Morgagni's Hernia: Analysis of 21 Patients with Our Clinical Experience in Diagnosis and Treatment.

A Morgagni's hernia is a congenital defect found in the anterior aspect of the diaphragm between the costal and the sternal portions of this muscle. This defect is also referred to as the space of Larrey. It has been reported that 70% of patients with Morgagni's hernia are female, 90% of the hernias are right-sided, and 92% of the hernias have hernia sacs. This type of hernia is a rare clinical entity and accounts for 3% of all surgically treated diaphragmatic hernias. There are no large retrospective or prospective studies on this topic. This type of hernia is a rare type among adults without a well-described prevalence and without well-established definitive management strategies. There are also few clinical reports about this clinical entity and its surgical treatment. We treated 21 patients with Morgagni's hernia in a 12-year period, and we report our experience while discussing the surgical treatment of this disease. We performed a retrospective review of the 21 patients who were operated between 2003 and 2015. These patients had undergone surgical repair of Morgagni's hernia. For each subject, demographic data, symptoms of presentation, physical examination findings, preoperative imaging studies and diagnosis, and surgical procedures were documented. Location of the hernia sac and its contents, postoperative complications, and duration of hospital stay were recorded and evaluated. Twelve patients were females and nine were males. The mean age of patients was 63.85 years. Dyspnea was the most prominent symptom in our patients. Morgagni's hernias were located on the right side in 19 patients and on the left side in 2 patients. Chest X-ray in 10 patients and abdominal computerized tomography in 17 patients were the major diagnostic tools. Four patients were operated as emergency while others underwent elective surgery (17 patients). Twelve patients were operated with laparoscopy and the remaining nine were operated with the conventional open abdominal technique. Hernia sacs were observed in all of the patients and removed except in four of them. The omentum and the transverse colon were the most commonly seen organs in hernia sacs. Hernia defects were repaired with primary sutures in four patients (all open cases) and primary closure supported with mesh in six patients (four laparoscopic, two open cases). In the remaining 11 patients, hernia defects were closed with synthetic meshes (eight laparoscopic, three open cases). Mean postoperative hospital stay was 9.8 days. No recurrence was observed in any patients. Only one of our patients died during follow-up. In Morgagni's hernias, surgical intervention is necessary as the hernia may cause complications such as strangulation of the colon or intestines. A laparoscopic approach has increased its popularity in recent years because of the well-known advantages of laparoscopy.

[Postoperative analgesic effect of acupuncture in laparoscopic cholecystectomy surgery]. / Laparoskopik kolesistektomi operasyonlarinda akupunktur uygulamasinin ameliyat sonrasi analjeziye etkisi.

OBJECTIVES: In surgery clinics, postoperative pain is a common occurrence and care is needed in its treatment. One form of treatment is various acupuncture techniques. This study investigated the effect of acupuncture on postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. METHODS: A total of 59 patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy were included in the study; 31 comprised the acupuncture group (Group A), and 29 constituted the control group (group C). All patients underwent standard anesthesia procedures. Patient-controlled analgesia with tramadol was administered postoperatively. Patients' postoperative pain scores, results of the satisfaction questionnaire and amounts of tramadol used were recorded. Postoperative 0, 1st, 2nd, 6th, 12th and 18th hour controls were performed. RESULTS: A comparison of the groups showed Group A pain scores to be significantly lower statistically than those of Group C at all postoperative controls. There was no statistically significant difference for postoperative analgesic consumption and satisfaction level between the groups. CONCLUSION: Despite detection of a reduction in postoperative pain scores, the application of acupuncture did not cause any change in the consumption of tramadol.

Effects of systemic erythropoietin on ischemic wound healing in rats.

Results of in vivo studies have shown erythropoietin (EPO) is associated with anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and cell protective effects on wound healing. These effects are dose-dependent. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the duration of EPO treatment affects the healing process in the ischemic wound. Forty-two (42) Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized, wounded with H-shaped flaps, and randomized to 2 groups; Group 1 received 400 u/kg/day EPO and Group 2 received a saline solution, both via intraperitoneal injection following the wounding. All substances were administered once daily at the same time for up to 10 days after surgery. At days 3, 5, and 10, 7 rats from each group were sacrificed. Skin samples were stained with hematoxylin/eosin, viewed under an optical microscope at 10X and 40X magnification, and analyzed by blinded investigators for re-epithelialization, neovascularization amount and maturation of granulation tissue, inflammatory cells, and ulcer healing using an evaluation scale where 0 = none; 1 = partial; 2 = complete, but immature/thin: and 4 = complete and mature. Blood hemoglobin and hematocrit levels also were measured. Data were analyzed using ANOVA one-way test (P <0.05). Hemoglobin and hematocrit levels rose while subsequent doses of EPO were administered over time, accompanied by a transient surge in healing on day 5, when differences in healing scores were significant. Flap necrosis, ulceration, and abscess were noted on post-wounding day 10 near the pedicle. The study showed EPO therapy can improve wound healing early in the post-wounding period but can reduce wound healing after post-injury treatment day 5. Further research is necessary, particularly to establish how EPO influences the microcirculation and rheology.