Minimum Two-Year Follow-Up of Cases with Recurrent Disc Herniation Treated with Microdiscectomy and Posterior Dynamic Transpedicular Stabilisation

The objective of this article is to evaluate two-year clinical and radiological follow-up results for patients who were treated with microdiscectomy and posterior dynamic transpedicular stabilisation (PDTS) due to recurrent disc herniation. This article is a prospective clinical study. We conducted microdiscectomy and PDTS (using a cosmic dynamic screw-rod system) in 40 cases (23 males, 17 females) with a diagnosis of recurrent disc herniation. Mean age of included patients was 48.92 ± 12.18 years (range: 21-73 years). Patients were clinically and radiologically evaluated for follow-up for at least two years. Patients’ postoperative clinical results and radiological outcomes were evaluated during the 3rd, 12th, and 24th months after surgery. Forty patients who underwent microdiscectomy and PDTS were followed for a mean of 41 months (range: 24-63 months). Both the Oswestry and VAS scores showed significant improvements two years postoperatively in comparison to preoperative scores (p<0.01). There were no significant differences between any of the three measured radiological parameters (α, LL, IVS) after two years of follow-up (p > 0.05). New recurrent disc herniations were not observed during follow-up in any of the patients. We observed complications in two patients. Performing microdiscectomy and PDTS after recurrent disc herniation can decrease the risk of postoperative segmental instability. This approach reduces the frequency of failed back syndrome with low back pain and sciatica

Effects of significant weight loss following bariatric surgery on red cell distribution width and mean platelet volume

Aim: Elevated red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and mean platelet volume (MPV) levels which are closely associated with chronic inflammation and platelet aggregation are suggested as independent predictors of obesity and cardiovascular diseases. However influence of significant weight loss following bariatric surgery on these parameters is unknown. Therefore we aimed to find out the effect of significant weight loss following laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) on RDW and MPV levels. Methods: The medical data of 98 morbid obese subjects (25 male, 73 female) who were operated between February 2015 and June 2017 according to indications of bariatric surgery in current guidelines including body mass index (BMI) >40 kg/m 2 or BMI= 35-40 kg/ m 2 with additional comorbidities were recorded. The difference between baseline and values at one year was expressed as a delta (Δ). Results: The mean age of our study population was 41.89±11.99 years and mean weight loss in one year after LSG was 45.41±13.13 kg (36.5%). BMI decreased from 46.60±7.11 kg/m 2 to 29.58±4.63 kg/m 2 . Compared to the baseline, significant decreases in RDW (14.61±1.69 % vs. 13.71±2.10 %; p<0.01) and MPV (8.63±1.45 vs. 7.92±1.24 fL, p<0.001) levels were found in the postoperative one-year values. In addition; ΔVKI was positively correlated with ΔRDW (r=0.343, p<0.01) and ΔMPV (r=0.322, p<0.01). Conclusion: We found that morbid obese subjects have significantly decreased RDW and MPV levels which are correlated to their weight loss in one-year follow-up after LSG. If we think that several factors may affect these parameters, conduction of further prospective large-scale studies are needed. © 2018, Logos Medical Publishing. All rights reserved

Effect of Pier Inclination Angle on Local Scour Depth Around Bridge Pier Groups

The primary objective of this study is to investigate experimentally local scours around bridge pier groups at various inclination angles of piers and also to develop empirical local scour depth equations. In the study, two bridge pier groups are used. In each pier group, the most upstream and downstream piers are placed in an inclined manner at 10 degrees and 15 degrees. The vertical case was also employed for comparison purposes. Seventy-two experiments each lasting 6 h are conducted under uniform-flow and clear-water conditions for a range of water depths and velocities on the uniform bed material. This study confirms that inclination of cylindrical piers located at the most upstream and downstream locations of pier groups directly affects the local scour in a favourable manner, with a substantial reduction in the local scour, especially around the most upstream pier. Moreover, the flow intensity and relative flow depth are important factors that characterize the local scour. An empirical scour depth equation is developed for each pier inclination angle for design engineers. Comparisons with previous studies are made and results discussed