Basrah Journal of Surgery

Endoscopic Endo-nasal Trans-Sphenoidal (EETS) approach is a minimally invasive technique that has gained increased acceptability for removal of sellar and parasellar tumors. This prospective study was carried out on 50 patients in Basrah skull base center at Al-Sader Teaching Hospital between August 2017 and July 2019. The technique involved a unilateral, endoscopic, endonasal approach to the sella turcica via an anterior sphenoidotomy which is performed as a joint procedure by a consultant otolaryngologist and a consultant neurosurgeon The most common presenting symptom for pituitary tumor was; headache which present in 80% (40 patients) of the patients, followed by visual disturbance in 56% (28 patients). Infertility and hemiparesis are the least symptoms 2% for each (one patient). The MRI study of brain and sellar region showed that forty six patients (92%) was diagnosed as pituitary adenomas and one patient (2%) have Rathke’s cyst and another one have meningioma. Tumor location and extension which was assessed by MRI revealed that 70% (35 patients) had tumor located in sella with extension to suprasellar region, where only 2% (one patient) had sellar with supra- and parasellar extension. Eighty percent (40 patients) were virgin cases (not operated before), while only 20% (10 patients) were revised cases (operated before either open or transsphenoidal). We achieved complete resection of the tumor in 82% cases (41 patients). The most common method used for reconstruction of the surgical defect was underlay multilayers which was used in 62% (31 patients), while in 10%, posterior based middle turbinate flaps were used in reconstruction. We noticed that 3 patients (6%) developed significant epistaxis, CSF rhinorrhea in 3 patients (6%), and unfortunately 3 patients (6%) died postoperatively. In conclusion, this study shows that endoscopic, endonasal, transsphenoidal hypophysectomy is a minimally invasive, effective and safe procedure to remove pituitary tumors. Key words: Hypophysectomy, Endonasal, Endoscopy, Transsphenoidal.

The goals of this study were to evaluate the results of endoscopic endonasal dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) and to compare the surgical success rates of the different procedures (with or without mucosal flap) in patients with nasolacrimal duct obstruction. This prospective study investigated the results of 39 patients, they were 36 females (92.3%) and 3 males (7.7%). Endoscopic endonasal DCR was performed at the Basrah Teaching Hospital, Department of Otolaryngology in the period between July 2018 to July 2019. The patients were divided into two groups; with or without flap. During surgery, the mucosal flap was preserved in 13 patients (group B) and removed in 26 patients (group A). For all patients, silicone stents were put at the end of surgery. The silicone tube was removed within 6 months after surgery. After six months follow-up, the results were; patent ostium reported in 17 patients (81%) in group A and in 10 patients (90.9%) in group B. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups (P-Value 0.461). The overall incidence of crustation and adhesion is more in group A than in group B but it was also statistically not significant.In conclusion, endoscopic endonasal DCR carries no significant difference of success ratewhether it is with or without mucosal flap.Key words: Endoscopy, Dacryocyctorhinostomy, flap, Surgery.

Abstract
 Treatment of sinonasal diseases is either conservative or surgical. The recent advances in surgical management is the use of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) as it causes less morbidity, complication, pain and above all, less recurrence rates.
 This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of ESS for the treatment of nasal & paranasal sinus diseases and to address the postoperative complications.
 A prospective study was done at the Department of Otolaryngology in Basrah Teaching Hospital in the period from January 2016 to August 2019. One hundred twenty six patients with sinonasal diseases were involved in this study, more than this number of patients was operated upon but they either refused participation in this study or dropped from follow-up.
 The main indications of surgery were; chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyp (33%), chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyp (28.6%), Allergic fungal sinusitis & mycetoma (17.4%), and acute recurrent sinusitis (16%).
 Main presenting symptoms were; nasal obstruction (85.7%), nasal discharge (69%), headache and facial pain (66.6%) and hyposmia and or anosmia (57.9%).
 The majority of operated upon patients were primary cases (98 patients, 77.7%), while (28 patients, 22.2%) were revision cases. The commonest causes of revision were; retained or incompletely removed uncinate process in 28.5% of cases, followed by incomplete removal or persistence of anterior ethmoid cells in 21.4% cases.      
 In this series complications occurred in 15%, which were generally minor (9.5%), major complications occurred in 5.5% of operated upon patients. The commonest major complication is sever bleeding which was reported in 4.7% and anosmia which was reported in one patient. No CSF leak, retro orbital haemorrhage, or blindness was reported.
 Most of the patients in this series were improved (88.8%), complete symptom improvement occurred in (75 patients, 59.5%), partial improvement (37 patients, 29.3%), while (14 patients, 11%) were not improved.
 In conclusion, functional endoscopic sinus surgery is a safe surgery for sinonasal diseases, it carry good success rate with non-significant major complications.
Key words: Nasal Sinus, Functional Surgery, Endoscopy

  COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, is a highly communicable disease. There is urgent need for highlighting the ongoing outbreak to be public health emergency especially in our locality. Based on current published evidence, this review systematically summarizes the causative agent, epidemiology, presentation, diagnosis, treatment, prevention and surgeon precautions against COVID-19. Hopefully, this review may put a small stone for public health building in this regard and may afford a reference for future studies in our district.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of tonsillar fossa closure after tonsillectomy on the amount of intra-operative blood loss, post-operative pain and bleeding.
 Sixty patients enrolled in this single blind case control study held at Basrah Teaching Hospital in the period from July 2017 to November 2018.  Patients age was between 7 to 50 years, of them 28 (46.7%) females and 32 (53.3%) males. One of tonsillar fossae was selected for closure and the other was left open as a control side, the duration of dissection, the amount of bleeding for each side, the level of post-operative pain on (0, 3, 7, 10-14) days was estimated utilizing Visual Analogue  Score (VAS) together with any evidence of post-operative bleeding.
 There was statistically significant reduction in the level of post-operative pain in the sutured side compared to the control for all the follow-up periods. No significant differences in the amount of intra-operative blood loss between both sides were found. None of the patients experienced post-operative primary or secondary hemorrhage.
 In conclusion, Closure of tonsillar fossa has beneficial effect in reducing the level of
post-operative pain after tonsillectomy with no effect on post-operative bleeding. No difference was noted regarding the amount of intra-operative bleeding.

This study aimed to find out the frequency of hypocalcemia in different thyroid procedures and the risk factors for its development.
 One hundred thirty six patients underwent different thyroid surgeries for different thyroid diseases in the Surgical and Otolaryngology Departments of Basrah Teaching Hospital for three years from July 2016 to July 2019.
 Patients mean age was 34.8±7.5 years (range: 18-65 years). Male to Female ratio was 2:5. Of the total 136 patients, 35 patients underwent isthmusectomy and lobectomy, no case of hypocalcemia was reported (0%). Out of 71 patients who underwent sub-total thyroidectomy, three of them developed hypocalcemia (4.2 %). Out of 30 patients who underwent near-total or total thyroidectomy, nine of them developed hypocalcemia (30%). Whether the inferior thyroid artery was ligated or not, there was no significant difference in the development of hypocalcemia. Of the total 136 patients, 129 patients had benign pathology, 9 of them developed hypocalcemia (6.9 %); 7 patients had malignant pathology; 3 of them developed hypocalcemia (42.8%).
 In conclusion, the frequency of hypocalcemia is correlated with the extent of thyroid resection; and it is more in malignant lesions but in most of the patients it was transient.