[Pediatric head injuries, retrospective analysis of 851 patients: an epidemiological study]. / Çocukluk çagi kafa travmalari, 851 olgunun retrospektif degerlendirilmesi: Epidemiyolojik bir çalisma.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to contribute to the epidemiological database of our country about pediatric head injuries. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 851 patients younger than 14 years old with head injury, treated in the Neurosurgery Department of Samsun Mehmet Aydin Education and Research Hospital between January 2003 and June 2008. RESULTS: Five hundred and fifty (65%) patients were male and 301 (35%) were female. Falls (70%) were the most common cause of head injury. According to Glasgow Coma Score (GCS), 74% of patients had mild (13-15), 22% moderate (9-12) and 4% severe (3-8) head injury. Eighty-seven (10.5%) patients were operated. The commonest operations were performed for depressed fractures and epidural hematomas. The mortality rate was 3.8% (33). Common causes of mortality were traffic accidents and falls from heights. CONCLUSION: Other reported studies and this study show that the majority of pediatric head injuries occur as a result of preventable causes. It is important to have local epidemiological studies and data about head injuries in order to prevent these traumas before their occurrence.

Experience of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome that operated using a limited uni skin incision.

AIM: Releasing the carpal tunnel for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is the most common surgical procedure in neurosurgical practice. In this study, we aimed to analyze the outcome of patients operated on for carpal tunnel syndrome using a limited uni skin incision. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between June 2007 and November 2009, we performed 143 carpal tunnel releasing procedures for 126 patients. There were 112 (% 89) female and 14 (% 11) male patients with a mean age of 53 (27-81). 79 operations were performed for the right hand and 64 for the left hand. RESULTS: Each patient was evaluated with their history, physical examination and electromyelography (EMG). All patients had brachialgia paraesthetica nocturna and severe CTS by EMG. Pre- and post-operative Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Visual Analog Patient Satisfaction Scales (VAPSS) were used for clinical evaluation. There was no complication such as bleeding or nerve injury in the operated patients. The mean follow up period was 13 months (3-24 months). The mean VAS score was 7.9 pre-operatively and 2.8 post-operatively and the mean VAPSS score was 8.1. Three patients underwent re-operation because of the recurrence of symptoms. There was no procedure-related complication during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: The limited uni skin incision is a safe and effective minimal invasive procedure for releasing the carpal tunnel.

[Retrospective analysis of 954 adult patients with head injury: an epidemiological study]. / Kafa travmasi nedeniyle tedavi edilen 954 eriskin olgunun retrospektif degerlendirilmesi: Epidemiyolojik çalisma.

BACKGROUND: Head traumas are among the most common causes of mortality and morbidity among young adults in urban areas. We aimed to contribute to the epidemiological database of our country with regard to head traumas. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 954 patients older than 15 years with head trauma who were treated in the Neurosurgery Department of Samsun Mehmet Aydin Education and Research Hospital between January 2003 and June 2008. Seven hundred twenty-one (75.5%) patients were male and 233 (24.5%) were female. Five hundred twenty-one (52.5%) were between 15-40 years old. RESULTS: Traffic accident (75%) was the most common cause of head trauma. According to Glasgow Coma Score (GCS), 48% of the patients had mild (13-15), 31% moderate (9-12) and 21% severe (3-8) head injury. One hundred seventy-seven (18.5%) patients were operated. The commonest operations were performed for subdural and epidural hematomas. Mortality was 19.4% (185). Common causes of mortality were traffic accidents (77%) and gunshot injuries. CONCLUSION: It is important to have local epidemiological studies and data about head traumas in order to prevent these traumas. In this study, the predominance of young men and the causes of trauma and mortality were similar to that reported in the related literature.