Stress response caused by events such as surgical trauma includes endocrine, metabolic and immunological changes. Stress hormones and cytokines play a role in these reactions. More reactions are induced by greater stress, ultimately leading to greater catabolic effects. Cuthbertson reported the characteristic response that occurs in trauma patients: protein and fat consumption and protection of body fluids and electrolytes because of hypermetabolism in the early period. The oxygen and energy requirement increases in proportion to the severity of trauma. The awareness of alterations in amino acid, lipid, and carbohydrate metabolism changes in surgical patients is important in determining metabolic and nutritional support. The main metabolic change in response to injury that leads to a series of reactions is the reduction of the normal anabolic effect of insulin, i.e. the development of insulin resistance. Free fatty acids are primary sources of energy after trauma. Triglycerides meet 50 to 80 % of the consumed energy after trauma and in critical illness. Surgical stress and trauma result in a reduction in protein synthesis and moderate protein degradation. Severe trauma, burns and sepsis result in increased protein degradation. The aim of glucose administration to surgical patients during fasting is to reduce proteolysis and to prevent loss of muscle mass. In major stress such as sepsis and trauma, it is important both to reduce the catabolic response that is the key to faster healing after surgery and to obtain a balanced metabolism in the shortest possible time with minimum loss. For these reasons, the details of metabolic response to trauma should be known in managing these situations and patients should be treated accordingly.

Hypothyroidism has been associated with atherosclerosis. The mechanisms of atherosclerosis in patients with thyroid failure remain controversial. Hypofibrinolysis might be a risk factor for thromboembolic disease in subclinical hypothyroidism (SH). We measured fibrinolytic activity in patients with SH before and after levothyroxine (LT₄) treatment and compared it to those of controls. We prospectively included 35 patients with SH and 30 healthy controls. We treated patients with LT₄ until almost 6 months after the euthyroid state has been achieved. We measured fibrinogen, D-dimer, antithrombin III (ATIII), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) activity, and factor VII. Clinical and anthropometric variables were recorded for both groups. We found increased levels of fibrinogen, PAI-1, and factor VII and decreased levels of ATIII activity in patients compared to control (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05). Decrease of tPA was not significant (p > 0.05). At the end of the LT₄ treatment, significant decreases were determined in PAI-1 and factor VII (p < 0.05). In conclusion, our data suggest an important role of hypofibrinolytic and hypercoagulable state on the development of atherosclerosis in patients with SH and beneficial effects of LT₄ treatment for decreasing the risk of atherosclerosis.

Serum ferritin level is related to body iron stores and is influenced by several diseases. We aimed to evaluate the association between serum ferritin concentration and the complications and nature of diabetes mellitus (DM). We examined association of ferritin concentration, fasting and post‐prandial glucose levels and glycated hemoglobin in 329 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 269 healthy controls. In the present study, 41 of 150 poorly controlled diabetic patients and 31 of 119 cases had hyperferritinemia. We confirmed that serum ferritin was increased in diabetic patients as long as glycemic control is not achieved. There was also a correlation between ferritin level and diabetic retinopathy. In conclusion, this study showed an independent positive association between serum ferritin concentration and markers of glucose homeostasis.

The use of oncoplastic breast surgery is an essential cornerstone for breast cancer management. The main aim of breast cancer surgery is to obtain an adequate oncological safety margin. Still, the cosmetic outcome also seems important for social and psychological wellbeing and quality of life. After breast-conserving surgery, the remaining breast may be reconstructed with volume displacement or volume replacement techniques. A better cosmetic outcome can be achieved by selecting appropriate surgical techniques according to tumor location. In this review, we show each technique step-by-step based on the tumor’s location for each quadrant. The most important thing is to select the technique first for oncological safety and then for better cosmesis.

Multiple breast cancers may present with different clinical and biological characteristics. The data indicate that multifocal (MF), multicentric (MC), and bilateral synchronous (BS) breast cancers (BC) are more aggressive and have an equivalent or moderately poorer survival rate compared with unilateral cases. However, a comparison of these multiple breast cancers has not been covered in the literature. The aim of this study was to describe the histopathological characteristics of patients suffering from MF, MC, and BS breast carcinoma and to compare their prognoses. Retrospective data for MF, MC, and BS breast carcinoma patients treated in five different breast cancer units in Turkey between 2003 and 2012 were collected. MF and MC cancers were defined as more than one lesion in the same quadrant or in separate quadrants, respectively. There were 507 patients (271 MF, 147 MC, and 89 BS) treated in this time period. BS breast carcinoma patients were younger than the other groups (44.83 ± 9.6, 47.27 ± 11.6, and 51.11 ± 11.8 years for BS, MF, and MC breast carcinoma patients, respectively). MFBC and MCBC patients in this study were younger than the ages reported in Western literature, but this result was similar to the ages reported in Eastern literature. The five-year survival rates and recurrence rates were not statistically different among groups (P = 0.996 and P = 0.263, respectively). According to univariate analyses, tumor size, histological grade, and lymph node status were statistically significant factors that affected survival. However, only lymph node involvement was significant for survival according to multivariate analyses. The clinical significance of MF, MC, and BS breast cancers is still unclear and their influence on prognosis is controversial. Disease-free and overall survival rates of BS breast cancers might be similar to MF and MC breast cancers.