Özlem Çolak

An important and overlooked parameter in platelet rich plasma preparation: The mean platelet volume

The platelets are the most heterogeneous cellular elements of the blood in size whereas larger platelets have more granules that make them more reactive rather than their smaller counterparts.

Abdominal Wall Hernias and Their Repair with Inverse Abdominoplasty

The abdominal wall is made up of muscles that mirror each other from right to left. These include the rectus abdominis and the internal obliques, the external obliques, and the transversalis. Hernia is derived from the Latin word for rupture [1]. The definition of a hernia of the abdominal wall is an abnormal protrusion of the abdominal contents through an acquired or congenital area of weakness or defect in the wall.

Discussion on the Effect of Omeprazole Usage on the Viability of Random Pattern Skin Flaps in Rats

To the Editor: W e read with great interest the article by Şen et al, which was published in October of 2016, reporting the effect of omeprazole in flap viability. As known, although several studies have been conducted to improve flap viability by using various agents to increase blood supply and/or neovascularization, skin flap necrosis has remained as an important problem for plastic surgeons. The authors performed an exhaustive experiment and should be applauded for the effort put in by them. However, we think that the study has some parts to be clarified and discussed that were proposed by the authors. When we look at the methodology of the study, the authors randomly assigned 35 rats into 5 groups: 1 control group, which was only given distilledwater intraperitoneally for 14 days; 2 study groups, which received intraperitoneally 10 and 40 mg/kg omeprazole daily for 14 days; and another 2 study groups, which received intraperitoneally distilled water for 7 days before the flap elevation and 10 and 40 mg/kg omeprazole daily for 7 days after the flap elevation. As known, the aim of using control animals is to minimize the impact of extraneous or unwanted variables. Multiple types of control groups were defined in the literature including positive, negative, sham, vehicle, comparative, etc. In this study, the authors used only a control group, which received distilled water by intraperitoneal route before and after the flap elevation. Thus, the authors compared their experimental groups with that control group. In such studies, a control group with a small sample size, which gets no treatment at all, should be added to exclude the effect of used vehicle, procedure, and/or test substance. In other words, could the authors explain the effect of intraperitoneally used distilled water on flap viability? Although the amount of distilled water used was probably slightly less, the authors should not ignore the effect of their used vehicle in such experiments.

Does crossover innervation really affect the clinical outcome? A comparison of outcome between unilateral and bilateral digital nerve repair.

Digital nerve injuries are the mostly detected nerve injury in the upper extremity. However, since the clinical phenomenon of crossover innervation at some degree from uninjured digital nerve to the injured side occurs after digital nerve injuries is sustained, one could argue that this concept might even result in the overestimation of the outcome of the digital nerve repair. With this knowledge in mind, this study aimed to present novel, pure, focused and valuable clinical data by comparing the outcomes of bilateral and unilateral digital nerve repair. A retrospective review of 28 fingers with unilateral or bilateral digital nerve repair using end-to-end technique in 19 patients within 2 years was performed. Webers two-point discrimination, sharp/dull discrimination, warm/cold sensation and Visual Analog Scale scoring were measured at final 12-month follow ups in all patients. There was no significant difference in recovery of sensibility after unilateral and bilateral digital nerve repairs. Though there is crossover innervation microscopically, it is not important in the clinical evaluation period. According to clinical findings from this study, crossover innervations appear to be negligible in the estimation of outcomes of digital neurorrhaphy.

A rare location for a common problem: popliteal pressure ulcer

Pressure ulcer is defined as localized injury to the skin and/or underlying tissue usually over a bony prominence, as a result of pressure, or pressure in combination with shear. The most frequent sites for pressure ulcers are the occiput, sacrum, ischial tuberosities, trochanters, lateral malleoli and posterior heels. Herein, we present a case of grade III pressure ulcer seen in popliteal region which is an unusual localisation that is rarely seen in the literature. An awareness of this unusual localisation of pressure ulcer is necessary to prevent decrease in quality of life, particularly in the wheelchair‐dependent population.