Ersoy Dogan

The preventive effect of N-nitro l-arginine methyl ester in experimentally induced myringosclerosis

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to investigate the antiinflammatory and antifibrotic effects of N-nitro L-arginine methyl ester (L-name) in experimentally induced myringosclerosis. METHODS Twenty Wistar albino rats were bilaterally myringotomized and divided randomly into four groups, each including five rats. Group I received no treatment, Group II was treated with topical saline solution, Group III received topical L-NAME and Group IV received intraperitoneally administered L-NAME. After 2 weeks, the tympanic membranes were examined and scored by otomicroscopy regarding the extent of the myringosclerosis. Then the tympanic membranes were harvested and evaluated histopathologically by light microscopy. The intensity of inflammation and degree of myringosclerosis were evaluated, the mean thickness of tympanic membranes were also measured. RESULTS The tympanic membranes of Groups I and II showed extensive myringosclerosis in contrast to those of Groups III and IV which had significantly less or no changes (p < 0.05). The inflammation and fibroblastic activity of the lamina propria in the tympanic membranes of Groups III and IV were found to be significantly less pronounced (p < 0.05). The tympanic membranes were found to be significantly thicker in Groups I and II when compared with Groups III and IV (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION Our results showed that both topical and intraperitoneal applications of L-NAME supressed inflammation, reduced fibroblastic proliferation and decreased the formation of myringosclerosis in myringotomized rat tympanic membranes.

Microdebrider assisted endoscopic marsupialization of congenital intranasal nasolacrimal duct cysts.

OBJECTIVE To provide information on the clinical characteristics and management of an uncommon congenital nasolacrimal system anomaly, intranasal nasolacrimal duct cyst. METHODS Three patients treated with microdebrider assisted endoscopic marsupialization for intranasal nasolacrimal duct cysts were included in this study. Management and outcomes are compared to previous reports in the literature. RESULTS Patients were presented in between 2007 and 2010. Diagnosis was made by clinical observation and endoscopic nasal examination. The first patient is a 1 year old child with congenital dacryocystocele presented as a right medial canthal mass and ipsilateral intranasal cyst. The second patient is a 60 days old child presented with nasal obstruction and feeding difficulty who was found to have bilateral intranasal cystic masses. The third patient was a 6 days old newborn with respiratory distress, whose nasal endoscopy revealed bilateral choanal atresia and left side intranasal cyst. All three cases were treated with nasal endoscopic marsupialization and no recurrence of symptoms and physical findings were found. CONCLUSIONS Intranasal nasolacrimal duct cysts may lead to nasal obstruction, respiratory distress and feeding difficulty. An otorhinolaryngologist should be consulted, as nasal endoscopy is fundamental for diagnosis. Microdebrider assisted endoscopic marsupialization is a safe and curative treatment.

Effect of steroids for nasal polyposis surgery: A placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind study.

Although medical intervention is the first option for treatment of nasal polyps, surgery is still a therapeutic option for symptomatic cases that do not respond or partially respond to medical intervention. However, there is a need for high‐level evidence for the preoperative use of steroids in nasal polyposis surgery. We aimed to assess the perioperative effect of preoperative use of oral prednisolone for advanced‐stage diffuse nasal polyposis.

Tumor deposits in head and neck carcinomas

Tumor deposits, nodules in the peritumoral adipose tissue with no architectural residue of lymph node, have previously been described in colorectal adenocarcinomas. To date, however, there has been no examination of tumor deposits in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Intramasseteric solitary fibrous tumor.

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare spindle cell neoplasm that usually arises from the pleura. SFTs occurring within the head and neck region are uncommon. Recently, it has been described in various head and neck sites such as oral cavity, nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, salivary glands, thyroid, buccal space, and larynx. Here, we report a case of SFT originating in the masseter muscle of a 27-year-old woman. To our knowledge, this is the first description of a SFT of the head and neck region, arising within the masseter muscle. We present the clinical history, radiologic and histopathologic findings as well as immunoreactivity of this tumor.

Publication rates of presentations which were presented at Turkish National Rhinology Congresses

OBJECTIVES This study aims to determine the publication rates of oral presentations and posters presented at Turkish National Rhinology Congresses in the medical journals and to make a comparison with related literature data. MATERIALS AND METHODS The name and surname of the first authors and the title of presentation presented at 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 were searched using PubMed, Turkmedline and Ulakbim national search engines. RESULTS Of the 218 papers presented, 61 (28%) were published. The mean time from presentation at congress to publication was 21.8 months. The mean time to publication for oral presentations was 23.2 months, while it was 20.8 months for poster presentations. The publication rates of oral and poster presentations were 35.8% and 24.5%, respectively, indicating no statistically significant difference between two groups (p=0.08). The publication rate of research articles was statistically significantly higher than that of case reports (20.7% vs. 33.3%; p=0.04). CONCLUSION The publication rate of presentations presented at four Turkish National Rhinology Congresses is lower compared to the previously reported publication rates in otorhinolaryngology. Giving wider publicity to research presentations and being more selective for case reports will provide inclusion of more qualified papers with high possibility of publication and also enhance the scientific value of such congresses.

Apoptotic Effects of Sanguinarine on the Organ of Corti 1 Cells: Comparison with Cisplatin.

OBJECTIVE Sanguinarine is an alkaloid obtained from the root of Sanguinaria canadensis and other plants from the Papaveraceae family and is well known to possess a broad range of biological functions, such as antimicrobial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antineoplastic activities. We aimed to specify the in vitro effect of sanguinarine on the House Ear Institute-Organ of Corti 1 (HEI-OC1) cells and to compare this effect with the ototoxic effect of cisplatin (CDDP). MATERIALS AND METHODS We performed cell proliferation assay for determining the in vitro effect of sanguinarine alone and compared it with the effect of cisplatin. Flow cytometry annexin-V apoptosis detection was performed. RESULTS We found that sanguinarine and CDDP inhibited the cell growth in a dose-dependant manner in HEI-OC1 cells after 24 h of incubation. In sanguinarine-treated group, apoptosis was 6.6%, necrosis was 26.7%, and the cell viability was 66.7%. Further, in CDDP-treated group, apoptosis was 5.6%, necrosis was 45.4%, and the cell viability was 48.7%. According to the annexin-V apoptosis detection results, we found that sanguinarine caused 3.9% apoptosis and 1.3% necrosis, while CDDP caused 2.9% apoptosis and 20% necrosis on HEI-OC1 cells. CONCLUSION Our findings suggested that lower doses of sanguinarine are promising antineoplastic agents, which did not indicate any toxic effect on HEI-OC1 cells. Application of these data to clinical practice requires further support by in vivo studies.

Sphenovomerine suture: a useful landmark for locating sphenoid sinus ostium.

AimThe aim of this study was to determine whether the sphenovomerine suture (SVS) can be used as a landmark to localize the sphenoidal sinus ostium. MethodsEndoscopic imaging was done on 152 skulls to identify ostium of the sphenoidal sinus, the SVS, and the articulation of sphenoidal process of palatine bone between the body of the sphenoid and the sphenopalatine foramen. The variables were as follows: (1) the distance between the medial border of the ostium and SVS (DSO-SVS); (2) the angle between them (ASO-SVS); (3) the distance between the inferior border of the ostium and the horizontal line (DSO-HL); (4) the distance between intersection point of the SVS-sphenoidal process of the palatine bone and the medial border of sphenopalatine foramen (DSPF-SVS); and (5) the number of sphenopalatine foramen. ResultsOf the 152 skulls, 289 sides were included in the study. The mean value for DSO-SVS was 3.15 (1.35) mm, DSO-HL was 5.99 (2.38) mm, DSPF-SVS was 7.07 (1.96) mm, and ASO-SVS was 5.99 (9.73) mm. As DSPF-SVS decreases, DSO-SVS and DSO-HL decrease with statistical significance (Ps = 0.02 and 0.001, respectively). The distribution of the numbers of sphenopalatine foramen was as follows: one 90%, two 9.7%, and four 0.3%. ConclusionsThe horizontal distance between the SVS and the sphenopalatine foramen plays a significant role in identifying the location of sphenoid sinus ostium. As with the other landmarks, the SVS provides an additional benefit in locating the sphenoid sinus ostium for endoscopic sinus surgeons. The incidence of 4 sphenopalatine foramen is 0.3%.

Analysis and publication rate of the presentations at the Turkish National Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery meetings

OBJECTIVES This study aims to evaluate the analysis and publication rates of presentations presented at the Turkish National Otorhinolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery (TNORL and HNS) meetings. MATERIALS AND METHODS The TNORL and HNS meetings of 2008, 2009 and 2010 were included in the study. The number, subjects, types (clinical study, experimental study, case report) and institutions of the oral presentations and posters were documented using the abstract CDs of the meetings. The conversion rate of presentations into the full-text articles in the peer-reviewed journals were reviewed through the search engines Pubmed for the international indexes and Türk Medline and Ulakbim for the national ones. The time from presentation in the meetings to publication was determined. The distribution of journals according to the publication dates of the articles were evaluated in terms of the Science citation index (SCI), SCI expanded (SCI-E), PubMed and Turkish citation index. RESULTS The total number of presentations submitted in the three TNORL and HNS meetings was 1,454 and posters accounted for 75.4% of all presentations. While case reports were 53.2% of the total presentations, the ratios were found to be 43% and 3.8% for the research and experimental studies, respectively. Of the oral presentations, 88% included research studies, whereas 70.3% of the posters were case reports. The origin of the presentations was university hospitals, education hospitals, other national institutions, and international institutions with ratios of 51.6%, 44.3%, 3% and 1.1%, respectively. The conversion rate of presentations into the full-text articles was found as 21.9%. The rate was 37.3% for oral presentations and 17% for the posters (p=0.00). For all of the 319 published papers, the overall mean time from presentation to publication was 18.6 months. While 62.7% of the articles were published in international journals, 37.3% were published in national journals. The conversion rate of oral presentations into publications was higher than the posters (p=0.00). CONCLUSION The first study related to TNORL and HNS meetings in Turkey revealed that, although the quantity of presentations was high, the rate of conversion into the full-text journal articles was lower compared to the similar international annual meetings held by otorhinolaryngology or other disciplines. The quality and success of our scientific meetings can be enhanced with some particular precautions.

Pharyngocutaneous Fistula after Total Laryngectomy: Risk Factors with Emphasis on Previous Radiotherapy and Heavy Smoking

Objective In this retrospective cohort study, we aimed to determine the incidence of pharyngocutaneous fistula (PCF) after total laryngectomy (TL) and to define the possible predictors for PCF formation. Methods The medical records of 198 patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma who underwent TL were reviewed. After the exclusion of patients with history of free flap reconstruction, previous laryngeal surgery, and previous radiotherapy (RT) for other primary cancers, the risk factors for PCF were analyzed in 183 patients who were included in the study. Results The overall incidence of PCF was 20.2%. A history of heavy smoking and previous RT were detected as independent risk factors in both univariate (p=0.004 and p=0.007, respectively) and multivariate (p=0.005) analyses. Preoperative tracheotomy (PT) longer than 14 days was a risk factor for PCF among patients with PT in the univariate analysis (p=0.031). Overall three- and five-year survival rates were statistically indifferent between the PCF and non-PCF groups (p>0.05). However, the overall five-year survival rate was lesser in the persistent PCF group (47%) than in the non-persistent PCF group (83%) (p=0.038). Conclusion Heavy smoking and previous RT are independent risk factors for PCF, and the persistence of PCF decreases survival rates. Preventable measures should be taken to decrease the incidence and persistence of this complication of TL in the management of patients with possible risk factors.