Buttressing Sutures at the Center of the Mesh May Reduce the Probability of Recurrence in Onlay Incisional Hernia Repair: A Single-Center Study.

INTRODUCTION: An incisional hernia is a common complication after abdominal surgery. Mesh fixation and fascial closure are crucial aspects of repairing incisional hernias. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of adding a buttressing suture in the center of the mesh in onlay incisional hernia repair on recurrence. METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed 157 patients who underwent elective repair of incisional hernia at Tokat State Hospital between January 2013 and January 2020. The study examined age, gender, comorbidity, smoking, hernia type, defect size, operative time, follow-up time, recurrence, and chronic pain. The patients were divided into two groups based on the type of buttressing suture used: normal and buttressing suture. Recurrence was defined as the reappearance of a hernia at the site of a previous surgery. RESULTS: The study included 126 patients, with 61 (48.4%) in the control group and 55 (51.6%) in the buttressing suture group. Ten patients reported recurrence, with eight (13.1%) in the control group and two (3.1%) in the buttressing suture group. The difference in recurrence between the groups was statistically significant (p=0.038). The control group had an operative time of 58.79±13.23 minutes, while the buttressing suture group had an operative time of 62.12±13.51 minutes. The statistical analysis did not reveal any significant difference between the two groups (p=0.091). Out of the patients with chronic pain, two (33%) were in the control group and four (66%) were in the buttressing suture group. The incidence of chronic pain did not differ significantly between the two groups (p=0.52). CONCLUSION:  In incisional hernia repair, the use of buttressing sutures with mesh in incisional hernia repair resulted in decreased recurrence rates without increasing chronic pain or affecting operative time.

Efficacy and Safety of Endoanal Ultrasound-Guided Botulinum Toxin in Chronic Anal Fissure.

We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of endoanal ultrasound (EAUS)-guided botulinum toxin (BT) in the treatment of chronic anal fissure (CAF). All patients were classified into 2 groups: conventional and EAUS groups. In total, 90 units of BT were injected into the internal anal sphincter at the 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions in the EAUS group. An injection was performed into the intersphincteric space at the 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions in the conventional group. Adverse effects and efficacy were analyzed. There were 44 patients: 26 in the conventional group and 18 in the EAUS group. Pain and incontinence rates were similar between groups (P > .05). The efficacy rate was higher in the EAUS group (69.23%) than in the conventional group (81.82%), but this difference was not significant (P = .466). EAUS-guided BT injection is safe and effective in patients with CAFs.

The effects of onlay titanium-coated mesh on recurrence, foreign body sensation and chronic pain after ventral hernia repair.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: There are many complications of meshes in hernia repair. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of onlay titanium-coated meshes (TCM) on recurrence, foreign body sensation and chronic pain in ventral hernia repair. METHODS: In this retrospective study, 160 patients undergone TCM or polypropylene mesh (PM) surgery for onlay repair of ventral hernia were examined between May 2014 and January 2018 at our center. Patient characteristics, type of hernia, defect size, operative time, follow-up time, surgical site occurrence (infection, seroma and hematoma), recurrence, foreign body sensation and chronic pain were analyzed. Patients were divided into two groups according to mesh used: TCM (titanium group) or PM (polypropylene group). RESULTS: Out of 160 patients, 63 (32.6%) had TCM and 97 (67.4%) had PM. There was no significant difference between groups in terms of recurrence (p = 0.757). Chronic pain and foreign body sensation were low in the titanium group (p = 0.047 and p = 0.029, respectively), a positive correlation was found between surgical site infection and recurrence (p = 0.020). In the polypropylene group, an increase in defect size was significantly associated with foreign body sensation and chronic pain (p < 0.001 for both comparisons). CONCLUSION: In onlay repair of ventral hernia, TCM led to less foreign body sensation and chronic pain then PM. The surgical site infection was associated with recurrence for these meshes. Additionally, the increase in defect size causes a risk for foreign body sensation and chronic pain in repair using PM.

Long-term outcomes after Lichtenstein repair using titanium-coated mesh: A retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the long-term outcomes such as recurrence, foreign body feeling and chronic pain of titanium-coated mesh (TCM) versus standard polypropylene mesh (PM) after Lichtenstein repair (LR). METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, patients who underwent TCM and PM in LR were evaluated between May 2014 and January 2018 at Ordu University Training and Research Hospital in Turkey. Primary outcomes (age, gender, body mass index, smoking habits, comorbid diseases, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, hernia type, side of hernia, duration of hernia presentation and operative time) and secondary outcomes (surgical site occurence, recurrence, foreign body feeling and chronic pain) were analyzed. Patients were divided into two groups according to the mesh elected (TCM and PM); titanium group (TG) and polypropylene group (PG), respectively. RESULTS: In this study, 221 patients were analyzed; TCM was used in 72 (32.6%) patients and PM was used in 149 (67.4%) patients. No difference was found between groups in terms of primary outcomes (p>0.05). In the analysis of secondary outcomes, surgical site occurence was similar in both groups (p>0.05). Recurrence was observed in 1.39% (n=1) of TG and 2.01% (n=3) of PG. No difference was found between groups in terms of recurrence (p=0.606). Foreign body feeling was observed in 15.3% (n=11) of TG and 27.5% (n=41) of PG. Chronic pain was observed in 4.2% (n=3) of TG and 12.8% (n=9) of PG. Significant differences were found between groups in terms of chronic pain and foreign body feeling (p=0.046 and p=0.044, respectively). CONCLUSION: The result of this study shows that in LR, TCM leads to less foreign body feeling and chronic pain than PM. However, there was no difference in terms of recurrence between these meshes.

Predictive value of protein induced by absence of vitamin K absence or antagonist II, alpha-fetoprotein and gamma-glutamyltransferase/aspartate aminotransferase ratio for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in transplantation candidates.

OBJECTIVES: Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II (PIVKA-II) are used as tumour markers for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigate whether combined liver function marker such as gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) with alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and PIVKA-II increase their diagnostic predictive value in diagnosis of HCC. METHODS: The serum levels of PIVKA-II, AFP and GGT/AST ratio were analysed in 112 transplant candidates. Of these patients, 66 (59%) had HCC and 46 (41%) patients did not. RESULTS: Histological grade was positively correlated with serum levels of PIVKA-II and AFP (r = 0.255, P < 0.039 and r = 0.284, P < 0.021, respectively) and only tumour size positively correlated with the serum level of PIVKA-II (r = 0.270, P < 0.028), but no correlation between the number of tumour, Milan criteria and PIVKA-II (r = -0.002, P = 0.984 and r = 0.154, P = 0.216, respectively) with AFP (r = -0.024, P = 0.851 and r = 0.080, P = 0.522, respectively). Sensitivity and specificity of AFP, PIVKA-II and GGT/AST ratio at cutoff values of 6.08, 2.63 and 0.89, respectively, were as follows: 77, 77 vs 71, 83 vs 60 and 53%. The combination of AFP and PIVKA-II and GGT/AST ratio in HCC diagnosis increased AUROC values as follows; 0.860 vs 0.882 and 0.823 vs 0.840, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that combined tumour markers such as AFP, PIVKA-II and GGT/AST ratio increase their sensitivity in HCC diagnosis.

The evaluation of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and platelet to lymphocyte ratio in anorectal abscess.

BACKGROUND: Anorectal abscess (ARA) is a commonly observed surgical situation. Our aim is to evaluate neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in ARA. METHODS: From January 2014 to March 2019, patients diagnosed with ARA were retrospectively analysed, and a patient group was formed. Healthy individuals were included in this study as a control group. The demographic characteristics, completed blood count (CBC) and c-reactive protein (CRP) values of patients were analysed. Localisation of abscess in patients was assessed using computed tomography results. From CBC parameters, white blood count (WBC), NLR and PLR values were identified. The cut-off values for data, sensitivity and specificity were identified using the receiver operating curve (ROC) analyses. RESULTS: In the patient group, WBC, CRP, NLR and PLR values were identified to be statistically significantly increased (p<0.001). When supralevator abscess localisation was compared with other ARA localisations, there was a statistically significant difference for WBC (p=0.003), but no statistically significant differences were identified for CRP, NLR and PLR (p>0.05). ROC analysis found WBC had cut-off value of 9.99 103/µL for ARA diagnosis with 95% sensitivity and 95% specificity, a CRP had 2.5 mg/dL cut-off value with 88% sensitivity and 95% specificity, NLR had a cut-off of 3.96 with a sensitivity of 82% and specificity of 95% and PLR had a cut-off value of 112.84 with a sensitivity of 71% and specificity of 68%. CONCLUSION: We believe NLR may be used as a helpful diagnostic marker for ARA diagnosis; however, PLR has low sensitivity and specificity.

White Blood Count Can Be a Practical Guide for the Differential Diagnosis of Breast Abscess and Idiopathic Granulomatous Mastitis.

Introduction and aim Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) is an inflammatory disease of the breast and has the same symptoms and radiologic imaging as breast abscess (BA). The aim of this study is to evaluate the use of inflammatory markers as white blood count (WBC), C-reactive protein (CRP), and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a potentially useful tool for the differential diagnosis of BA and IGM. Methods In this retrospective study, we analyzed 31 patients with IGM and 47 patients with BA between January 2013 and April 2020. Age, symptoms, symptomatic breast side, microbiological culture, complete blood count, and C-reactive protein (CRP) values of patients were analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to define the optimal cut-off for WBC, CRP, and NLR. Results WBC was significantly higher in the BA group compared to the IGM group (11.45 vs. 9.78; p=0.042), but no difference was found for CRP and NLR between these groups (p=0.146, p=0.081, respectively). In ROC analysis results in BA group, cut-off values, the best sensitivity and specificity for WBC, CRP, and NLR were 8.46 × 103/µL (81%-70%), 1.5 mg/dl (77-76%), and 2.93 (70-82%), respectively. For IGM group, cut-off values, the best sensitivity and specificity for WBC, CRP and NLR were 8.49 × 103/µL (74-70%), 1.5 mg/dl (61-76%) and 2.29 (64-72%), respectively. Conclusion This study showed that CRP and NLR cannot be used as a useful tool for differential diagnosis of IGM; furthermore, WBC is a parameter that can act as a practical guide for the differential diagnosis of BA and IGM.

The Results of Abdominopelvic Computed Tomography Interpreted via Remote Access for the Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis.

INTRODUCTION: Abdominal computed tomography (CT) is one of the imaging modalities for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis (AA). Today, CT scans can be interpreted via remote access called tele-radiology, besides conventional methods. The objective of this study was to evaluate the CT interpreted via tele-radiology for diagnosing AA. METHODS: In this retrospective study, a total of 679 patients, who were interpreted via tele-radiology of CT due to suspicion of AA, were evaluated. Age, gender, CT findings, pathology results and intra-operative diagnosis of those with normal CT results were analysed. A sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive values (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV) of CT in the diagnosis of AA were calculated. RESULTS: 520 patients who were operated with pre-diagnosed AA were found. Of those, 441 patients (84.8%) were diagnosed with AA according to CT reports, out of which 368 (83.4%) were positive (true-positive) and 73 (16.6%) were negative (false-positive) in terms of pathology results. In the remaining operated 79 patients with normal CT results, 58 (73.4%) were positive for AA and 21 (26.6%) (negative laparotomy) were negative for AA in terms of pathological examination. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV and NPV of CT in the diagnosis of AA were determined as 81.2%, 67.7%, 76.7%, 83.4% and 64.2%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The sensitivity and PPV rates were found similar in both conventional and tele-radiological methods. However, specificity, accuracy and NPV rates were determined lower than in literature. Additionally, the negative laparotomy rate was higher than the conventional method.

Non-Occlusive Mesenteric Ischemia Due to Hirudotherapy: A Case Report.

Leech therapy, which can lead to complications such as anemia and bleeding, has been used to treat many diseases since ancient times. Furthermore, some substances in leech saliva are known to have anticoagulant effects. Acute mesenteric ischemia, which develops due to mesenteric vascular obstruction, can be treated medically or surgically. Non-occlusive mesenteric ischemia (NOMI) occurs as a result of decreased blood flow in mesenteric vessels due to hypovolemia, hypotension, etc. In this report, we mentioned a 57-year-old male patient who was admitted to the emergency department with syncope and weakness. In his medical history, the patient was stated to have used leech therapy to treat diabetic wounds on his feet, and prolonged and unstoppable bleeding was seen after leech bites. On his physical examination, there was tenderness in all quadrants of the abdomen. Abdominal computed tomography without contrast agent showed hepatic portal venous gas and pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis (PSI). The patient underwent laparotomy owing to the development of acute abdomen during the follow-up. Necrosis was seen in the terminal ileum and entire colon. Low flow in mesenteric vascular vessels of these necrotic segments was indicated with intraoperative Doppler ultrasonography. All necrotic segments were resected and open end-ileostomy was performed. The patient was discharged on the 17th day of follow-up. In conclusion, excessive bleeding caused by leech therapy can cause NOMI.

Significance of hemogram on diagnosis of acute appendicitis during pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Acute appendicitis (AA) is the most common emergency surgical condition during pregnancy after obstetric and gynecological pathologies. Urgent and accurate diagnosis of AA in pregnant patients reduces maternal and fetal morbidity/mortality rates. This study evaluated the significance of hemogram to diagnose AA during pregnancy. METHODS: Forty-seven pregnant patients operated for AA in the Ordu or Ondokuz Mayis University Medical School Hospitals between January 2007 and December 2017 were compared with 47 healthy pregnant women in terms of hemogram parameters, including the white blood cell (WBC) count, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, platelet count, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), mean platelet volume (MPV), and red cell distribution width (RDW) values. The operated group was evaluated based on post-operative pathologic results and subclassified into appendicitis positive (Group A) and appendicitis negative (Group B) groups. The subgroups were compared to the control group. RESULTS: The WBC and neutrophil count and mean NLR and PLR values were significantly higher in Group A compared to Group B and the control group (p<0.001). The mean lymphocyte count was significantly lower in Group A compared to other groups (p<0.001). The MPV and RDW values and mean platelet count showed no significant difference between groups (p>0.05). When cutoff values for WBC, neutrophil count, NLR, PLR, and lymphocyte counts were set to >10300, >7950, >5.50, >155.2, and ≤1330, respectively, the sensitivity rates were 72.5%, 80%, 90%, 77.5% and 85%, whereas specificity rates were 72.3%, 79.7%, 89.4%, 74.5%, and 82.5%, respectively. CONCLUSION: When comparing pregnant women diagnosed with AA to patients operated for suspected AA and healthy pregnant women, the WBC and neutrophil count and NLR and PLR values were found to be significantly higher, whereas lymphocyte counts were lower. In addition to medical history, physical examination and imaging techniques, hemogram parameters should be considered to diagnose AA in pregnant women.

Beneficial effects of Ankaferd Blood Stopper on dermal wound healing: an experimental study.

Ankaferd Blood Stopper(®) (ABS) is a folkloric medicinal plant extract used as a haemostatic agent in traditional Turkish medicine. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of ABS on the healing of dermal wounds in a rat model. Twenty Wistar albino rats were divided into two groups. Standard full-thickness skin defects were created on the back of the rats. In the control group (group 1), dressings moisturised with saline were changed daily. In the study group (group 2), the wounds were cleaned daily with saline, Ankaferd solution was applied, then the wounds were covered with moisturised dressings. The contraction percentage of wound areas were calculated on the 3rd, 7th, 10th and 14th days using a planimetric programme. On day 14, the wound areas were excised for histopathological examination, inflammatory scoring and evaluation of collagen deposition. The study group was superior to the control group in terms of inflammatory scoring, type I/type III collagen ratio and wound contraction rates. ABS(®) may be used effectively and safely on full-thickness wounds as a natural product.