Schwannoma of the cervical vagus nerve: A rare benign neurogenic tumor

A schwannoma, also known as an acoustic neuroma, is a benign nerve sheath tumor composed of schwann cells, which normally produce the insulating myelin sheath covering the peripheral nerves. Schwannoma, originating from the cervical vagus nerve, is an extremely rare neoplasm that usually occurs in men between the 3rd and 6th decades of life. The most common presentation is a painless, slow-growing, lateral neck mass;this appears in a large proportion of cases. Complete surgical resection with care to protect the nerve of origin is the recommended treatment of choice. Here, we report a case of cervical vagal schwannoma in a 55-year-old male who admitted with the complaint of a firm and painless mass lesion on the right side of the neck. The management of the case is discussed along with the relevant literature.Keywords: Neurilemmoma; Neoplasms; Vagus nerve; Treatment

La banque de Finlande, les banques privées et les établissements hypothécaires en 1912

Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT

Early Paper Patching Versus Observation in Patients With Traumatic Eardrum Perforations: Comparisons of Anatomical and Functional Outcomes

SIMSEK, GOKCE/0000-0001-5281-0986WOS: 000345012000052PubMed: 25377961The purpose of this study was to compare the outcomes of patients with acute tympanic membrane perforation after spontaneous healing and paper-patching procedure. Methods: Design, Setting, and Participants: In this study, we performed a retrospective chart review with a prospective follow-up in 63 patients with tympanic membrane perforations. The patients undergoing a paper-patching procedure were assigned to group 1 (n = 33), whereas the patients that healed spontaneously were included in group 2 (n = 30). Retrospective analyses of the otoscopic examination findings and audiometric test results of the groups at the sixth-week follow-up were compared. Results: Eardrum healing was achieved in 90.9% of the patients in group 1 and 76.7% of the patients in group 2 at the sixth week (P > 0.05). The mean values of air conduction were significantly improved, and the air-bone gap was markedly decreased in the patients treated with paper patching, when compared with the patients in group 2 (P < 0.001). The area of perforation was found to be inversely related to the healing success. Conclusions: Early intervention by paper patching, which is a readily applicable procedure, may be offered to the patients with acute perforation of the tympanic membrane, because of the slightly better closure rates and significantly higher hearing functions when compared with simple observation

Comparison of Surgical Outcomes and Patient Satisfaction After 2 Different Rhinoplasty Techniques

SIMSEK, GOKCE/0000-0001-5281-0986WOS: 000340257800077PubMed: 24911600Various methods of surgical treatment are defined in nasal deformities that cause nasal obstruction. Open technique septorhinoplasty is a method that is frequently used for this purpose. This study aims to compare surgical results of open technique septorhinoplasty operations with and without osteotomies. In addition, changes in the quality of life of patients before and after treatment were investigated, and the effects of the 2 methods on patients' quality of life were compared. Methods: Patients with nasal deformity were included in the study. Forty patients with wide nasal dorsum and a prominent hump underwent septorhinoplasty with lateral osteotomy (group 1), and 35 patients with a narrow nasal dorsum and a minimal hump underwent septorhinoplasty without osteotomy (group 2). A Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) questionnaire was used to evaluate disease-specific quality of life for patients in both groups. Basic characteristics, operative parameters, and preoperative and postoperative NOSE scores were compared between the groups. Results: Demographic properties of the groups were similar. Intraoperative parameters and postoperative complications were not different between the groups, with the exception of operation time (which was significantly longer in group 1) and ecchymosis (which was seen in whole cases of group 1 and none of the group 2). Preoperative NOSE scores were similar in both groups. Postoperative NOSE scores were 5 (0-45) in group 1 and 10 (0-45) in group 2 (P > 0.05). The NOSE scores were significantly decreased after the operation in both groups (P < 0.001). The 2 groups were not significantly different when comparing the change in preoperative and postoperative NOSE scores. Conclusions: Rhinoplasty with or without osteotomy is an effective treatment for alleviating nasal obstruction symptoms. Osteotomy is an integral but not obligatory part of the operation. The addition of the osteotomy procedure in selected cases prolonged the operation time and significantly enhanced patient satisfaction

Comparison of the Effects of Total Nasal Block and Central Facial Block on Acute Postoperative Pain, Edema, and Ecchymosis After Septorhinoplasty

SIMSEK, GOKCE/0000-0001-5281-0986WOS: 000365305800005PubMed: 26395094Background Pain, ecchymosis, and edema are major postoperative transient complications of septorhinoplasty procedures. They increase the patient's anxiety and decrease satisfaction levels as well as extend recovery time in the early postoperative period. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of total nasal block (TNB) and central facial block (CFB) on postoperative pain, edema, and ecchymosis. Methods A total of 60 consecutive patients enrolled in this study and were divided into three groups as Controls (n = 20), TNB (n = 20), and CFB (n = 20). The two block methods mentioned above were performed at both the beginning and end of the surgery in the TNB and CFB groups. The Control group was not subjected to any block methods. Pain, edema, and ecchymosis score results according to the three scales were recorded postoperatively after 24 h, and on days 2, 5, 7, and 10. Results were analyzed statistically. Results Of all patients, 28 were male and 32 were female. Ages were between 18 and 52 years (mean = 26.3 years). Pain, edema, and ecchymosis scores were significantly lower in the TNB and CFB groups than in the Control group. Additionally, there was a significant difference between the TNB and CFB groups in terms of pain and edema at postoperative 24 h and on day 2. Ecchymosis scores were lower in the CFB group than in the TNB group at 24 h and on days 2 and 5 after the operation. Conclusion Both TNB and CFB decreased postoperative pain, edema, and ecchymosis in septorhinoplasty. However, CFB was more effective than TNB in terms of pain, edema, and ecchymosis relief after septorhinoplasty procedures. Level of Evidence IV This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266

The effects of waste concrete properties on recycled aggregate concrete properties

WOS: 000319864000003The effects of waste concrete (WC) properties (compressive strength of the concrete and its aggregate) on the properties of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) were investigated in two parts: WC and RAC. WCs, the first part of the study, cover three different strength limestone aggregate types and concrete mixtures with five different water/concrete ratios (0.69, 0.54, 0.42, 0.37, 0.32) in each aggregate type. RACs, the second part of the study, were prepared with three different w/c ratios (0.30, 0.35, 0.40), and 100% coarse recycled aggregates supplied from each WC. Some tests - compressive strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, Schmidt rebound hammer, specific gravity and water absorption - were performed on the hardened WC and RAC samples. It was found that the compressive strength of RAC was mainly dependent on the strength of limestone aggregate and w/c ratio, while WC strength affected the strength to a lesser extent. The correlation coefficients of RAC for the ultrasonic pulse velocity, Schmidt rebound number, specific gravity and water absorption values against uniaxial compressive strength were found to be significantly lower than those of WC

Assessment of the effects of menopause on semicircular canal using the video head impulse test

WOS:000591757100001PubMed: 33228415This cross-sectional study included early menopausal and late menopausal women aged between 40 and 60 years to evaluate the effects of menopause on semicircular canal function. A video head impulse test (vHIT) was performed for all subjects. Vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) mean gains of each semicircular canal and gain asymmetry were compared between groups. Of the 87 subjects, 37(42.5%) were reproductive age 28(32.5%) were early menopausal and 22(25.3%) were late menopausal patients. VOR gain of semicircular canals or gain asymmetry values did not differ between groups. In postmenopausal women, presence of vasomotor symptoms was associated with higher gain asymmetry of the left anterior-right posterior (LARP) plane (p = .01), and presence of balance problems was associated with lower right anterior (RA) VOR gain (p = .01). In conclusion semicircular canal function in postmenopausal women was similar to that in women of reproductive age. IMPACT STATEMENT What is already known on this subject? During menopause, women face potential risks such as dizziness, balance problems, falls and fractures. Postmenopausal patients were tested with dynamic posturography to measure balance before and after oestrogen treatment, and it was shown that balance problems significantly improved with oestrogen treatment. Healthy vestibular system is one of the components for sustaining normal balance. What do the results of this study add? In postmenopausal women the function of the semicircular canals is normal and the balance deficit in postmenopausal women may not be caused by the vestibular system. In this study changes within normal limits were observed in vestibular system of postmenopausal women. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Reported balance deficits might have been due to central origin. Further research to differentiate origin of balance deficits are needed. Specific research on symptomatic postmenopausal patients would reveal more information

Transposition of lingual thyroid gland to the submandibular region by transoral approach

SIMSEK, GOKCE/0000-0001-5281-0986WOS: 000400204400017PubMed: 27262219The purpose of this case report is to demonstrate surgical technique of only functional but symptomatic lingual thyroid gland transposition to submandibular region by transoral approach without mandibulotomy and tongue-splitting. A 37-year-old female patient was admitted to our hospital with dysphagia and apnea symptoms. Physical examination revealed 3 cm x 3 cm lingual thyroid gland was detected at the tongue base. The patient was euthyroid and thyroid gland was not detected in the neck. Under general anesthesia, right submandibular gland excision and transposition of lingual thyroid tissue to submandibular region with dorsal lingual artery axis flap were performed by transoral approach. Thyroid hormones remained normal in the postoperative period. In conclusion transoral transposition of lingual thyroid to submandibular region as a flap without mandibulotomy is a minimally invasive and function preserving alternative approach. Besides preserving thyroid functions, this transoral surgical technique can be preferred by patients who avoid skin incision for esthetic concerns. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Reduction of alkali-silica reaction expansion of mortars by utilisation of pozzolans

WOS: 000316605900005In this study the effects of natural and artificial pozzolans on alkali-silica reaction expansion of mortars were investigated by using the accelerated mortar bar test method in accordance with the ASTM C 1260. For this purpose, four natural pozzolans -ignimbrite powder (IG), perlite powder (PE), pumice powder (PU) and zeolite powder (ZE) were used as cement at replacement levels of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40% by weight of ordinary Portland cement. Four artificial pozzolans - fly ash (FA), brick powder (BP), silica fume (SF) and aerated concrete powder (AP) - were used at replacement levels of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25% by weight. The expansions of mortar bars were reduced as the replacement ratios of each natural and artificial pozzolans were increased, with the exception of specimens with a replacement level of 15, 20 and 25% AP. It is determined that at comparable replacement ratios SF is the most effective among the pozzolans used and is followed by PU, ZE, IG, PE, FA, BP and AP respectively