higher in very low/low (78.6%) and intermediate-risk tumors (63.6%) than high-risk tumors. CONCLUSIONS: Maspin expression might be an important factor in tumor progression and patient prognosis in GIST. In the future, larger series may be studied to examine the prognostic significance of maspin in GISTs and, of course, maspin expression may be studied in different mesenchymal tumors.

Comparison of trauma scoring systems for predicting mortality in firearm injuries.

BACKGROUND: Prediction of mortality in trauma patients is an important part of trauma care. Trauma scoring systems are the current methods used for prediction of mortality. We aimed to evaluate and compare the performances of Injury Severity Score (ISS) and New Injury Severity Score (NISS) in firearm injuries. METHODS: Records of 135 firearm-injured patients who applied to Uludag University Emergency Department between January 2001 and December 2005 were analyzed retrospectively. All patients' data, including age, gender, cause of injury, initial vital signs, injury region, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Revised Trauma Score (RTS), mortality, operation data, and final diagnosis, were collected, and ISS, NISS and Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) were calculated. RESULTS: Mortality rate was 12.6%. The patients' mean GCS, RTS, ISS, NISS, and TRISS scores were 13.41 +/- 0.31, 10.65 +/- 0.26, 17.04 +/-1.20, 21.94 +/- 1.45, and 9.52 +/- 2.37, respectively. The patients were divided into two groups as ISS = NISS (53.3%) and ISS < NISS (46.7%). CONCLUSION: ISS and NISS both performed well in mortality prediction of firearm injuries. NISS demonstrated no superiority to ISS for prediction of mortality in these patients.

A case of diaphragmatic rupture after strenuous exercise (swimming) and jump into the sea.

A 20-year-old male patient with complaints of severe chest pain, difficulty in oral feeding, and a feeling of swelling in the abdomen was admitted to the Emergency Clinic. His complaints had begun 15 days prior to admission after strenuous swimming and a jump into the sea from a height of half a meter. Elevation of the left diaphragm was observed on the chest radiography and computerized tomography revealed a rupture in the left diaphragm. Surgical repair was done. The patient attended regular follow-ups and appeared to have no complications as of the sixth month after the treatment.

The use of vacuum assisted closure therapy in the management of Fournier's gangrene.

BACKGROUND: Vacuum Assisted Closure (VAC; Kinetic Concepts, Inc., San Antonio, TX) has been used to successfully treat a variety of complex wounds. This technique was investigated for use in managing Fournier's gangrene following initial debridement. METHODS: Ten patients with Fournier's gangrene were treated in this study. After initial surgical debridement, 5 were treated using conventional therapy and 5 were treated with VAC at each dressing change. The effectiveness and cost of VAC for this indication were assessed; patient and physician satisfaction were also determined. RESULTS: Conventional and VAC treatment were equally effective in healing the wounds. The total costs of each treatment were similar. With the use of VAC, patients had fewer dressing changes, less pain, fewer skipped meals, and greater mobility. Hands-on treatment time was decreased for physicians using VAC. CONCLUSIONS: VAC therapy is an effective and economical way to manage Fournier's gangrene. Patients and physicians were more satisfied with VAC therapy than with conventional treatment.

Should the New Injury Severity Score replace the Injury Severity Score in the Trauma and Injury Severity Score?

BACKGROUND: This study was performed to compare the efficacies of Injury Severity Score (ISS) and New Injury Severity Score (NISS), and to investigate whether replacing ISS with NISS in Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) changes the predictive power for mortality. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 550 patients aged over 16 years seen in our center over a period of four years who had injuries in at least two organ systems. The ISS, NISS and TRISS were calculated for each patient. TRISS was calculated in two ways: TRISS 1 with age, Revised Trauma Score (RTS) and ISS, and TRISS 2 with age, RTS and NISS. The cut-off values for TRISS 1, TRISS 2, ISS and NISS were determined by ROC analysis. RESULTS: The ideal cut-off values for the prediction of mortality were 21.0 (AUC: 0.907) for ISS and 25.0 (AUC: 0.914) for NISS. There was no statistically significant difference between the ROC curves of ISS and NISS. The ideal cut-off values for predicting mortality were 90 (AUC: 0.934) for TRISS 1 and 86 (AUC: 0.935) for TRISS 2. There was no statistically significant difference between the ROC curves of TRISS 1 and TRISS 2. CONCLUSION: Use of NISS instead of ISS in the TRISS model demonstrated no significant difference, and it can thus be recommended for use.

MR imaging in the detection of diffuse axonal injury with mild traumatic brain injury.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the occurrence and distribution of mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) caused by diffuse axonal injury (DAI) using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and to attempt to correlate MR findings with post-concussion symptoms (PCS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty MTBI patients (mean age: 32.5 years) with normal cranial computed tomography (CT) findings were examined with standard MR protocol including T(1)-weighted, T(2)-weighted, fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), gradient echo (GRE) and diffusion-weighted (DW) sequences. MR imaging was performed within 24 hours of injury. The lesions were classified as DAI based on their location and morphologic appearance. RESULTS: In MR imaging of five (12.5%) of the patients, the lesions compatible with DAI were observed. Four patients (10%) had the foci of low signal intensity compatible with hemorrhagic shear injury on the GRE sequence, and five (12.5%) patients had high signal intensity on FLAIR and DW sequence. CONCLUSION: MR imaging can be helpful in revealing DAI lesions in patients with normal CT scan findings after MTBI. FLAIR, GRE and DW sequences are superior to conventional spin-echo images in detecting DAI lesions.

[Diagnostic accuracy of symptoms, signs and one-year prognosis of patients with acute non-specific abdominal pain: prospective survey]. / Akut nonspesifik karin agrili olgularin bir yillik prognozlari, semptom ve bulgularinin tanisal dogrulugu.

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to determine the diagnostic value of elements of the disease history, the clinical findings and basic laboratory examinations in differential diagnosis of the patients with nonspecific abdominal pain and to analyze the long-term survey of these patients. METHODS: A prospective observational study was performed at the Department of General Surgery Medicine Faculty of Uludag University between November 2001 to November 2002. Based on the diagnosis reasons for abdominal pain, 610 patients were classified as being of specific abdominal pain (n=501) versus nonspecific abdominal pain (n=109). Patients with nonspecific abdominal pain were invited to a follow-up examination 24 hours later and 4 follow-up interviews were conducted on days 8, 15, 30 and at the end of 1 year. Statistical analyses were performed between findings of two groups. RESULTS: In logistic regression analysis, presence of a history of similar pain (odds ratio 1.88; p=0.009), nausea (odds ratio 0.46; p=0.001), rigidity (odds ratio 0.24; p=0.024), fever < or = 36.6 degrees C (odds ratio 1.66; p=0.037), leukocyte count < or = 8700 (odds ratio 1.85; p=0.011), age < or = 39 years (odds ratio 1.85; p=0.018), respiratory rate < or = 15 (odds ratio 3.19; p=0.00..) were significantly independent diagnostic factors. There was no malignancy during one-year follow-up period. CONCLUSION: The possibility of a specific cause is higher in patients with history of a similar pain, nausea, rigidity, fever >36.6 degrees C, leukocyte count >8700, age >39 years, respiratory rate >15 in admission and persistent pain 24 hours after discharge.

Metastatic/resected lymph nodes ratio-based classification in gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Many studies have shown that the metastatic lymph node ratio, calculated by dividing the number of metastatic lymph nodes by the total number of lymph nodes, is an important prognostic factor in gastric cancer. In the present study, the applicability of the metastatic in the 1997 Tumor Node Metastasis system was investigated using our clinical data and discussed in light of the literature. METHODS: The study was performed on the 166 patients with gastric cancer in whom R0 resection could be performed and more than 15 nodes were resected. The possible effects of age, gender, location, type of resection, number of resected lymph nodes, depth of invasion, number of involved lymph nodes, tumor grade and metastatic on survival were analyzed. RESULTS: There was a direct correlation between the total number of nodes and the number of metastatic nodes (r: 0.319, p<0.0001). However, there was no correlation between metastatic and the total number of nodes (r: 0.0072, p: 0.354). Tumor location, size, depth of invasion, number of involved nodes and metastatic were found to be determinants of survival in univariate analysis. Cox regression analysis identified metastatic as the only independent prognostic factor. CONCLUSIONS: A new staging system based on metastatic will be resistant to stage migration and will include the surgical approach in staging. However, further studies are required to determine appropriate cutoff values and the best approach to patients with less than 15 resected nodes.

Secondary aortoenteric fistula in a patient with Behçet disease: successful surgical treatment by direct suture and use of omental flap.

The aim of this report is to present a patient with Behçet disease who developed massive lower gastrointestinal tract bleeding owing to aortoenteric fistula after abdominal aorta graft reconstruction. A 34-year-old male with a history of Behçet disease for 8 months underwent surgery owing to massive hematochezia and hemodynamic instability. A fistula was observed between the proximal small intestinal segment and the aortic graft (proximal anastomosis) at the infrarenal level. The prosthesis was not removed but was wrapped with the vascularized pedicle of the omentum that passed through the mesentery of the transverse colon. The patient was discharged on the fifty-ninth day. At the 15-month follow-up appointment, the patient was in excellent condition. Although our surgical choice was not a standard approach for this type of aortoenteric fistula, it was a lifesaving procedure in our patient.

Factors affecting mortality and morbidity after traumatic diaphragmatic injury.

PURPOSE: We review our 11-year experience of treating diaphragmatic injury (DI), to identify the factors determining mortality and morbidity. METHODS: We analyzed the effects of demographic characteristics, type of injury (blunt or penetrating), number of injured organs, injury severity score (ISS), revised trauma score (RTS), Glasgow coma score, and intensive care unit and hospital stay, on complications and mortality, in 51 patients treated for DI between January 1995 and December 2005. RESULTS: Twenty-six (51%) patients suffered blunt injury and 25 (49%) suffered penetrating injury. The left diaphragm was injured in 40 (78%) patients, the right in 10 (19%), and both sides in 1 (2%). Only three (5.8%) patients had no concomitant injury. The diagnosis was made by the findings of laparotomy on 34 patients (65%), preoperative chest X-ray on 13 (25%), computed tomography on 2 (3.9%), and laparoscopy on 2 (3.9%). Complications developed in 23 (44%) patients and overall mortality was 19.6% (10/51). An ISS > 13 was found to be an independent prognostic factor for morbidity, whereas an RTS < or = 11, age > or = 48 years, and a major postoperative complication were independent prognostic factors for mortality. CONCLUSION: Establishing a preoperative diagnosis of DI is still problematic. Aggressive treatment and close monitoring of patients with an ISS > 13, an RTS < or = 11, an age > or = 48 years, or a postoperative complication may decrease morbidity and mortality.