Coexistence of Colon Perforation and Congenital Lipodystrophy.

Lipodystrophy (LD) is an acquired or congenital rare condition consisting of hyperlipidaemia, glucose intolerance/ insulin resistance, and almost complete absence and storage of adipose tissue. Colon perforations can be observed in type 4 congenital LD. Here, we aimed to present a case of sigmoid colon perforation which developed in a young woman with the diagnosis of LD. Extensive purulent peritonitis, significant wall thickening, and oedema in the sigmoid colon were detected during surgical exploration. Anterior resection with end colostomy procedure was then performed. Although bowel perforation has been theoretically reported to occur in LD, the presented case is the first adult patient in the literature. These individuals tend to develop colon perforation as a result of histological changes in their gastrointestinal tract. This situation should always be taken into consideration in order to avoid delay in diagnosis, especially in patients who present with abdominal pain and have a history of LD. Key Words: Intestinal perforation, Congenital lipodystrophy, Peritonitis, Sigmoid colon.

Comparison of laparoscopic and open resections for gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs).

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesencyhmal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. Today surgical resection is still the treatment of choice for primary gastric GISTs. This study compares the laparoscopic versus open surgical resection approaches of gastric GISTs. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was conducted from our database, and 68 primary gastric GIST resections were found to be performed in our center between 2008- 2020. Of these 68 patients, 57 were included for the study. Open resection was performed in 32 patients, and laparoscopic resection was performed in 25 patients. The medical records were examined and compared for clinical, pathologic and surgical results according to preferred surgical method of choice. RESULTS: Fifty-seven patients were qualified for the study. The average diameter of the tumor was 4.8 1.91 cm in the laparoscopic group, and 6,8 4,27 cm in open group. Estimated blood loss during the surgery was significantly lower in laparoscopic group patients (100.7 ml vs 287.5 ml) (p< 0.001) and also length of stay was shorter compared with open at 4.4 versus 11.9 days (p < 0.001). Laparoscopic group patients needed less pain medication, and they had quicker return to daily life. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic approach is safe and feasible with acceptable oncologic outcomes and certain benefits like decreased length of stay, less complication rates and better comfort. The preference of laparoscopic resection should be decided not only on tumor location or diameter but also surgeon's laparoscopic surgical experience. KEY WORDS: Laparoscopic, Gastric resection, GISTs.

Clinical outcome of gallstone ileus; a single-centre experience of case series and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Gallstone ileus (GI) is a rare entity which is seen in 0.5% of patients with cholelithiasis. In this study, we aimed to share our clinical approach to GI, to present our long-term results and to draw clinicians' attention to this rare entity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 11 patients with GI whose medical records were evaluated retrospectively. RESULTS: Majority of the 11 patients were female (63.7%, n:7) and the mean age was 71.9 ± 14.10 (range: 50-91). Most common presenting complaints were vomiting (n: 9) and abdominal pain (n: 9). The mean interval from the onset of symptoms to the hospital admission was 3.8 ± 0.75 (range 3-5) days. Rigler triad in abdominal computed tomography (CT) was detected in all cases. Enterolithotomy, one-step procedure and conservative treatment were performed in five (45.4%), four (36.3%) and two (18.1%) patients, respectively. Enterolithotomy group was found to have higher risk according to American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification, shorter operation time and less intraoperative blood loss. CONCLUSION: Although enterolithotomy is the first choice for patients with GI, one-step procedure should be kept in mind as a more advantageous technique in low-risk patients.

Selective venous sampling in primary hyperparathyroidism: Is it worth doing?

BACKGROUND: Accurate preoperative localization of the culprit gland is the key point for the surgical treatment of primary hyperparathyroidism. Conventional imaging techniques (ultrasound and Tc99m sestamibi scintigraphy) are usually adequate for preoperative localization. However, in some patient groups, additional imaging modalities may be required since noninvasive techniques may fail. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of selective parathyroid venous sampling in patients with unclear noninvasive localization tests. METHODS: Among 513 cases who underwent parathyroidectomy due to primary hyperparathyroidism, twelve cases (2.3%) were undergone selective parathyroid venous sampling and were included in the study. Age, sex, presenting symptom, presence of a genetic disease, medical and surgical history, serum calcium (Ca)-parathormone (PTH) levels (preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative), imaging reports (US, SM, and SVS), surgery reports, pathology reports, and complications were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Seven cases (58.3%) had persistent primary hyperparathyroidism and one patient (8.3%) had past surgical history of total thyroidectomy. The remaining four patients (33.3%) had no previous neck surgery. T he sensitivity of selective venous sampling was 75%. According to the medical history, accurate localization was achieved in 85.7% of persistent cases and 60% of primary cases. Eight cases (66.6%) underwent unilateral neck exploration and four cases (33.3%) underwent four gland exploration. A single adenoma was detected in ten cases (90.9%) while one patient (9.1%) had double adenoma.

Clinical Analysis of Pancreaticoduodenectomies for Benign Pathologies.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical, laboratory and imaging data of patients who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) for proven benign pathologies. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of General Surgery, Izmir Katip Celebi University, School of Medicine, Turkey between January 2015 and June 2020. METHODOLOGY: All patients who underwent PD, and were found to be benign histopathologically, were included in the study. Patients who had to undergo PD due to trauma during operations performed for other reasons, were also included in the study. The data was collected as per objective. RESULTS: Diagnosis of benign pathologies was made histopathologically in 27 of the 248 patients (10.89%). It was found that 8 of 17 patients, who had biopsy in the preoperative period, were operated with a pre-diagnosis of malignancy, nine were performed PD due to accompanying clinical findings despite the detection of non-diagnostic cytology, and ten patients were taken into surgery; because of the malignancy risk could not be ruled out. CONCLUSION: Patients with benign pathology were found to have better parameters of CRP and total bilirubin. PD was performed in patients with mass in the pancreas; and whose cancer risk could not be ruled out. To reduce PD due to benign causes, patients with undiagnosed lesions should be evaluated with a multidisciplinary approach, and diagnostic tools should be cross-checked. PET/CT may also be useful in the differential diagnosis. Key Words: Benign, Diagnosis, Pancreas, Pancreaticoduodenectomy, Pathology.

Split Sternotomy in Retrosternal Thyroid and Mediastinal Parathyroid Pathologies.

OBJECTIVES: Although cervical incisions are usually sufficient in mediastinal located thyroid and parathyroid pathologies, sometimes mediastinal approaches are required. In recent years, less invasive methods have been used instead of median sternotomy. In this study, the adequacy of the incision and morbidity in patients who underwent split sternotomy due to retrosternal goiter (RG) and mediastinal parathyroid pathology in our clinic were investigated. METHODS: The files of patients who underwent split sternotomy in addition to cervical incision or split sternotomy extending from the sternal notch to the third intercostal space with a separate vertical incision due to retrosternal thyroid pathology or mediastinal ectopic parathyroid adenoma between January 2010 and January 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Operative success, exposure provided by split sternotomy, and complication rates were investigated. RESULTS: Twelve patients who underwent split sternotomy were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 57.25±12.62 (44-83) years. Eight (66.7%) of the patients were female and 4 (33.3%) were male. The indication for surgery was multinodular goiter (MNG) in 3 (25%) patients, recurrent MNG in 3 (25%) patients, hyperparathyroidism in 3 (25%) patients, and thyroid cancer in 3 (25%) patients. Transient hypocalcemia in 6 (50%) patients and unilateral vocal cord paralysis in 1 (8.3%) patient developed postoperatively, and all complications resolved spontaneously in an average of 3 weeks. Median sternotomy was not required for any of the patients. CONCLUSION: Split sternotomy is an adequate and applicable method for the success of the surgery in RG and mediastinal parathyroid pathologies that cannot be excised with the cervical approach.

Clinicopathological features of mammary Paget's disease: a single-center experience in Turkey

Background/aim: Paget's disease (PD) of the breast is a very rare presentation of breast malignancy, accounting for 1%­3% of all primary breast tumors. We aimed to evaluate and compare the clinicopathological features and clinical outcome of PD accompanied by in situ carcinoma and invasive cancer. Materials and methods: We used the archive of our pathology laboratory retrospectively for age, sex, history of surgery, histopathological findings, treatment modalities, and follow-up information. We used the Kaplan­Meier method for survival analysis. Results: There were 46 female patients diagnosed with PD. In 39 (84.7%) patients, invasive carcinoma accompanied PD, while 7 (15.3%) patients had ductal carcinoma in situ. The median age at diagnosis was 53.5 years. The median follow-up period was 47 months. Of the 39 invasive carcinoma, 10 (25.6%) died during the follow-up period. Invasive ductal carcinoma group had a mean overall survival of rate of 57.8 ± 6.6 months. According to univariate analysis, only the tumor type was found to impact overall survival (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The current study displayed the tumor type as the only parameter affecting overall survival in the invasive carcinoma group. Although it was not statistically significant, breast cancers accompanied by PD were found to be predominantly advanced stage tumors, high grade, hormone receptor negative, and HER2 positive.

Is subtotal cholecystectomy safe and feasible? Short- and long-term results.

BACKGROUND: Cholecystectomy is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures. However, it may result in some unpleasant conditions such as bile duct injury (BDI), bile leak, and vessel injury. Subtotal cholecystectomy (SC), which has been introduced as an alternative method for reducing the complication rates, has been reported to have lower risk of BDI when compared to total cholecystectomy. This study aimed to evaluate the indications for SC, its early and late complications and their management, and the risk factors affecting the bile leak. METHODS: Fifty-seven patients who underwent SC were included in the study, and their medical records were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Thirty-three patients were male (57.9%) and the mean age was 64.84 ± 11.35 (range: 29-86). All patients had at least one episode of cholecystitis. Forty-seven (82.5%) patients underwent surgery under emergency conditions. Postoperative bile leak/fistula, surgical site infection, and fluid collection were developed in 12 (21.1%), eight (14%), and six (10.5%) patients, respectively. Leaving the remnant tissue pouch open, presence of comorbidity and emergency operative condition were found to increase the risk of leak development (P < .001). During the average follow-up of 49 months (range: 13-98), symptomatic choledocholithiasis, symptomatic gallstones in the remnant tissue, and incisional hernia were detected within the first year of surgery in three (5.3%), four (7%), and seven (12.3%) patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Although SC is not an equivalent to total cholecystectomy, its vital benefit of lowering the risk of BDI should be considered in difficult cases.

Can Magnetic Resonance Imaging Replace Mammography and Ultrasonography for the Detection of Breast Lesions?

Objective We aimed to evaluate the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the visualization of breast lesions and to estimate whether MRI can be a reliable alternative to mammography (MG) and ultrasonography (USG) for this purpose. Materials and methods In this retrospective, single-center study, an analysis of medical files of 260 patients with breast masses as breast imaging reports and data system (BI-RADS) 4 and 5 at MRI was performed. The features of the breast lump, such as the side, location, multi foci or multicentricity, histopathological diagnosis, contrast-enhancement characteristics, radiological, and pathological axillary involvement, were noted. Consistency between MRI-BIRADS and MG+USG-BIRADS, as well as the association between lesion characteristics, was sought. Results The agreement ratio between the BI-RADS categories of MRI and MG+USG was 0.654 while consistency between histopathological diagnosis and MRI BI-RADS category was 0.838. The agreement between the BI-RADS category of MG+USG and histopathological diagnosis was 0.819. The consistency between MRI BI-RADS and MG+USG BI-RADS increased remarkably with the advancement of age. Similarly, the consistency between MRI BI-RADS and histopathological diagnosis tends to increase with the advancement of age. Nonmass contrast enhancement yielded the highest agreement ratios between MRI BI-RADS and MG+USG BI-RADS, histopathological diagnosis and MRI BI-RADS, and histopathological diagnosis and MG+USG BI-RADS. Conclusion Dynamic MRI is a useful and reliable method for imaging breast neoplasms. However, it is not devoid of disadvantages such as cost, attainability, and contrast use and it should be reserved as a problem-solving technique to be used in conjunction with conventional methods including MG and USG.

Torsion of wandering spleen nine years after gastric volvulus: Effect of multiparity?

Wandering spleen is a rare condition and has life-threatening complications, such as torsion or infarction. It may be asymptomatic or may present with chronic abdominal pain or intraabdominal mass. Since clinical diagnosis is usually difficult, radiological examinations play a very important role in diagnosis. A 37-year-old multiparous woman was admitted to the emergency room with a complaint of abdominal pain. The patient stated that she underwent an operation due to gastric volvulus nine years ago. Preoperative diagnosis was made by ultrasonography and computed tomography. Splenectomy was performed because of the irreversible infarction. Wandering spleen torsion is a rare clinical condition that may cause an acute abdomen. Computerized tomography is the gold standard for preoperative diagnosis. Gastric volvulus and wandering spleen have similar etiologies. In the literature, the coexistence of these two diseases in adulthood is rarely reported. However, to our knowledge, this case is the first report to describe the emergence of these two pathologies at different times in adulthood.

The Effects of Operation Technique on Recurrence of Incisional Hernia Repair.

OBJECTIVES: The selection of incision type, closure type of incision and the suture material are some of the important factors to prevent hernia development. We should aim to perform the best procedure with the best technique to reduce the risk of recurrence. Surgical options include primary repair and open or laparoscopic repair with mesh. Mesh repairs can be performed as onlay, sublay or inlay according to the area where the mesh is to be laid. In this retrospective study, our main goal was to compare the recurrence rates in patients who underwent incisional hernia repair with onlay and inlay mesh techniques. METHODS: This retrospective study included 185 patients who underwent surgery due to incisional hernia in our clinic between January 2012 and October 2017. Patients were divided into two groups according to the technique as Group 1 with onlay mesh repair and Group 2 with inlay mesh repair. The same type of mesh (prolen) was applied to all patients. RESULTS: There were 121 patients in Group 1 and 64 patients in Group 2. According to data we obtained, 64.3% of the patients were women and the mean age of all patients was 58.4±16.4 years. Postoperative complications (such as seroma-hematoma, surgical site infection, mesh rejection, postoperative ileus) developed in 29.2% (n=54) of the patients. The length of hospital stay was 4.2±3 days in Group 1 and 5.6±5 days in Group 2. The mean follow-up period was 48.6 months (24-93 months), with the recurrence rates of 5.8% (n=7) in Group 1 and 10.9% (n=7) in Group 2, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups concerning comorbidity, postoperative complications, the length of hospitalization stay and recurrence. CONCLUSION: We believe that the onlay technique will be more appropriate than the inlay technique when only prolen mesh is preferred because the recurrence rates are higher in the inlay technique.

Endoscopic and surgical management of iatrogenic biliary tract injuries.

BACKGROUND: Iatrogenic biliary tract injury (BTI) is a rare complication but has high risks of morbidity and mortality when it is not early noticed. Although the treatment varies depending on the size of injury and the time until the injury is noticed, endoscopic and percutaneous interventions are usually sufficient. However, it should be remembered that these interventions may cause major complications in the following years, such as biliary stricture, recurrent episodes of cholangitis and even cirrhosis. In this paper, we aimed to present our approach to BTI following cholecystectomy and our treatment management in the light of the literature. METHODS: The medical records of 105 patients who were treated for BTI between January 2015 and July 2019 were evaluated retrospectively. The majority of the patients consisted of the patients who underwent cholecystectomy at an external medical center and were referred to our clinic due to biliary leakage (BL). Patients were grouped according to Strasberg classification determined by the place of leakage. RESULTS: Among 105 patients included in this study, 55 were male, and 50 were female. Mean age was 55.2±16.26 years (range, 21-93 years). According to Strasberg classification, type A, B, C, D and E injuries were detected in 57, 1, 3, 29 and 15 patients, respectively. Eighty-five patients were successfully treated with endoscopic and percutaneous interventions, while 20 patients underwent surgery. CONCLUSION: In all patients with suspected BTI, a detailed screening and appropriate treatment provide a significant decline in morbidity and mortality. Therefore, early diagnosis is very important for both early and late outcomes.

Should we still doubt the success of emergency oncologic colorectal surgery?: A retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, the importance of oncologic principles in colorectal cancer (CRC) surgery has been emphasized in many studies. Although emergency surgery is related to high morbidity and mortality rates, their adequacy and prognosis in maintaining oncologic principles are still controversial. This study aims to compare the clinicopathological features of CRC patients who underwent emergency and elective surgical resection and also to evaluate their compatibility with oncologic principles and to evaluate their short/long term results. METHODS: Of the patients who underwent surgery for CRC, 564 were included in this study. The patients were divided into two groups according to their surgical conditions as an emergency (Group 1) and elective (Group 2). Demographics, clinicopathological features, prognostic factors and survival rates of the patients were evaluated retrospectively. RESULTS: There were 104 (18.4%) patients in group 1 and 460 (81.6%) patients in group 2. 61.2% of the patients were male and the mean age was 64.27. There were statistically significant differences between the groups in age distribution, tumor localization, surgical procedures, T- N classification, AJCC stage, presence of mucinous subtype, lymphovascular and perineural invasion. The mean tumor diameter was 5.23±3.48 cm. There was no difference between the groups concerning the adequacy of lymph node harvest, except in patients who underwent low anterior resection. The mean survival time was 475.212 days, and the median survival time was 376 days. The disease-free and overall survival rates were higher in group 2. CONCLUSION: Despite the appropriate oncologic resection, CRC patients operated under emergency conditions had worse short-term and long-term results than the CRC patients operated under elective conditions. Thus, we believe that the prevalence of colorectal cancer screening programs should be increased to reduce the rate of emergency surgery.

Hepatolithiasis: clinical series, review and current management strategy.

OBJECTIVES: Hepatolithiasis (HL) continues to be a problem due to its local and systemic complications, insufficiency in treatment modalities and high risk of recurrence. There are various surgical options available, ranging from endoscopic interventions to a small segment resection and ultimately to transplantation. In this article, patients with the diagnosis of HL and our treatment strategies were evaluated in the light of literature. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The patients diagnosed with HL in our clinic between 2014-2019 were evaluated retrospectively by examining the patient files. Demographic characteristics of the patients, causes of the disease, complications and treatment options were evaluated. RESULTS: 17 patients were included into the study. Mean age of the patients was 64.3 years (range 32-89 years). Seven patients had previous cholecystectomies. Stenosis was found to be developed in hepaticojejunostomy (HJ) site in three patients (two had HJ due to bile duct injury and one had HJ following the Whipple procedure), and in hepaticoduodenostomy site in one patient who had the history of biliary tract injury during cholecystectomy. Two patients with HL without previous cholecystectomies had no gallbladder stones. Nine patients underwent surgery. Left hepatectomy was performed in two patients and lateral sector resection was performed in 2 patients. Two patients with anastomotic stenosis underwent HJ revision and two patients with anastomotic stenosis and one patient with stent ingrowth underwent bifurcation resection and neo-hepaticojejunostomy. Eight patients were followed-up nonoperatively with medical and endoscopic approaches. CONCLUSION: Hepatolithiasis is a serious condition that needs to be treated with a multimodal approach. Stenting and anastomotic stenosis facilitate the development of hepatolithiasis and increase the risk of its occurrence. In particular, by performing functional hepaticojejunostomy, the development of this complication will be decreased.

Do microsatellite instability (MSI) and deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) affect the pathologic complete response (pCR) in patients with rectal cancer who received neoadjuvant treatment?

Recently, individualized approaches for the treatment of locally advanced rectal cancers (RC) have been introduced to determine the most beneficial one for boosting the tumor response and assessing the response more accurately. However, despite each patient and tumor have different molecular features, the studies at the molecular level are very limited. In this study, examining the clinical factors which are predictive of pathologic complete response (pCR), helping to determine a treatment program for the management of patients with locally advanced RC, and evaluating the relation between regression grade and MMR-MSI were aimed. 341 RC cases who had undergone surgery were included and divided into three groups according to their response to neoadjuvant treatment. The following parameters were analyzed for all patients: age at diagnosis, sex, tumor location, tumor differentiation, TNM stage, histological subtype, CEA (mean: < 5 ng/ml) level, lymphovascular-neural invasion, presence of mucinous subtype, grade, MMR, and MSI statuses. 147 patients (43.2%) had no response (group 1), 141 patients (41.3%) had an intermediate response (group 2), and 53 patients (15.5%) had a complete response (group 3). Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy was used in all of the patients with the same protocol. Multivariate analysis revealed that clinical T stage (p: 0.099) and MMR (p: 0.048) were the parameters which were significantly associated with pCR. Since MMR and MSI statuses were found to affect pCR, more careful patient selection for "watch and wait" protocol and further studies on molecular structures of the tumors for individualized therapies are required.

A Rare Complication of Anticoagulant Therapy: Intramural Hematoma of the Small Bowel.

BACKGROUND: Non-traumatic intramural hematomas of the small bowel (IHSB) are rare conditions which occur due to anticoagulant therapy. In this study, we aimed to explain our clinical approach to non-traumatic IHSB due to anticoagulant overdose and to present the long-term outcomes of the cases who were hospitalized. METHODS: Sixteen patients with non-traumatic IHSB were included and their medical records were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Our patients included ten women and six men, with a mean age of 77.5 ± 8.4 (range: 65-95) years. All patients had been using oral anticoagulants (OACs) due to various cardiovascular and cerebral comorbidities. Common complaints at the time of admission included abdominal pain, vomiting and weakness. Ten patients (62%) had anemia, fifteen (94%) had leukocytosis and all patients (100%) had high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). Abdominal computed tomography (CT) established the final diagnosis of IHSB in all patients. Fourteen patients (87%) were followed up with conservative therapy. Since the clinical course did not improve in two patients (12%), surgery was mandated. The mean duration of hospitalization was 10.25 ± 3.6 days (range: 3-17 days). Mortality occurred in two patients (12%). CONCLUSION: IHSB should be considered in patients presenting with abdominal complaints and increased levels on coagulation tests. The diagnosis should be confirmed by abdominal CT scan, if possible. Accurate and timely diagnosis allows patients to be successfully treated without need for surgery.