The importance of the scoring system in Fournier's gangrene.

BACKGROUND: The objective of the study was to investigate risk factors affecting mortality rates in patients with Fournier's gangrene (FG) and develop methods to increase the survival rate. METHODS: We collected data of 73 patients treated for FG between February 2012 and June 2021 at Istanbul Professor Doctor Cemil Tasçioglu City Hospital General Surgery Clinic. The data of living patients (Group 1, n=56) and deceased patients (Group 2, n=17) were analyzed separately. Demographic data of patients were sex, age, infection rate, Uludag FG severity index (UFGSI) scores and FG severity index (FGSI) scores, urea serum levels, the source of infection, the presence of diabetes, obesity, the presence of diversion stoma, duration of vacuum-assisted closure treatment in days, hospitalization time in days, intensive care period in days, and isolated bacterial species. RESULTS: The mortality rate was 23%. A significant difference in age and dissemination score of the infection was found between the two groups. According to UFGSI and FGSI scores, the scores of the two groups of patients were significantly higher. The UFGSI had 100% sensitivity and 68% sensitivity. FGSI had 82% sensitivity and 58% specificity. The cutoff values for UFGSI and FGSI were 8 and 6, respectively. CONCLUSION: Age and dissemination scores of diseases were important factors that cause mortality in patients with FG. However, an accurate scoring system is important in predicting patients to be treated in the intensive care unit (ICU). Patients with a UFGSI score above 8 face a higher risk of death and should be treated in the ICU.

Comparison of Mortality in Fournier's Gangrene with the Two Scoring Systems.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the factors associated with mortality in Fournier's gangrene (FG) toward informing the development of effective treatment strategies. STUDY DESIGN: A descriptive study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of Surgery, University of Health Sciences, Okmeydani Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey, from February 2012 to September 2017. METHODOLOGY: Informations of 30 patients treated for FG were examined retrospectively. The deceased patients (Group 1, n = 8) were analysed separately from the living ones (Group 2, n = 22). Informations in this analysis contained gender, age score, dissemination score, Uludag Fournier's Gangrene Severity Index (UFGSI) and Fournier's Gangrene Severity Index (FGSI) scores, serum levels of urea, infection source, the presence of diabetes, obesity, and other comorbidities, the presence of stoma for diversion, duration of the vacuum-assisted closure treatment, hospitalisation time, intensive care period, and species of bacteria isolated. RESULTS: The overall mortality rate was detected as 26%. A significant difference between the two groups concerning age score of UFGSI parameters was found. The dissemination score of the infection, which is one of the UFGSI parameters, was significantly higher in Group 1 than in Group 2. According to UFGSI and FGSI scores, the scores of group 1 patients were significantly higher. To determine the incidence of mortality, the UFGSI and FGSI had 87.5% sensitivity and had 96% and 91% specificity, respectively. The cut-off values for UFGSI and FGSI were 10 and seven, respectively. CONCLUSION: Based on the findings described in this study, age and dissemination scores from the UFGSI can be used to predict patient outcome. Patients with a UFGSI score greater than 10 have a higher mortality rate.

Acute biliary pancreatitis during pregnancy and in the post-delivery period.

BACKGROUND: Acute pancreatitis has an incidence of approximately 1 in 1000 to 5000 pregnancies, and is most often seen in the third trimester or the postpartum period. The most common cause of pregnancy-related acute pancreatitis is cholelithiasis, which accounts for more than 65% of cases. The aim of this study was to present a detailed analysis of 4 years of experience with cases of acute biliary pancreatitis related to pregnancy from a single center. METHODS: The medical records of 55 consecutive patients who were hospitalized in the emergency surgery clinic for acute biliary pancreatitis related to pregnancy between January 1, 2014 and January 1, 2018 were examined in this single-center, retrospective study. RESULTS: Fifty-five patients with acute biliary pancreatitis related to pregnancy were included in the study. Of the 55 women, 13 (24%) were in the pregnant group, 28 (51%) in the postpartum (6 weeks) group, and 14 (25%) were in the 1-year (6 weeks-1 year) group. There was no statistically significant difference between the 3 groups. The most appropriate treatment for each patient was targeted. Six (10%) patients had recurrent acute pancreatitis. There was no maternal or fetal mortality or morbidity. CONCLUSION: Acute biliary pancreatitis related to pregnancy is not limited to pregnant women, and the incidence of these cases was greater than expected. Acute biliary pancreatitis related to pregnancy can be successfully managed with conservative treatment because it usually has a mild to moderate clinical course. However, the surgeon should keep an early cholecystectomy in mind for patients other than those in the first trimester.

Etiology, management, and survival of acute mechanical bowel obstruction: Five-year results of a training and research hospital in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Acute mechanical bowel obstruction (AMBO) is still a major surgical problem for emergency departments. The aim of this study was to evaluate AMBO in terms of etiology, management, and survival. METHODS: Data of the age, sex, etiology, management, and survival of patients who were hospitalized for bowel obstruction between January 2014 and December 2018 were evaluated retrospectively. Adhesions, tumors, hernias and peritoneal carcinomatosis were evaluated in detail. RESULTS: A total of 735 patients were included in the study. The obstruction was located in the small bowel (AMSBO) in 60% and in the large bowel (AMLBO) in 40%. The mean patient age was 59.9+-16.02 years and 52.9% of the patients were male. Adhesion, tumor, and hernia were the most common etiologies of the overall AMBO group (43.3%, 26.2%, and 6%, respectively). The most common etiology for AMSBO was an adhesion (69.3%), while it was a tumor for AMLBO cases (61.6%). The most common management of AMBO patients was a conservative approach (53.2%; adhesions: 76.7%). Surgical palliation was performed in 24.9% (peritoneal carcinomatosis: 65.7%), and resection was performed in 21.9% (volvulus: 61.9%). The mortality rate in the group was 8.6%. The most common etiology was colorectal surgery (51.4%) for adhesions, colorectal cancer (93.8%) for tumors, and incisional hernia (47.7%) in cases of hernia-related AMBO. CONCLUSION: Adhesions, tumors, and hernias are the most common etiologies of AMBO. The incidence of femoral/inguinal hernia have decreased while that of incisional hernia has increased, and it was further observed that peritoneal carcinomatosis has now become as common as hernia as a cause.

Neuroendocrine tumor of the appendix: Twelve years of results from a single institution.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of appendiceal neuroendocrine tumors (NET) in an acute appendicitis cohort, as well as to investigate the behavioral form of the tumor. Our secondary aim was to investigate survival in patients with appendiceal NET. METHODS: Between February 2006 and June 2018, 6518 appendectomies were performed for acute appendicitis in the department of surgery, University of Health Sciences, Okmeydani Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. The medical records of these consecutive 6518 appendectomy patients were evaluated retrospectively. After the histopathological analysis, a total of 22 patients were identified as cases of appendiceal NET. These patients were included in the study. A retrospective analysis of data including gender, age, intraoperative surgical findings, duration of postoperative follow-up and survival, tumor localization, the diameter of the tumor, tumor grade, invasion, surgical margin, and stage of the tumor was performed. RESULTS: The incidence of appendiceal NET was 0.33%. Eleven patients were diagnosed as primary pathological stage pT1aN0M0 according to the European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society guidelines. One patient was diagnosed as primary pathological stage pT1bN0M0, and 10 patients were diagnosed as primary pathological stage pT2N0M0. The median tumor diameter was 7.6 mm. There was no patient with a tumor diameter greater than 20 mm. CONCLUSION: The incidence of appendiceal NET in our study is consistent with that stated in the literature. The results of our research suggest that further surgical procedures for NETs that occur coincidentally in patients of the AA cohort are often unnecessary. In addition, the study revealed that disease-free survival (100%) was good over a mean follow-up of 59.2 months.

Management of enteroatmospheric fistula thanks to new isolation technique.

We aimed to present our method called as new isolation technique with stopper (NITS) to manage enteroatmospheric fistula (EAF) in an open abdomen (OA). The patient was a 71-year-old male with Hartmann colostomy and incisional hernia. A dual mesh was used for incisional hernia repair after colorectal anastomosis. The patient was urgently re-admitted to hospital due to EAF on the postoperative 30th day. The NITS application was performed twice at different times. General anesthesia was not required for the applications, but sterile conditions in operation room were provided. A Penrose drain was sutured with 5/0 polydioxanone onto the mucosa of EAF orifice. A small pool was created to protect enteric content from leakage. The leak test was performed by spilling saline into this pool. The sponge with visceral organ protector around the pool was adhered by adhesive sterile drape, and one opening was performed on drape. Negative pressure therapy was launched with -75 mmHg in continuous form. EAF was isolated from the OA wound and sponge with the help of stopper performed with adaptable and obstacle ring paste. After these two applications, EAF was converted to stoma. The anastomosis of small intestine was performed 45 days later. In our NITS system, control of EAF may be successfully provided besides prevention of loss of enteric fluid and electrolyte. Advantages of NITS: 1) Successful control in all types of EAF is possible with NITS. 2) The required material for NITS system can be found easily. 3) All types of EAF can be converted into stoma in a short time. Consequently, the therapy of EAF in Björck 4 OA patients may be carried out successfully with NITS method.

Improvement of a duodenal leak: Two-way vacuum-assisted closure.

A 55-year-old male patient developed a duodenal re-leak, which caused severe peritonitis, on the second postoperative day after surgery to treat an acutely perforated duodenal ulcer. Relaparotomy was performed 2 days after surgery for the re-leak after omentoplasty. The necrotic omentum was dissociated from the bulbus duodeni. Viable omentum for reinsertion of the omental patch was not found. The turned-outward duodenal mucosa was excised and the duodenal perforation was sutured. Two-way vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) was carried out by taking a liquid culture of the abdomen and washing the abdomen. The two-way VAC exchange procedures were continued every 3 days until the re-leak was terminated. The whole treatment process occurred in the intensive care unit. The duodenal leak was completely stopped by 41 days after surgery. The subcutaneous layer was dissected from the fascial layer of the anterior wall of the abdomen; thus, the abdominal skin was closed without tension and the patient was subsequently discharged. In conclusion, since primary source control is often difficult when treating duodenal leaks, the two-way VAC system is a convenient solution for localizing the source of the peritonitis and removing toxic peritoneal material.

Can Alvarado and Appendicitis Inflammatory Response scores evaluate the severity of acute appendicitis?

BACKGROUND: The Alvarado score (AS) and the Appendicitis Inflammatory Response score (AIRS) were developed to diagnose acute appendicitis (AA). The aim of this study was to evaluate the severity of AA using the AS and the AIRS tools. METHODS: Patients who presented between January 2016 and December 2017 and underwent surgery for AA and who had a preoperative AS and AIRS value were evaluated retrospectively. The details of age, sex, pathological severity, the presence of local peritonitis or fecaloid, drainage, appendix diameter, and operation type were evaluated according to the AS and the AIRS. RESULTS: A total of 578 patients were included in the study. Appendicitis was the most common pathological severity classification (44.4%). The most common appendix diameter group was 7-10 mm (59.2%). The difference observed in the AS and AIRS results for all of the pathological severity categories was statistically significant (p<0.05). The AIRS revealed a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in the detection of uncomplicated and complicated appendicitis. The AIRS difference was statistically significant for appendix diameter (p<0.05). The AS and the AIRS results were both statistically significant for drainage (p<0.05). The AS was correlated with pathological severity, local peritonitis, and drainage, while the AIRS was correlated with pathological severity, uncomplicated/complicated determination, appendix diameter, and drainage (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Both the AS and the AIRS can evaluate pathological severity, but only the AIRS can evaluate complicated or uncomplicated appendicitis and the diameter of the appendix. These tools can be used to reduce the number of unnecessary radiological or surgical interventions.

Drain amylase monitoring for early diagnosis of anastomotic leakage in sleeve gastrectomy An animal study.

BACKGROUND: Sleeve gastrectomy(SG) is a popular bariatric surgery procedure with rare but dreaded complications. Although drain amylase levels are a reliable early predictor of anastomosis leakage in oesophagectomy and pancreaticoduodenectomy, for SG have not yet been studied. We aimed to monitor drain amylase levels to ascertain their applicability for early diagnosis of gastric leakage in SG. METHODS: Twenty-four rats were randomly divided into three groups: Group A: only laparotomy and abdominal drain; Group B: laparotomy, SG, and drain; Group C: laparotomy, SG with fistula,and drain. On postoperative days 0,1,2,3, and 4, drain lavage samples were collected to measure amylase. RESULTS: Groups were compared in pairs. Preoperative weights were not significantly different in any comparison. On postoperative days 0,1,2,3, and 4, drain amylase levels were found to be significantly lower in Group A than in Group B as well as in Group A than in Group C but were significantly higher in Group C than in Group B. For postoperative day 1, a receiver operating characteristic curve was done. Drain amylase levels over 1514 IU were statistically significant for leakage. CONCLUSIONS: Drain amylase levels were significantly high in sleeve gastrectomy with fistula. This indicates that drain amylase level monitoring might be an easy and cheap alternative for determining staple-line leakage for high risk patients with Body Mass Index(BMI)>50kg/m2 in whom we cannot use radiological imaging. KEY WORDS: Animal Experimental Study, Bariatric Surgery, Drain amylase, Sleeve gastrectomy, Staple-line leakage.

Drain amylase monitoring for early diagnosis of anastomotic leakage in sleeve gastrectomy An animal study.

BACKGROUND: Sleeve gastrectomy(SG) is a popular bariatric surgery procedure with rare but dreaded complications. Although drain amylase levels are a reliable early predictor of anastomosis leakage in oesophagectomy and pancreaticoduodenectomy, for SG have not yet been studied. We aimed to monitor drain amylase levels to ascertain their applicability for early diagnosis of gastric leakage in SG. METHODS: Twenty-four rats were randomly divided into three groups: Group A: only laparotomy and abdominal drain; Group B: laparotomy, SG, and drain; Group C: laparotomy, SG with fistula,and drain. On postoperative days 0,1,2,3, and 4, drain lavage samples were collected to measure amylase. RESULTS: Groups were compared in pairs. Preoperative weights were not significantly different in any comparison. On postoperative days 0,1,2,3, and 4, drain amylase levels were found to be significantly lower in Group A than in Group B as well as in Group A than in Group C but were significantly higher in Group C than in Group B. For postoperative day 1, a receiver operating characteristic curve was done. Drain amylase levels over 1514 IU were statistically significant for leakage. CONCLUSIONS: Drain amylase levels were significantly high in sleeve gastrectomy with fistula. This indicates that drain amylase level monitoring might be an easy and cheap alternative for determining staple-line leakage for high risk patients with Body Mass Index(BMI)>50kg/m2 in whom we cannot use radiological imaging. KEY WORDS: Animal Experimental Study, Bariatric Surgery, Drain amylase, Sleeve gastrectomy, Staple-line leakage.

Early laparoscopic cholecystectomy following acute biliary pancreatitis expedites recovery.

BACKGROUND: In this retrospective study, we aimed to assess the reliability of early cholecystectomy, risk of recurrent biliary pancreatitis, and their effects on hospital length of stay and morbidity by comparing the results of early and late laparoscopic cholecystectomy in patients with acute biliary pancreatitis. METHODS: A total of 131 patients, who were diagnosed with acute biliary pancreatitis at Okmeydani Education and Research Hospital in January 2009-December 2012, were included in the study. Demographic specifications of patients, duration of their complaints, biochemistry and hemogram values at first arrival, Ranson criteria, number of attacks, screenings, operation type and period, number of days between the first attack and operation, hospital length of stay, and complications were recorded. Patients who underwent cholecystectomy within the first 2 weeks were considered early (group 1) and those who under the operation after 2 weeks were considered late (group 2). RESULTS: There were 47 patients in group 1 and 84 patients in group 2. Open surgery was not performed on any patient, and there was no choledoch injury and mortality. The average hospital length of stay was 7.6±3.0 days in group 1 and 10.7±8.3 days in group 2, with a statistically significant difference between the groups (p=0.006). Two or more number of attacks occurred in 15 patients in group 2 (18%), with a statistically significant difference between the groups (p=0.000). CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is safe as it does not increase operation time and morbidity in biliary pancreatitis with a Ranson score of ≤3 or cause difficulty in dissection. Late cholecystectomy causes recurrent attacks and increases the hospital length of stay and treatment costs. Using randomized controlled studies, the effectiveness and reliability of early cholecystectomy in mild and moderate biliary pancreatitis can be verified.

Massive and life-threatening upper gastrointestinal bleeding due to invasive hepatocellular carcinoma: A case report.

BACKGROUND: The mean survival is less than 6 months in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with extrahepatic metastasis. Gastrointestinal(GI) bleeding frequency due to HCC invasion is 0.05% to 2.0%, and may be fatal. CASE PRESENTATION: We encountered a case of HCC with direct invasion to the gastrium that caused a life-threatening upper GI bleeding. Our patient was a 62 year old male who was a heavy smoker and drinker for almost 30 years. He had several upper GI bleeding episodes during the previous 6 months. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a 13cm liver tumour directly invading the gastrium. Partial hepatic resection and subtotal gastrectomy were performed. Unfortunately, the patient died at the intensive care unit postoperatively due to hepatic failure. DISCUSSION: Although the prognosis of HCC that has invaded the gastrium is very poor due to the advanced stage of the disease, surgical resection may be a favourable treatment option for patients with a massive upper GI bleeding. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of patients with massive bleeding due to gastric invasion of HCC is low, and only a few cases have been reported in the literature. Our purpose while presenting this rare case is to increase the awareness about the issue.

Solitary caecum diverticulitis mimicking acute appendicitis.

Solitary cecum diverticulum is a benign formation, but it can be complicated with inflammation, perforation and bleeding. Cecum diverticulitis (CD) is the most common complication of caecal diverticulum and it has the highest incidence among Asians, but it is a rare condition in the western world. The incidence of colonic diverticular disease can vary according to national origin, cultural structure and nutritional habits. CD is not common in our country, but it is an important situation because of its clinical similarity with the commonly seen acute right side abdominal diseases like acute appendicitis. Preoperative diagnosis is difficult, and hence, the actual frequency is not known. The treatment of CD can vary from medical therapy to right hemi colectomy. In this study, we presented ten CD cases on whom surgical resection was performed in our surgery unit during the last 8 years. Our purpose was to increase the awareness of surgeons about this situation, and so, make them pay attention for not having their first experience in the operating room.