RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: In the study, the morphometric evaluation of internal carotid artery (ICA) was performed in order to show the differences between the age groups and genders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the study, descriptive measurements of intercarotid distance on the computed tomography of 173 (88 male [M], 85 female [F]) pa- tients and the intercavernous distance on magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of 49 (19 M, 30 F) individuals were reviewed. RESULTS: Intercarotid distance was found to be close to the border of statistical significance and for results of the comparative measurements that were per- formed in the study; no significant sex-associated difference was observed for the distance between the gender and midpoint of the sella turcica and medial margin of the right ICA. Compared to gender, the distance between the base of the sella turcica and the base of the left ICA is found to be closed to of statistical significance. A statistically significant difference was obtained for the distance between the midpoint of sella turcica and medial margin of the left ICA and for the distance between the base of the sella turcica and the base of right ICA. Although it is observed that there is a weak correlation between the age and the distance between midpoint of the sella turcica and medial margin of the right ICA, statistically there is a significant difference between them. CONCLUSIONS: Obtained results, planning of surgical interventions are supportive and guiding in terms of prevention of damage of to ICA in three dimensional thinking and operations.
RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Toward the end of 2010, the Arab spring, the waves of revolutionary demonstrations and protests influenced also Syria, where violent clashes turned into a civil war. Hundreds of thousands of people became refugees. The use of excessive force unfortunately culminated in numerous deaths and injuries in many cities. Being the closest city to Aleppo, Damascus and Homs, the biggest cities of Syria, Antioch/Hatay has been the city where initial emergency treatments were performed. For this reason, we examined and retrospectively analyzed the medical records of the patients treated in the clinics of our hospital due to cranial gunshot wounds during the war. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The medical records of 186 patients who were injured in the Syrian War and brought to, followed up and treated in the Neurosurgery Clinic of Mustafa Kemal University, Faculty of Medicine in Hatay, a Turkish city on the Syrian border, between April 2011 and June 2013. RESULTS: A total of 186 patients were evaluated in a period of more than 2 years. Of all 91.4% of the patients were adults (male/female: 152/18) and 8.6% of them were pediatric patients (male/female: 14/2). The average age of the patients was 31 years, with an age range of between 2 months and 67 years. According to Glasgow coma score (GCS) of the patients at the time of admission, GCS was 3 in 32 patients (17.2%), between 4 and 7 in 70 patients (37.6%), and between 8 and 15 in 84 patients (45.1%). We observed that the patients with GCS of 4-7 had a significantly lower mortality among the 56 patients treated surgically compared with the 14 patients treated medically. DISCUSSION: Cranial gunshot wounds are responsible for high mortality and morbidity. A multiplicity of factors plays a role on morbidity and mortality. These are the duration of transport, the injury pattern, the velocities of the weapons used, and the Glasgow Coma Scales of the patients at the time of admission. CONCLUSION: The authors recommend that the patients with cranial gunshot wounds who has GCS of 4-7 should be aggressively treated including surgery as well. We do not recommend surgical treatment for patients with GCS of 3. All our experiences show that treatment of gunshot wounds will continue to be a matter of debate, about which there is more to learn. The data presented in this study will once again demonstrate the seriousness of the event, and will, perhaps, contribute to the peace negotiations to end the war.