Search

Despite the constant expansion of the global alginate market and the emergence of a plethora of new brands to meet the rising demand, the literature remains insufficient for the selection and preparation of optimized microcapsules. In this study, the cell transplantation potentials of two commercial alginate brands (Sigma and FMC Biopolymers-PRONATAL) with different M/G ratios were compared in vitro. Different brands of alginates were crosslinked with increasing concentrations of calcium chloride (1.5%, 2%, and 3% w/v). Utilizing size/dimension measurements, compression, swelling, and degradation tests, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and bright field (BF) imaging, the intrastructure of each experimental group was investigated. Moreover, the cell viability of HDF-encapsulated Ca-alginate microcapsules was evaluated. According to SEM and compression analysis, PROTANAL KF200 with a lower M/G ratio was found to be more rigid and robust. Due to the different proportions of MM and GG blocks, Sigma Ca-alginate microcapsules exhibited greater flexibility but lower hardness than PRONATAL KF200 microcapsules. However, there was no significant difference in cell viability between the alginate microcapsules. In future in vivo experiments, encouraging cell transplantation outcomes could be monitored by the choice of PROTANAL KF200 sodium alginate polymer for the microcapsule preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Core needle biopsy (CNB) is a relatively new technique for the diagnosis of thyroid nodules, and there are currently no large clinical series available. CNB results from 3000 cases are presented in this article. Methods: A spring-loaded 20-gauge needle was used for CNB under local anesthesia and ultrasonography guidance for 3000 patients with nodular goiter (584 males, 2416 females, mean age: 48.5). One physician performed all biopsy procedures without conducting on-site pathological examinations. Results: There were non-diagnostic 22 (.7%), benign 2620 (87.4%), atypia of undetermined significance and/or, follicular lesion of undetermined significance 90 (3%), follicular neoplasms and/or suspicious for follicular neoplasm 53 (1.7%), suspicious for malignancy 160 (5.4%), and malignant 55 (1.8%) cases. The CNB procedure was repeated in 19 non-diagnostic cases, and 17 of these patients were benign and two had malignancy. Thyroidectomy was performed on patients who had malign CNB results. All final pathology reports, except for one, were malignant for the patients who had malignant CNB results. The specificity and the sensitivity of CNB were found to be 99.9% and 100%, respectively. There were no serious complications. Conclusion: In thyroid nodules, core needle biopsy is a highly sensitive, specific, and reliable method that could be performed by a single physician. It does not require on-site pathological analysis and has a low incidence of complications and non-diagnostic rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aim: There are numerous treatment methods available for obesity, with bariatric surgery being the most effective. However, these techniques come with the risk of serious complications. This study presents a novel obesity treatment device that can shorten the length of the small intestine without the need for surgical intervention. Methods: Our new device comprises three main components: a 25 cm long rope, with one end attached to a 1 cm diameter plastic ring and the other end attached to a 2 mm diameter, 5 g sphere. Twenty-one male Wistar albino rats (6 months old, mean weight 400 g, outbred) were divided into three equal groups. Laparotomy and gastrotomy were performed on the subjects in Group 1, and all three parts of the device were placed into the gastrointestinal tract. In Group 2, only the plastic ring was placed in the stomach, and in Group 3, only a gastrotomy was performed. All subjects were followed for 3 months, during which their body weight, serum ghrelin, leptin, and nesfatin-1 levels were recorded, and the amount of food they consumed was measured. After sacrificing the animals, the stomach, proximal, and distal intestines were resected for histopathological evaluation. Results: The subjects in Group 1 experienced weight loss, whereas those in Groups 2 and 3 showed statistically significant weight gain (P<0.001 and P=0.022, respectively). Serum ghrelin levels were significantly increased in Groups 1 and 3 (P=0.015 and 0.031, respectively), while serum leptin levels were significantly decreased in Group 1 (P=0.015). Plasma nesfatin-1 levels were significantly higher in Group 1 compared to the other groups (P=0.014). There was no statistically significant difference in feed consumption between the groups. Histopathological examination revealed significantly higher fibrosis and inflammation scores in the proximal small intestine of Group 1 compared to the other groups (P=0.008 and P=0.005, respectively). Conclusions: This new device facilitates rapid and effective weight loss without the need for restricting oral food intake or organ resection. Changes in serum ghrelin, leptin, and nesfatin-1 levels did not affect these results. We hypothesize that the effective weight loss is linked to the shortening of the small intestine length. Our future plans involve modifying the device for endoscopic application in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the effect of the pandemic by comparing the number and distribution of patients who applied to the emergency services and were consulted to the emergency surgery service in the first peak period of the COVID-19 pandemic period with the same period of the previous year. Methods: Istanbul is the province with the highest population in Turkey. Patients who applied to the emergency departments of five hospitals serving at tertiary level in Istanbul were evaluated retrospectively. It was divided into two groups as the February–June 2020 pandemic period and the February–June 2019 pre-pandemic period. In both periods, the number of patients admitted to the emergency department and the number of patients who were consulted to general surgery and their distribution according to the reasons for their visit were analyzed. Results: The total number of patients admitted to the emergency department in the 5-month period during the pandemic period in 2020 was 548,509 and 742,064 for the pandemic period and the 5-month period in 2019, respectively. The total number of patients admitted or consulted to emergency general surgery was 21,399 and 30,868, respectively. In total, there was a 26.1% decrease in the number of patients who came to the emergency department during the pandemic period, and a 30.7% decrease in the number of patients consulted to the emergency general surgery (p<0.001). During the pandemic period, there was a decrease of 23.9% (p=0.62) in the total number of surgeries performed in the emergency surgery service, and 11.9% (p=0.59) in the surgeries performed due to trauma. The number of patients operated for non-traumatic reasons was 24% during the pandemic period. 0.4 (p<0.004) decreased, while the number of conservatively followed non-traumatic patients increased by 54.6% (p<0.0001). Conclusion: In the first peak period of the COVID-19 epidemic in Istanbul, the number of patients coming to the emergency services in tertiary hospitals and the number of patients admitted to emergency surgery units and operated on decreased. There was a decrease in the number of surgeries in emergency surgery patients due to trauma and non-traumatic. An increase was observed in the number of non-traumatic conservative follow-up and emergency surgery patients treated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background We aimed to minimalize operative complications by spraying of methylene blue stain on thyroid glands and the perithyroidal area. Material and methods The intra-operative methylene blue spraying technique was used prospectively on a total of 56 patients who had undergone primary (not recurrent) thyroid surgery for a variety of thyroid diseases. Bilateral total thyroidectomy was performed in all cases. After superior but before inferior pole ligation, 0.5ml of methylene blue was sprayed over the thyroid lobe and perilober area. Tissues, especially parathyroides, the recurrent laryngeal nerve, and the inferior thyroid artery, were identified and evaluated. Results Recurrent laryngeal nerve and arteries were not stained and thus they remained white in all cases while all other tissues were stained blue. Within three minutes parathyroid glands washed out the blue stain and the original yellow color was regained. Thyroid tissue wash-out time was not less than 15 minutes; perithyroideal muscles, tendinous and lipoid structures took no less than 25 minutes. Conclusion The safety of intravascular methylene blue guidance on thyroid surgery is known. This research demonstrates the effectiveness of the spraying technique, a new technique which ensures not only identification of parathyroid glands within three minutes, but also identification of recurrent laryngeal nerves and inferior thyroid arteries.