The relationship between oxidative stress markers and 1H-Magnetic resonance spectroscopy findings in obsessive compulsive disorder.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to examine N-acetyl aspartate (NAA)/creatine (Cr) and glutamate, glutamine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid complex (Glx)/Cr levels in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and healthy controls' orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and caudate nucleus (CN) by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) method and to investigate their relationship with oxidative stress markers glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). METHODS: This study included patients with OCD (n = 25) and healthy controls (n = 25) ranging in age from 18 to 65. We used the ELISA method to evaluate serum SOD and GPx levels. Levels of NAA/Cr and Glx/Cr in the orbitofrontal cortex and caudate nucleus were measured using the 1H-MRS method. RESULTS: Our study did not detect statistically significant differences in the orbitofrontal cortex Glx/Cr and NAA/Cr levels between the OCD patients and the control group. OCD patients exhibited a decrease in NAA/Cr levels, consistent with impaired neuronal integration, and an increase in Glx/Cr levels, consistent with hyperactivation, in the caudate nucleus compared to the control group. We observed a negative correlation between NAA/Cr levels in the caudate nucleus and the levels of SOD and GPx. CONCLUSIONS: Our study is the first to assess CN and OFC together in OCD patients using 3 T MR, investigating the relationship between neurometabolite concentrations and oxidative stress parameters. The negative correlation we observed between NAA/Cr levels and SOD and GPx in the caudate nucleus suggests that increased oxidative stress in this brain region in OCD patients may contribute to impaired neuronal integration and functionality.

Mechanical performance improvement of super absorbent polymer-modified concrete.

In this study, a method has been developed to reduce the negative effects of superabsorbent polymers on concrete mechanical properties. The method involves concrete mixing and curing, with the concrete mixture being designed using a decision tree algorithm. Instead of the standard water curing approach, air curing conditions were used during the curing process. In addition, heat treatment was applied to reduce any possible negative effects of the polymers on the concrete's mechanical properties and to enhance their performance. The details of all these stages are presented in this method. Various experimental studies were conducted to demonstrate the validity of this method, which proved to be effective in reducing the negative effects of superabsorbent polymers on concrete mechanical properties. •The method can be used to eliminate the negative effects of superabsorbent polymers.•The proposed method yielded promising results, demonstrating that the expected level of compressive strength, modulus of elasticity and toughness in concrete can be achieved in 5-10 days instead of 28 days•The widespread use of superabsorbent polymers in the concrete industry and reinforced concrete systems can be attributed to their many benefits.

CoronaVac vaccine does not affect ovarian reserve.

OBJECTIVES: In this study, our aim is to investigate the effect of CoronaVac vaccine on ovarian reserve in female patients followed up for infertility. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Our study is a retrospective study. Forty-six infertile patients who received two doses of CoronaVac vaccine one month apart and had not had a previous Covid 19 infection were included in the study. Anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) and folliculometry of 46 patients one month before CoronaVac vaccine and one month after the second dose of vaccine were compared. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference in the change of AMH level and follicle number before and after vaccination (respectively p = 0.366; 0.610). CONCLUSIONS: Considering that having a COVID-19 infection has a negative effect on female fertility and causing ovarian damage in recent studies, vaccination is a rational and cost-effective approach to protect ovarian reserve. Knowing that the vaccine does not have a negative effect on fertility may increase the application of the vaccine in women of reproductive age.

Early Initiation and Long-Term Use of Vaginal Progesterone may Cause Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Preterm birth (PTB) is an important cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity. Spontaneous PTB (sPTB) is the most common cause of PTB. In patients with a singleton pregnancy, progesterone treatment appears to reduce the rate of spontaneous preterm birth in those with a previous history of spontaneous preterm labor and/or cervical shortening in the current pregnancy. Progesterone therapies used for the prevention of sPTB may increase the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) towards the end of pregnancy owing to their effects on carbohydrate metabolism. AIM: We aimed to show the effects of vaginal progesterone use, starting time, and duration of treatment on GDM. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was carried out in pregnant women 18 to 39 years old who came to our hospital between January 1, 2021, and August 31, 2021, and who had a 2-hour 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 24 to 28 weeks of gestation. In a total of 540 patients, 68 were diagnosed with GDM based on at least one abnormal plasma glucose value at screening. The remaining 472 patients with normal plasma glucose levels were considered as the control group. The groups were compared in terms of age, parity, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), smoking, gestational age, and vaginal progesterone use. Patients using vaginal progesterone with and without GDM were then compared again in terms of indications for vaginal progesterone use, initiation time of progesterone therapy, duration of progesterone use, and cervical length. RESULTS: The incidence of GDM in our study group was 12.5%. Despite the use of vaginal progesterone at a higher rate in the GDM group than in the control group (23.5 vs. 13.9%; p=0.07), it was not statistically significant. When we examined patients using progesterone as a subgroup analysis, the mean time to start vaginal progesterone treatment was 19.8±2.6 (14-24), and it was significantly earlier in the GDM group (18.1±2.0 vs. 20.2±2.6; p=0.007). Initiation of vaginal progesterone before 20 weeks of gestation was statistically significantly more frequent in the GDM group than the control group (68.8 vs. 39.4%; p=0.050 OR :3.3, 95%CI: 1.0-10.8). The mean duration of vaginal progesterone use was 50.0±15.6 days (28-90) and it was longer in the GDM group (57.8±13.4 vs. 48.1±15.6; p=0.027). CONCLUSION: Since the duration of vaginal progesterone use will be prolonged, there may be a risk of GDM, especially in patients who started vaginal progesterone before the 20th week of pregnancy. Even if the OGTT test performed between 24-28 weeks is normal, it should be kept in mind that these patients may have GDM in the later weeks of pregnancy, and repeating the OGTT test should be considered if necessary.

Prediction of Match Outcomes with Multivariate Statistical Methods for the Group Stage in the UEFA Champions League.

The aim of this study was to analyse the win, draw, and loss outcomes of soccer matches with situational variables and performance indicators. Data from group stage matches spanning the ten years between the 2010/2011 and 2019/2020 seasons in the European Champions League, were used. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey HSD (honestly significant difference) tests indicated performance indicators which affected the outcome of matches. K-mean clustering, with statistically significant variables, categorized the quality of the opposition into three clusters: weak, balanced, and strong. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) and decision tree analysis were applied to each of these clusters, highlighting that performance indicators of the teams differed according to the quality of their opponent. Furthermore, according to the decision tree analysis, certain performance indicators, including scoring first and shots on target, increased the chances of winning regardless of the quality of the opposition. Finally, particular performance indicators increased the chance of winning, while others decreased this, in accordance with the quality of the opposition. These findings can help coaches develop different strategies, before or during the match, based on the quality of opponents, situational variables, and performance indicators.

Mineral Addition and Mixing Methods Effect on Recycled Aggregate Concrete.

This paper presents influence of treatment and mixing methods on recycled aggregate concretes (RAC) designed regarding various techniques. Absolute Volume Method (AVM) according to TS 802, Equivalent Mortar Volume Method (EMV), silica fume (SF) as a mineral addition were considered in the design of concretes. In total, four groups of concretes were produced in the laboratory: (1) natural aggregate concrete (NAC) designed with AVM as control concrete, (2) RAC designed with AVM as control RAC, (3) RAC with SF as a mineral addition designed with AVM as treated RAC and (4) RAC designed with EMV as treated RAC. The tests were performed at 28th days and the statistical analysis were made on the test results. According to the results, EMV and SF increased the compressive strength of concretes and this resulted an increase in the strength class of concrete. A significant statistical difference between the concretes were determined. According to multiple comparison analysis, it was found that especially there was a significant relationship among NAC, RAC and RAC-EMV. In addition, it was recommended that EMV and AVM with 5% SF could be used in the design of RAC rather than AVM only to achieve the target strength class C30/37.

The impact of bariatric surgery on eustachian tube dysfunction.

PURPOSE: We aimed to evaluate the relationship between acute loss of weight after 6 months of bariatric surgery and the occurrence of tubal dysfunction symptoms METHODS: We recruited 76 patients who had undergone bariatric surgery between 2018 and 2019. It was planned to see if the change in Body Mass Index (BMI) caused changes in the Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire (ETDQ-7) scores of individuals. Regardless of the questionnaire, patients were also asked for 3 symptoms (autophony, fullness in the ear, hearing their own breath in the ear) before and 6 months after bariatric surgery. RESULTS: The mean age of the study group was 39.32 ± 11.09 years and 80.3% percent of the patients were female. The mean weight loss of the patients at the 6th month was 44.67 ± 13.10 kg, and mean weight loss rate was % 35.06 ± 8.01. The incidence of hearing their own breath, autophony and fullness of the ear were 25%, 22.4% and 11.8%, respectively. The proportion of those experiencing any of these three complaints was 30.3% (n = 23). The ETDQ scores of the cases ranged from 7 to 27, with an average of 9.38 ± 4.28. There are 10.5% (n = 8) paints with a score of ≥ 14.5 as regarded as patients with Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD). The mean age of patients with ETD was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than patients without ETD. Gender distributions, weight loss rates, smoking, previous operation and additional disease distributions do not show statistically significant differences between patients with and without ETD (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Present study indicated a 10.5% ETD incidence after bariatric surgery. ETDQ questionnaire can be used for ETD screening in patients who underwent bariatric surgery, which will be an overlooked complication in this group of subjects.

Generation of 2-mode scale-free graphs for link-level internet topology modeling.

Comprehensive analysis that aims to understand the topology of real-world networks and the development of algorithms that replicate their characteristics has been significant research issues. Although the accuracy of newly developed network protocols or algorithms does not depend on the underlying topology, the performance generally depends on the topology. As a result, network practitioners have concentrated on generating representative synthetic topologies and utilize them to investigate the performance of their design in simulation or emulation environments. Network generators typically represent the Internet topology as a graph composed of point-to-point links. In this study, we discuss the implications of multi-access links on the synthetic network generation and modeling of the networks as bi-partite graphs to represent both subnetworks and routers. We then analyze the characteristics of sampled Internet topology data sets from backbone Autonomous Systems (AS) and observe that in addition to the commonly recognized power-law node degree distribution, the subnetwork size and the router interface distributions often exhibit power-law characteristics. We introduce a SubNetwork Generator (SubNetG) topology generation approach that incorporates the observed measurements to produce bipartite network topologies. In particular, generated topologies capture the 2-mode relation between the layer-2 (i.e., the subnetwork and interface distributions) and the layer-3 (i.e., the degree distribution) that is missing from the current network generators that produce 1-mode graphs. The SubNetG source code and experimental data is available at https://github.com/netml/sonet.

High-Volume, Low-Concentration Intraperitoneal Bupivacaine Study in Emergency Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: A Double-Blinded, Prospective Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) often results in postoperative pain, especially in the abdomen. Intraperitoneal local anesthesia (IPLA) reduces pain after LC. Acute cholecystitis-associated inflammation, increased gallbladder wall thickness, dissection difficulties, and a longer operative time are several reasons for assuming a benefit in pain scores in urgent LC with IPLA application. The aim was to determine the postoperative analgesic efficacy of high-volume, low-dose intraperitoneal bupivacaine in urgent LC. Materials and Methods. Fifty-seven patients who were American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I or II were randomly assigned to receive either normal saline (control group) or intraperitoneal bupivacaine (test group) at the beginning or end of urgent LC. The primary outcome was the postoperative pain score of the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The secondary outcomes included Visual Rating Prince Henry Scale (VRS), patient satisfaction, and analgesic consumption. Results. Postoperative VAS scores at the first and fourth hours were significantly lower in the test group than in the control group (P < .001). Postoperative VRS scores at the first, fourth, and eighth hours were significantly lower in the test group than in the control group (P < .001, P = .002, P = .004, respectively). Analgesic use was significantly higher in the control group at the first postoperative hour (P < .001). Shoulder pain was significantly lower, and patient satisfaction was significantly higher in the test group relative to the control group (both P < .001). Conclusion. High-volume, low-concentration intraperitoneal bupivacaine resulted in better postoperative pain control and reduced incidence of shoulder pain and analgesic consumption in urgent LC.

Laparoscopic Lavage Versus Aspiration Alone in Perforated Acute Appendicitis: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Study.

The optimal method for preventing abscesses in perforated appendicitis is unclear. We compared the efficacy of lavage versus aspiration for periappendicular collections/abscesses in perforated appendicitis. Our study included 286 patients. After the removal of the appendectomy material, those who underwent aspiration without prior lavage were assigned to Group I, whereas those who underwent aspiration after lavage with 500 mL physiological saline were assigned to Group II. The primary outcome measure was postoperative complications. Secondary outcome measures were intraoperative complications, morbidity, and mortality. Group I comprised 174 patients (60 female and 114 male; mean age 34.47±17.40 y), whereas Group II comprised 112 patients (39 female and 73 male; mean age 36.22±18.60 y). The 2 groups were not significantly different in age, hospitalization duration, sex, abscess formation, morbidity, or mortality. Our results demonstrate that aspiration of the surgery area without prior lavage is sufficient and can be safely applied in perforated appendicitis.

PTEN loss is a predictive marker for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients treated with trastuzumab-based therapies.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to retrospectively investigate the response to trastuzumab in breast cancer patients in terms of the potential roles of several oncogenic pathways (phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)) in relation to HER2 status. METHODS: Paraffin-embedded primary tumor tissues of 100 HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer patients who received trastuzumab were analyzed with immunohistochemistry for p85 (PI3K) and PTEN. The relationship between variables was tested via chi-square, Fischer's exact test and Mann-Whitney U test, where appropriate. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated with the Kaplan-Meier method and survival curves of subgroups were compared with the log-rank test. Results: The level of immunohistochemical expression of PI3K was 42%. Loss of PTEN was observed in 43% of the patients. PTEN-expressing tumors had statistically higher response rates for trastuzumab than tumors not-expressing PTEN (p=0.012). PI3K expression had no significant effect on trastuzumab response. Median PFS for PTEN-expressing and not-expressing tumors were 15.3 months (95% CI, 12.6-34) and 12.1 months (95% CI, 7.9-16.2), respectively (p=0.04). The level of PI3K expression had no effect on PFS and OS in our patient population. CONCLUSIONS: Loss of PTEN predicted poorer response to trastuzumab treatment and shorter PFS but not OS. We could not find an effect of PI3K expression on the above-mentioned parameters.

Effect of intraoperative neuromonitoring on efficacy and safety using sugammadex in thyroid surgery: randomized clinical trial.

PURPOSE: The use of nondepolarizing neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) may affect intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) during anesthesia used during thyroid and parathyroid surgery. METHODS: The use of sugammadex was evaluated in a prospective clinical study during thyroid surgery. Between July 2018 and January 2019, 129 patients were prospectively randomized to either the sugammadex group (group B) or the control group (group A). Group A patients underwent standardized IONM during thyroidectomy, while group B patients used an NMBA-reversal protocol comprised of rocuronium (0.6 mg/kg) in anesthesia induction and sugammadex (2 mg/kg) after first vagal stimulation (V0). A peripheral nerve stimulator was used to monitor the neuromuscular transmission. RESULTS: In our clinical study, it took 26.07 ± 3.26 and 50.0 ± 8.46 minutes to reach 100% recovery of laryngeal electromyography at injection of the sugammadex group (2 mg/kg) and the control group, respectively (P < 0.001). The train-of-four ratio recovered from 0 to >0.9 within 4 minutes after administering 2 mg/kg of sugammadex at the beginning of resection. Surgery time was significantly shorter in group B than in group A (P < 0.001). Transient recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) paralysis was detected in 4 patients from group A and in 3 patients from group B (P = 0.681). There was no permanent RLN paralysis in the 2 groups. CONCLUSION: Our clinical study showed that sugammadex effectively and rapidly improved the inhibition of neuromuscular function induced by rocuronium. The implementation of the nondepolarizing neuromuscular block recovery protocol may lead to tracheal intubation as well as favorable conditions for IONM in thyroid surgery.

Small bowel prolapse from anus: Atypical presentation of rectal perforation.

Non-traumatic rectum perforation is rarely seen if there is no underlying tumor formation. The perforations in the middle and lower parts of the rectum that are under the peritoneal reflex are asymptomatic unless there is intraabdominal infection or inflammation. In this study, we aim to present a patient who referred to the emergency surgery clinic with the small bowel prolapse from the anus.

Evaluation of the predictive power of laboratory markers in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in the elderly.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze the predictive value of preoperative laboratory findings in acute appendicitis in geriatric patients aged >65 years. METHODS: We enrolled a total of 4121 patients. A retrospective evaluation of the demographic features was made using preoperative laboratory values such as the white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil, and lymphocyte counts; platelet counts; the mean platelet volume and bilirubin values; and postoperative pathological data of the patients from the electronic file system. The neutrophil-to-WBC and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios were calculated. Patients were divided into two groups, as geriatric (≥65 years old, n=140) and non-geriatric (<65 years old, n=3981). RESULTS: The white blood cell and lymphocyte counts, and the neutrophil-to-WBC ratio, were significantly higher in the non-geriatric group (p<0.001, p=0.013, and p=0.021, respectively). The neutrophil and platelet counts were higher in the non-geriatric group, but this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.073 and p=0.072, respectively). A higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio was determined in the geriatric group, but the difference was not significant (p=0.176). According to the optimumal cutoff value of 12.11×103/µL for WBC, specificity and sensitivity values of 65.4% and 57.9% were calculated, respectively; the AUC value was 0.632±0.024 (p<0.001). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to calculate the optimum cutoff values of neutrophil-to-WBC ratio, lymphocyte, and the mean platelet volume, but the diagnostic accuracy of these tests was inadequate with an AUC of <0.6. CONCLUSION: WBC values >12.11×103/µL were predictive of acute appendicitis in geriatric patients. The other parameters were not predictive, and further studies are required.

False-Positive 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT in Active Chronic Prostatitis.

A 66-year-old man with neuroendocrine tumor originating from midgut was referred to Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT imaging for restaging postoperatively. No suspicious uptake regarding residual primary tumoral involvement was seen. But there was diffuse high uptake in prostate gland suggestive of prostatitis or secondary primary tumoral lesion. Concurrent prostate-specific antigen level was 5.02 ng/mL (range, 0-4 ng/mL), C-reactive protein level was 8.25 mg/L (range, <5 mg/L), and white blood cell count was 6.83 × 10/µL (range, 3.9-10.9 × 10/µL). Diagnosis of active chronic prostatitis was achieved by core biopsy, which is identified as potential cause for false-positive diffuse uptake on Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT.

Graphical data mining of cancer mechanisms with SEMA.

MOTIVATION: An important goal of cancer genomics initiatives is to provide the research community with the resources for the unbiased query of cancer mechanisms. Several excellent web platforms have been developed to enable the visual analyses of molecular alterations in cancers from these datasets. However, there are few tools to allow the researchers to mine these resources for mechanisms of cancer processes and their functional interactions in an intuitive unbiased manner. RESULTS: To address this need, we developed SEMA, a web platform for building and testing of models of cancer mechanisms from large multidimensional cancer genomics datasets. Unlike the existing tools for the analyses and query of these resources, SEMA is explicitly designed to enable exploratory and confirmatory analyses of complex cancer mechanisms through a suite of intuitive visual and statistical functionalities. Here, we present a case study of the functional mechanisms of TP53-mediated tumor suppression in various cancers, using SEMA, and identify its role in the regulation of cell cycle progression, DNA repair and signal transduction in different cancers.SEMA is a first-in-its-class web application designed to allow visual data mining and hypothesis testing from the multidimensional cancer datasets. The web application, an extensive tutorial and several video screencasts with case studies are freely available for academic use at https://sema.research.cchmc.org/. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: SEMA is freely available at https://sema.research.cchmc.org. The web site also contains a detailed Tutorial (also in Supplementary Information), and a link to the YouTube channel for video screencasts of analyses, including the analyses presented here. The Shiny and JavaScript source codes have been deposited to GitHub: https://github.com/msolmazm/sema. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Clinicopathological characteristics, prognosis and survival outcome of gastric cancer in young patients: A large cohort retrospective study.

PURPOSE: To investigate the survival outcome of patients with gastric cancer ≤40 years of age and to compare them to older patients with gastric cancer. METHODS: The study included gastric cancer patients treated between1990 and 2014. Patient demographics, tumor histopathological characteristics and outcome were registered. Patients were classified according to the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology. Two subgroups of patients were created based on age: group 1 (40 years and less at the time of diagnosis, and group 2 (patients older than 40 years). Categorical and continuous variables were analyzed with x2 and Mann-Whitney U tests, respectively. Overall survival (OS) rates were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Diffuse adenocarcinoma was more common in the young group (48.9%) than in the older group (28.9%) (p<0.0001). No statistically significant survival difference was noted between younger (11 months) and older patients (12 months) (p=0.79]. Early stage (p<0.0001), absence of perineural invasion (PNI) (p<0.0001), absence of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) (p<0.0001), and non-cardia tumors (p<0.0001) were associated with better OS rates in univariate analysis. Non-cardia tumors (p=0.016) and stage (p=<0.0001) were independent prognostic factors of survival outcome in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that young and older patients with gastric cancer have similar outcomes in terms of OS.

Early effect of the fear of terrorism on a hospital's emergency department use and on the incidence of cardiovascular events: A Turkish multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: To our knowledge, the early effect of the fear caused by terrorism on human health, especially its effect on the number of visits to medical emergency departments (EDs), has not yet been studied. OBJECTIVES: To observe the effect of fear from terrorist alerts on the use of EDs and on the rate of cardiovascular (CV) and/or cerebrovascular events. SETTING: In Istanbul, Turkey, there was a terror alert on the weekend of 19 and 20 March 2016. In this multicenter retrospective study, we compared the data of patients from that weekend with those from the preceding and following weekends. PATIENTS: A total of 12 324 adult patients' records were included in this study: 4562 patients in the first weekend, 3627 patients in the second, terror alert weekend, and 4135 patients in the third weekend. MEASUREMENTS: The ED, CV, and cerebrovascular incidence rates of the above three groups were compared. RESULTS: The rate of ED use was the least in the weekend of the terror alert; the highest rate occurred during the weekend prior to it (female applications decreased more [P = 0.03]). The medical center that was the farthest from the crowded central places of the city and from the place where suicide bombing occurred was less affected by the decrease in use. CONCLUSIONS: Fear associated with terrorism may affect human health indirectly by preventing patients from reaching the necessary emergency healthcare facilities. This finding may be a pathfinder to decision-makers in such extraordinary emergency conditions. Further studies are needed in this field.

Colonic Stent Use in Patients With Malignant Flexure Tumors Presenting With Obstruction.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Colonic stenting in left-sided tumor is being commonly used. However, placing a stent in the flexure tumors is rare because it is technically more difficult. In this study, we aimed to retrospectively screen patients with flexure tumors admitted to our clinic who were treated using a colonic stent and discuss our findings. METHODS: Patients admitted to the emergency department for obstructive colonic tumors between 2012 and 2017 were retrospectively evaluated, and 21 patients treated using stents were included in the study. The expandable metal stent (Wallflex®, Boston Scientific, Marlborough, MA, USA) was placed at the obstruction through the lead wire. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 62 years, and the ratio of females to males was 3:18. Splenic flexure tumors were detected in 18 patients and hepatic flexure tumors in 3 patients. Seven of the patients were stented for palliative purposes. Fourteen of the cases underwent surgery. Three of them underwent laparoscopic surgery and eleven underwent open surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative stenting in colonic flexura tumors is associated with faster healing, less postoperative complications, lower rates of colostomy, and higher rates of minimally invasive surgery, and can be safely used at experienced centers.