Zeki Yilmaz

Use of Olive Oil Based Emulsions as an Alternative to Soybean Oil Based Emulsions in Total Parenteral Nutrition and Their Effects on Liver Regeneration following Hepatic Resection in Rats

Background/Aim: The main objective of this study was to compare the effects of olive oil to those of soybean oil on liver tissue regeneration following hepatic resection in rats. Methods: Seventy albino Wistar rats were randomly assigned to seven groups which contained 10 rats each. Group 1 was the sham-treated group; groups 2 and 3 received total parenteral nutrition (TPN) containing soybean oil lipid emulsions (20% Lipofundin MCT/LCT) for 48 or 72 h; groups 4 and 5 received TPN containing olive oil (80%)/soybean oil (20%) lipid emulsions (ClinOleic 20%) for 48 or 72 h; group 6 was the control group for 48 h, and group 7 was the control group for 72 h. TPN was given via internal jugular vein, and 70% hepatic resection was performed in the study groups. In addition, hepatic resections with no TPN were performed in the control groups, except the sham group. Relative liver weight, mitotic index, proliferating cell nuclear antigen labeling index, and carnitine levels in liver tissue samples were used to assess hepatic regeneration. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances were measured as an index of lipid peroxidation and oxidative tissue damage. Alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase were parameters for the liver function. Results: The relative liver weight increased significantly with minimal hepatosteatosis in the olive oil treated groups. Lipid peroxidation significantly decreased with near-normal serum levels of the liver function parameters in the olive oil/soybean oil treated groups, and mitotic index and proliferating cell nuclear antigen labeling index reached their maximum level in rats receiving TPN containing any kind of lipid emulsions for 48 h following resection. Conclusions: The use of olive oil/soybean oil lipid emulsions in TPN has important beneficial effects on the liver regeneration, and the antioxidant properties of olive oil originating from its natural components indirectly contribute to the liver regeneration in rats.

Laparoscopy for Diagnosis and Treatment of Acute Abdominal Pain

PURPOSE To evaluate the role of laparoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of unexplained acute abdominal pain. PATIENTS AND METHODS Fifty-six patients with acute abdominal pain (41 women, 15 men; median age 27) who attended our hospital between July 1996 and July 1999 and in whom a definite diagnosis could not be made by conventional methods underwent diagnostic laparoscopy. RESULTS The laparoscopic procedure was performed under general anesthesia in 43 patients and local anesthesia in 13 patients. The median duration of laparoscopy was 16 minutes. The sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic laparoscopy were found to be 98% and 96%, respectively. The most frequent diagnosis was acute appendicitis (38%). Laparoscopic treatment of the surgical pathology was possible in 36 patients; in seven patients, conversion to laparotomy was necessary. The median postoperative hospital stay was 1 day in the diagnostic laparoscopy group. The median treatment cost was lower in the diagnostic laparoscopy group than in the therapeutic laparoscopy or laparotomy groups. There was no mortality or morbidity in the laparoscopy groups. CONCLUSIONS Laparoscopy is an effective method for the diagnosis and treatment of surgical pathologies in patients in whom the diagnosis cannot be made with physical examination and noninvasive methods.

Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy for Symptomatic Gallstones in Diabetic Patients

PURPOSE To find out whether diabetes mellitus is a risk factor in patients who undergo laparoscopic cholecystectomy because of symptomatic gallbladder stones. PATIENTS AND METHODS Eight hundred sixty-two patients with symptomatic gallbladder stones underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy at our institution between January 1993 and July 2000. Age, sex, risk classification of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), laboratory tests, operative records, morbidity, and length of hospital stay for each patient were analyzed. RESULTS There were 184 (21%) diabetic and 678 (79%) nondiabetic patients. The ASA class I applied to 534 nondiabetic (control) patients (79%), and ASA class II to 161 diabetic (study) patients (88%). There was no significant difference between the diabetic and nondiabetic patients regarding leukocyte count, bilirubin, or amylase levels. Operative and postoperative complication rates were significantly higher in the diabetic patients. Conversion to open surgery was required in 19 of 678 patients in the control group (2.8%) and 13 of 184 in the study group (7.1%). The operative time and length of hospital stay were not significantly different in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS Although they had the same symptoms and laboratory findings, laparoscopic cholecystectomy in diabetic patients is associated with more morbidity and a higher conversion rate than in nondiabetic patients.

The Effects of Dimethylsulfoxide in Experimental Obstructive Jaundice

Abstract Material and methods: Thirty rats were divided into three groups, as sham, control and DMSO groups. Laparatomy was performed on each animal in the control and DMSO groups and common bile ducts were ligated. Common bile duct was observed but was not ligated for the rats in the sham group. Saline solution injection (1.5 mg/kg/intraperitoneally (ip)) was begun on the first day of surgical procedure and repeated once a day for the next 5 days. The same procedure was performed with DMSO (1.5 mg/kg/ip) instead of saline in the DMSO group. The rats were sacrificed on the postoperative seventh day, at which time venous blood and liver tissue specimens were taken. Main outcome measurements: On the 7th postoperative day, the bilirubin, AST, ALT, ALP and GGT levels of the control and DMSO groups were significantly higher in comparison with the sham group (p < 0.01). On the 7th postoperative day, the erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels of the control and DMSO groups were significantly lower than those of the sham group (p < 0.01), but there was no statistical difference between the two groups (p > 0.05). Erythrocyte and liver malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in the control and DMSO groups were significantly higher compared with the sham group (p < 0.01). However, the MDA levels were significantly lower in the DMSO group compared to the control group (p < 0.01). Conclusion: It is stated that free oxygen radicals seem to play a role in the liver tissue injury, secondary to obstructive jaundice. In our experimental study, exogenic DMSO seems to have decreased lipid peroxidation and to have improved some of the parameters of liver tissue injury due to the obstructive jaundice in rats.

The histopathological investigation of the effect on regional and systemic tissues of the application of Medicinal Plant Extract Ankaferd Blood Stopper in deep tissue injuries in Rats

BACKGROUND This study was planned to evaluate both the histopathological changes under light microscope as well as the systemic organ effects following application of Ankaferd Blood Stopper® (ABS) (a mixture of five plant extracts) in an animal model of deep tissue hemorrhage. METHODS A total of 50 Wistar Albino rats were divided into five groups of 10 rats each. The rats underwent femoral vein puncture and were treated with ABS tampon, ABS spray, or Surgicel, and one group was left untreated. After two weeks, each group underwent partial tissue excision from the same femoral region as well as from the brain, heart, kidney, and liver. RESULTS The specimens from all groups were obtained from the femoral region after two weeks and evaluated under light microscope. The light microscope revealed no histopathological changes in neurovascular structures or in deep connective tissues in any of the groups. CONCLUSION ABS provided hemostasis and was observed to stop bleeding. There were no histopathological changes at the tissue level and no pathological effects in other organs tissues under light microscope, and the remote organ tissue remained clear.

Development of Collaterals in Intermittent and Permanent Ischemia of the Liver

The ischemia caused by hepatic dearterialization as therapy for hepatic malignancies is transient because of the rapid formation of collaterals. In order to prevent this transient repeated ischemia has been suggested. An experimental study was planned to compare the collateral occurrence in persistent ischemia and transient repeated ischeamia of the liver. Fourteen dogs (seven persistent ischemia, seven transient repeated ischemia) were used in this study. Hepatic dearterialization were performed in both groups. In the first group (persistent ischemia), the hepatic artery was ligated proximal to the gastroduodenal artery. In the second group (transient repeated ischemia), the hepatic artery was occluded externally in the same region as the first group by means of a device modified from 8 guage Foley catheter and after occlusion for one hour it was reopened. Occlusions were repeated twice in a day. Five dogs in the first group and six dogs in the second group completed a three weeks ischemia period and angiography were then performed in all. The dogs were sacrificed after the angiography and examined for possible abscess formation, arterial thrombosis, peritoneal adhesions and liver necrosis. After angiography, the two groups were also examined for collateral occurrence. Only one collateral occurred in the transient repeated ischemia group, but in the persistent ischemia group, collaterals occurred in all dogs. This difference between two groups is statistically significant (Fischer Absolute Chi Square Test, p=0.013). Transient repeated ischemia is superior to persistent ischemia because of fewer collaterals, but in practise, total dearterialization of the liver is impossible.

Cholecystectomy without Drainage

A study was planned to investigate the necessity of routine drainage after a cholecystectomy. Two surgical teams and two groups of 100 patients each were established. The first surgical team used drai