Introduction: In the current study, we evaluated the accuracy of sentinel node mapping in thyroid cancer patients using both radiotracer and blue dye. Material and methods: 30 patients with a diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) were included in the study; 2-3 hours before surgery, 0.5 mCi 99m-Tc-Antimony Sulfide Colloid was injected intra-tumourally. 15 minutes post-injection, lymphoscintigraphy images of the neck were obtained. Immediately after anaesthesia induction, 0.5 mL patent blue V was also injected in the same fashion. Sentinel lymph nodes were detected intraoperatively using gamma probe and blue dye. Total thyroidectomy was performed for all patients with dissection of central neck lymph nodes as well as sampling of the lateral neck lymph nodes. Results: At least one sentinel node could be identified during surgery in 19 patients (63.3%). The median number of sentinel nodes per patient was 1. Sentinel nodes in 12 patients were pathologically involved. No false negative case was noted. Upstaging occurred in six patients (20%). Conclusions: Sentinel node mapping in papillary thyroid carcinoma is a feasible technique with high accuracy for the detection of lymph node involvement. This technique can guide surgeons to perform central lymph node dissection only in patients with pathologically involved sentinel nodes. Although SLN detection in the lateral neck lymph nodes increases the extension of lymphadenectomy, SLN mapping can result in upstaging in older patients (> 45 years of age) or treatment plan change in younger patients (< 45 years of age) by the detection of lateral lymph node involvement. (Endokrynol Pol 2014; 65 (4): 281-286)

Introduction: Cholecystitis is one of the most common diagnoses among patients referred to surgical emergencies with acute or recurrent abdominal pain. The mainstay of treatment for this disease is cholecystectomy, and the gold standard procedure is laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Pain which is the most common complication after laparoscopic cholecystectomy gives priority to the administration of the best pain relief medicine. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of diclofenac suppository with intravenous Meperidine for pain relief in opioid-dependent and independent patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.Methods: A total of 120 opioid-dependent and independent patients (60 each) participated in this single-blinded study. Each group was randomly divided into two equal subgroups and 100 mg diclofenac suppository and 25 mg Meperidine via intravenous injection were administered to the participants in each group. Pain intensity was measured by the Verbal Rating Scale (VRS) pain scale 24 hours after recovery. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version16.0). P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results:Based on the results of the study, Meperidine for pain relief after laparoscopic cholecystectomy was reported to be more effective in opioid-dependent patients and diclofenac in opioid-independent patients. Moreover, the use of diclofenac in 90% of opioid-independent patients resulted in favorable responses and ease of pain (Fisher=61.01; P=0.001), and the rate of opioid-dependent patients treated with Meperidine with excellent responses were measured at 83.3% (Fisher=56.98, P=0.001). Conclusions:Meperidine can be the mainstay of treatment for pain relief after laparoscopic cholecystectomy used in opioid-dependent patients; however, the selected drug for pain relief after laparoscopic cholecystectomy in opioidindependent patients is diclofenac.

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