Sympathetic fibers of the ureter arise between 10th thoracic and 2nd lumbar segments. Nociceptive fibers reach the same segments via sympathetic pathways. An effective neural block of these segments is necessary to achieve adequate analgesia and anesthesia. Spinal anesthesia is performed successfully in endoscopic ureter stone operations as an alternative to general or epidural anesthesia with a fast onset of effect. The aim of this study was to evaluate patients who underwent ureterorenoscopy (URS) under spinal anesthesia so as to determine patient profile and anesthesia management according to the localization of stones.
Patients who underwent URS operation due to urinary stones between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014, were retrospectively evaluated. Patients who underwent spinal anesthesia were included. The patients were evaluated for demographic data, duration of operation, duration of hospital stay, and size and localization of stones.
A total of 111 patients, including 84 males (75.5%), were operated under spinal anesthesia. A significant sex-related difference was noted, with more ureter stones in male patients (P = 0.001). No difference was found in operation time, duration of hospitalization, and stone size among stones at different localizations of the ureter under spinal anesthesia.
No difference was found in stone localization, duration of operation, duration of hospital stay, and stone size between distal, middle, and proximally located stones under spinal anesthesia. Spinal anesthesia may be chosen for the management of anesthesia in treating stones located at all three locations of the ureter.

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This study aimed to investigate thiol–disulfide balance in patients with renal colic who were frequently referred to emergency services and also to discuss its potential clinical use.
Blood samples were obtained from 32 patients diagnosed with renal colic before treatment in the emergency department. Then, the serum thiol–disulfide levels were measured using a novel method. The patients also underwent a complete blood count test and renal ultrasonography. The thiol–disulfide values were compared statistically between the patient (those with renal colic) and control groups (healthy volunteers).
The mean native thiol level was significantly less in the patient group than in the control group. In addition, the disulfide/ native thiol and disulfide/total thiol ratios were significantly higher in the patient group than in the control group (P < 0.05).
This study found a significant difference in the thiol–disulfide balance of patients with renal colic compared with healthy volunteers. The mean native thiol and total thiol levels decreased in the patient group. It is believed that these markers may be indicative of inflammation in patients with renal colic.

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The aim of this study was to monitor intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy and therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) in three different neuroimmunological diseases.
A total of 50 patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), 22 with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), and 13 myasthenia gravis (MG) were retrospectively reviewed in terms of treatment efficacy.
No significant difference was found between Hughes and Medical Research Council (MRC) sum scale at the time of admission and 3 months after admission in patients with GBS who received IVIG and TPE treatment. Further, no significant difference was observed between the MRC sum scale and the overall disability status scale at the time of admission and 3 months after admission in patients with CIDP who received IVIG and TPE treatment. Although the Osserman scores of the patients with MG receiving TPE treatment were higher than those of the patients with MG receiving IVIG treatment, the Osserman scores after 3 months of admission did not differ significantly.
This study concluded that IVIG treatment and TPE did not differ in terms of treatment efficacy in the case of common neuroimmunological diseases

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lip in terms of age, sex, tumor localization, tumor size, histopathological subtype, lymph node metastasis, and recurrence rates.
Forty patients with lip SCC were included in the study. A large majority of the patients were within the age range of 61–79 years (50%). SCC was located in the lower lip in 35 (87.5%) patients. The average diameter of the tumor was 2.15 cm (range 0.4–7 cm). The most common histopathological subtypes were well differentiated (n = 15, 37.5%) and microinvasive SCC (n = 12, 30%). All patients underwent tumor excision with safe surgical margins. In six patients (15%) with local recurrence after total excision, two SCCs were localized on the right side of the lower lip, two on the left side of the lower lip, and two in the middle of the lower lip. Four of them were well-differentiated SCC, one was poorly differentiated SCC, and one was moderately differentiated SCC.
Cervical lymph node metastasis was detected in two (33.3%) patients with recurrence. SCCs located on the lower lip were more aggressive than basal cell carcinomas, which were quite common in the head and neck regions. Despite total excision, patients should be followed up closely in terms of recurrence and metastasis. Tumor localization, size, and submandibular lymph nodes should be taken into account in addition to the histopathological subtype of tumor at the time of diagnosis.

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