Max Clara: Sweet life in Istanbul with a bitter end 1950-1966 and the search for unethically obtained tissue specimens from his estate in Turkish collections.

The aim of this study was to examine the last period of Max Clara's (1899-1966) life in Istanbul (1950-1966) and his scientific activities there. Clara's career before and during the National Socialist (NS) era was extensively studied, however, almost no information is available regarding his late years and his relationship with old colleagues and the academic world after he was dismissed from the academic life in the postwar period. Max Clara's life in Istanbul was based on primary sources from the Istanbul University Archive. Archival documents were supplemented by analyses of the available secondary literature on the history of Istanbul University and refugee scholars in Turkey, literature on Clara, and Clara's publications. Furthermore, an attempt was made to find Clara's histological and anatomical material that he brought with him from Germany, so that the identities of the NS era victims from whom the material were harvested could potentially be reached. Max Clara's life, academic work, and his relations with the outside world during his Istanbul years were clearly and extensively brought into light. However, his histological and anatomical material which was divided into three parts could not be reached due to the reluctance of universities and faculty members who are the new owners of the material. Clara's involvement of unethical practices during the NS era such as medical experiments on prisoners and use of the unethically procured bodies of the executed was further revealed. The analysis of his academic publications revealed that there are great inconsistencies and distortions in themselves and that these publications are not as important as it was thought. Finally, the author considers that international pressure is needed, as in the case of the Pernkopf Atlas, to reach the anatomical and histological material and honor and memorialize the victims.

Pioneering orthopaedic trauma surgery in Turkey: Burhaneddin Toker (1890-1951), the stormy 1930s, and refugees running from Nazism.

Orthopedic surgery, the medical discipline that deals with diseases and injuries of the musculoskeletal system has been considered a distinct medical discipline in the west since the beginning of the twentieth century. However, in Turkey, the acceptance of musculoskeletal traumatology as an integral part of orthopedic surgery actualized as late as 1961. Previously, orthopedic trauma patients were usually treated in general surgery departments. Dr. Burhaneddin Toker, a true pioneer, changed this conduct of the time in Turkey. He transformed Cerrahpasa Hospital, then a municipality hospital today the well-known Cerrahpasa Medical School of Istanbul University, to a trauma center. He pioneered systematic surgery of the musculoskeletal injuries, created a separate service for musculoskeletal traumatology, trained many surgeons in this field, wrote textbooks, and reported his clinical experience in scientific publications. This study examines the biography of Burhaneddin Toker and how he was able to further medical training in Turkey with a focus on Turkey in the stormy 1930s, the way the young republican government under Atatürk's leadership handled educational issues, and the refugee scientists who found a safe haven in Turkey fleeing Nazism.

Publication rates of abstracts presented at the 23rd (2013) and 24th (2014) National Turkish Orthopedics and Traumatology Congresses: We are not improving.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine 1) the publication rates of podium and poster presentations from the 23rd (2013) and the 24th (2014) National Turkish Orthopedics and Traumatology Congresses in peer-reviewed journals and (2) compare these rates with publication rates from the 20th congress (2007) published previously. The secondary objective was to determine the time lag to publication and compare this data with the data from the 20th congress. METHODS: All abstracts from the scientific programs of the 23rd (2013) and the 24th (2014) National Turkish Orthopedics and Traumatology Congresses were identified and computerized PubMed searches were conducted to determine whether an abstract had been followed by publication of a full-text article in peer-reviewed journals. The time lag to publication was also noted. RESULTS: Of the 993 presentation abstracts (302 podium and 691 poster presentations) from the 23rd congress and of the 940 presentation abstracts (310 podium and 630 poster presentations) from the 24th congress, 278 (28%) and 234 (24.9%) were followed by a full-text article in peer-reviewed journals indexed by PubMed, respectively. The rates of publication of the podium and poster presentations were 39.4% (119/302) and 23% (159/691), respectively from the 23rd and 37.7% (117/310) and 18.6% (117/630), respectively from the 24th congresses. The mean time to publication of the abstracts from the 23rd congress was 12.8 ± 18.8 (median: 13, range: -140 to 47) months and the mean time to publication of the abstracts from the 24th congress was 11.1 ± 14.42 (median: 11, range: -73 to 39) months. Fifty (50/278, 18%) abstracts from the 23rd congress (mean -11, range: [-32]-[-1], median -5 months) and 37 (37/234, 15.8%) abstracts from the 24th congress (mean -10.4, range: [-73]-[-1], median -4 months) were published as full-text articles prior to the presentation at the congress. CONCLUSION: The vast majority of abstracts presented at 23rd (2013) and the 24th (2014) National Turkish Orthopedics and Traumatology Congresses were not followed by publication of a full-text article in peer-reviewed journals. The publication rates of the abstracts presented at these congresses did not improve when compared with the 20th (2007) congress.

Fate of abstracts presented at a National Turkish Orthopedics and Traumatology Congress: publication rates and consistency of abstracts compared with their subsequent full-text publications.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the publication rates of full-text articles after presentation of abstracts at a Turkish National Orthopaedics and Traumatology Congress, determine the time lag from the congress date to publication of full-text articles and assess the consistency between abstracts and the subsequent publications. METHODS: All abstracts from the scientific program of the 20th Turkish National Orthopaedics and Traumatology Congress (2007) were identified and computerized PubMed searches were conducted to determine whether an abstract had been followed by publication of a full-text article and key features were compared to evaluate their consistency. The time lag to publication and the impact factors of the journals where the articles were published were noted. RESULTS: Of the 770 abstracts (264 oral, 506 poster presentations), 227 (29.5%) were followed by a full-text and 116 (44%) of the 264 oral and 111 (22%) of the 506 poster presentations were published. The mean time to publication was 14.9±16.075 (range: 33 to 55) months. Thirty-three (14.5%) were published prior to the presentation at the congress. The likelihood of publication decreased after the third year (26 of 227, 11.5%). A total of 182 (80.2%) articles showed inconsistencies with the abstract; 74 (32.6%) minor, 14 (6.2%) major, and 94 (41.4%) minor and major inconsistencies. The mean impact factor of the journals was 1.152±0.858. CONCLUSION: The vast majority of abstracts presented at this congress were not followed by publication of a full-text article. Additionally, frequent inconsistencies between the final published article and the original abstract indicated the inadequacy of quality of reporting in abstracts.

Iatrogenic spondylodiscitis. Case report and review of literature.

Iatrogenic intervertebral disc space infection is encountered following microsurgical discectomy, percutaneous laser disc decompression, automated percutaneous lumbar nucleotomy operations, and discography. The purpose of this paper is to present a case report and review the literature on the uncommon origins of pyogenic spondylodiscitis and to emphasize the significance of prophylactic antibiotic therapy following transrectal ultrasonography-guided needle biopsy of the prostate (TUGNBP). According to the authors, this is the first reported case of pyogenic spondylodiscitis as a complication of TUGNBP in the English language literature.