Serhat Meriç

• Doctor of Medicine
• Assoc. Prof. at Bağcılar Training And Research Hospital

There are many options for the surgical management of complicated diverticulitis, and standards vary widely despite international practice recommendations. We conducted a survey to capture the variation in practice across Europe. An online questionnaire was distributed to fellow and surgeon members of the European Association of Endoscopic Surgery...

Background Appendicitis is the most prevalent surgical emergency. The negative appendicectomy rate and diagnostic uncertainty are important concerns. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of current appendicitis risk prediction models in patients with acute right iliac fossa pain. Methods A nationwide prospective observational study was con...

Aim There is no universally accepted treatment consensus for haemorrhoids, and thus, management has been individualized all over the world. This study was conducted to assess a global view of how surgeons manage haemorrhoids. Methods The research panel of the International Society of University Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ISUCRS) developed a volunt...

Background Pulmonary complications are the most common cause of death after surgery. This study aimed to derive and externally validate a novel prognostic model that can be used before elective surgery to estimate the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications and to support resource allocation and prioritisation during pandemic recovery. Method...

There is little international data on morbidity and mortality of surgery for perforated peptic ulcer (PPU). This study aimed to understand the global 30-day morbidity and mortality of patients undergoing surgery for PPU and to identify variables associated with these. We performed an international study of adults (≥ 18 years) who underwent surgery...

Background No robust data are available on the safety of primary bariatric and metabolic surgery (BMS) alone compared to primary BMS combined with other procedures. Objectives The objective of this study is to collect a 30-day mortality and morbidity of primary BMS combined with cholecystectomy, ventral hernia repair, or hiatal hernia repair. Set...

Background There is little international data on morbidity and mortality of surgery for perforated peptic ulcer (PPU). This study aimed to understand the global 30-day morbidity and mortality of patients undergoing surgery for PPU and to identify variables associated with these. Method We performed an international study of adults (≥ 18 years) who...

Fluorescence imaging is a real-time intraoperative navigation modality to enhance surgical vision and it can guide emergency surgeons while performing difficult, high-risk surgical procedures. The aim of this study is to assess current knowledge, attitudes, and practices of emergency surgeons in the use of indocyanine green (ICG) in emergency setti...

BACKGROUND: Colorectal (CRC) cancer is becoming a disease of the elderly. Ageing is the most significant risk factor for presenting CrC. early diagnosis of CrC and management is the best way in achieving good outcomes and longer survival but patients aged ≥75 years are usually not screened for CRC. This group of patients is often required to be man...

Background Multimorbidity poses a global challenge to healthcare delivery. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of multimorbidity, common disease combinations and outcomes in a contemporary cohort of patients undergoing major abdominal surgery. Methods This was a pre-planned analysis of a prospective, multicentre, international study investi...

Fluorescence imaging is a real-time intraoperative navigation modality to enhance surgical vision and it can guide emergency surgeons while performing difficult, high-risk surgical procedures. The aim of this study is to assess current knowledge, attitudes, and practices of emergency surgeons in the use of indocyanine green (ICG) in emergency setti...

Background Timely and safe elective health care facilitates return to normal activities for patients and prevents emergency admissions. Surgery is a cornerstone of elective care and relies on complex pathways. This study aimed to take a whole-system approach to evaluating access to and quality of elective health care globally, using inguinal hernia...

Background Literature suggests colonic resection and primary anastomosis (RPA) instead of Hartmann’s procedure (HP) for the treatment of left-sided colonic emergencies. We aim to evaluate the surgical options globally used to treat patients with acute left-sided colonic emergencies and the factors that leading to the choice of treatment, comparing...

BACKGROUND: Colorectal (CRC) cancer is becoming a disease of the elderly. Ageing is the most significant risk factor for presenting CrC. early diagnosis of CrC and management is the best way in achieving good outcomes and longer survival but patients aged ≥75 years are usually not screened for CRC. This group of patients is often required to be man...

Background: Despite the widespread use of pressure cookers for quick and efficient cooking, literature has insufficiently highlighted the potential dangers resulting from inappropriate handling. This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of 32 patients who presented with pressure cooker burns, emphasizing the serious risks associated with...

Abstract Cardiovascular complications after major surgery are associated with increases in morbidity and mortality. There is confusion over definitions of cardiac injury or complications, and variability in the assessment and management of patients. This international prospective cohort study aimed to define the incidence and timing of these compl...

Background The importance of environmental sustainability is acknowledged in all sectors, including healthcare. To meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda, healthcare will need a paradigm shift toward more environmentally sustainable practices that will also impact clinical decision-making. The study investigates trauma an...

EAGLE is an international study bringing together surgeons, anaesthetists and theatre teams around the world to share best practice. The common goal is to reduce the global anastomotic leak rate after right colectomy and ileocaecal resection. Feel free to join ESCP Safe-anastomosis programme.

Background: Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods: The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-devel...

Abstract Background Perforated peptic ulcer (PPU) is a surgical emergency with a mortality rate of 16-30% and a morbidity rate of 20-50%. All studies reporting on the outcome of surgery for PPU are either local or national. Most of these are based on small cohort sizes. A few larger studies have been reported, but still limited to a single nation,...

Background Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-develo...

Objective: Appendectomy for appendicitis is one of the most common surgical procedures performed worldwide. The remnant of the appendix stump after the first appendectomy carries the risk of developing stump appendicitis. Stump appendicitis is a rare late complication of appendectomy; inflammation occurs in the remaining appendicular stump. Delayed...

Objective: We aim to identify appendiceal neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) seen after acute appendicitis and investigate their incidence in patients with laparoscopic or open appendectomy surgery. Here we have shaped the characteristic features of the tumor according to the 2010 classification rating of The World Health Organization (WHO) (surgical mar...

BACKGROUND: The CovidSurg-Cancer Consortium aimed to explore the impact of COVID-19 in surgical patients and services for solid cancers at the start of the pandemic. The CovidSurg-Gynecologic Oncology Cancer subgroup was particularly concerned about the magnitude of adverse outcomes caused by the disrupted surgical gynecologic cancer care during th...

AIM: Intraperitoneal drains are often placed during emergency colorectal surgery. However, there is a lack of evidence supporting their use. This study aimed to describe the efficacy and safety of intraperitoneal drain placement after emergency colorectal surgery. METHOD: COMPlicAted intra-abdominal collectionS after colorectal Surgery (COMPASS...

Importance Considering the lack of equipoise regarding the timing of cholecystectomy in patients with moderately severe and severe acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP), it is critical to assess this issue. Objective To assess the outcomes of early cholecystectomy (EC) in patients with moderately severe and severe ABP. Design, Settings, and Participan...

Importance: Considering the lack of equipoise regarding the timing of cholecystectomy in patients with moderately severe and severe acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP), it is critical to assess this issue. Objective: To assess the outcomes of early cholecystectomy (EC) in patients with moderately severe and severe ABP. Design, settings, and partic...

Aim Intraperitoneal drains are often placed during emergency colorectal surgery. However, there is a lack of evidence supporting their use. This study aimed to describe the efficacy and safety of intraperitoneal drain placement after emergency colorectal surgery. Method COMPlicAted intra-abdominal collectionS after colorectal Surgery (COMPASS) is...

Background: Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods: This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published i...

The identification of high-risk patients in the early stages of infected pancreatic necrosis (IPN) is critical, because it could help the clinicians to adopt more effective management strategies. We conducted a post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study to assess the association between clinical risk factors and mortality among adult pa...

Background: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a frequent adverse effect following laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. Palonosetron with a standard dosing (75 μg) schedule has been questioned due to its low efficiency in obese patients. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of the body weight-based dosing of palonosetr...

Background: Shared decision-making (SDM) between clinicians and patients is one of the pillars of the modern patient-centric philosophy of care. This study aims to explore SDM in the discipline of trauma and emergency surgery, investigating its interpretation as well as the barriers and facilitators for its implementation among surgeons. Methods:...

Background: In contrast to adults, the situation for pediatric trauma care from an international point of view and the global management of severely injured children remain rather unclear. The current study investigates structural management of pediatric trauma in centers of different trauma levels as well as experiences with pediatric trauma mana...

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining traction in medicine and surgery. AI-based applications can offer tools to examine high-volume data to inform predictive analytics that supports complex decision-making processes. Time-sensitive trauma and emergency contexts are often challenging. The study aims to investigate trauma and emergenc...

Aim: Fundectomy, shown as an alternative to restrictive techniques, causes absorption restriction and metabolic changes. This study aimed to examine the histopathological changes caused by the fundectomy as a technique applied to rats by hormones that affect stomach and obesity metabolism and its effect on weight loss. Material and methods: 2ran...

Background The 2015 Lancet Commission on global surgery identified surgery and anaesthesia as indispensable parts of holistic health-care systems. However, COVID-19 exposed the fragility of planned surgical services around the world, which have also been neglected in pandemic recovery planning. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel index...

Background: The incidence of the highly morbid and potentially lethal gangrenous cholecystitis was reportedly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the ChoCO-W study was to compare the clinical findings and outcomes of acute cholecystitis in patients who had COVID-19 disease with those who did not. Methods: Data were prospectively c...

Background The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is still ongoing and a major challenge for health care services worldwide. In the first WSES COVID-19 emergency surgery survey , a strong negative impact on emergency surgery (ES) had been described already early in the pandemic situation. However, the knowledge is limited about current effects of the pandemic on...

Background The 2015 Lancet Commission on global surgery identified surgery and anaesthesia as indispensable parts of holistic health-care systems. However, COVID-19 exposed the fragility of planned surgical services around the world, which have also been neglected in pandemic recovery planning. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel index...

Background The 2015 Lancet Commission on global surgery identified surgery and anaesthesia as indispensable parts of holistic health-care systems. However, COVID-19 exposed the fragility of planned surgical services around the world, which have also been neglected in pandemic recovery planning. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel index...

Background The 2015 Lancet Commission on global surgery identified surgery and anaesthesia as indispensable parts of holistic health-care systems. However, COVID-19 exposed the fragility of planned surgical services around the world, which have also been neglected in pandemic recovery planning. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel index...

Background The 2015 Lancet Commission on global surgery identified surgery and anaesthesia as indispensable parts of holistic health-care systems. However, COVID-19 exposed the fragility of planned surgical services around the world, which have also been neglected in pandemic recovery planning. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel index...

Background The 2015 Lancet Commission on global surgery identified surgery and anaesthesia as indispensable parts of holistic health-care systems. However, COVID-19 exposed the fragility of planned surgical services around the world, which have also been neglected in pandemic recovery planning. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel index...

Background The 2015 Lancet Commission on global surgery identified surgery and anaesthesia as indispensable parts of holistic health-care systems. However, COVID-19 exposed the fragility of planned surgical services around the world, which have also been neglected in pandemic recovery planning. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel index...

Background The 2015 Lancet Commission on global surgery identified surgery and anaesthesia as indispensable parts of holistic health-care systems. However, COVID-19 exposed the fragility of planned surgical services around the world, which have also been neglected in pandemic recovery planning. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel index...

Background: The 2015 Lancet Commission on global surgery identified surgery and anaesthesia as indispensable parts of holistic health-care systems. However, COVID-19 exposed the fragility of planned surgical services around the world, which have also been neglected in pandemic recovery planning. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel inde...

Background The 2015 Lancet Commission on global surgery identified surgery and anaesthesia as indispensable parts of holistic health-care systems. However, COVID-19 exposed the fragility of planned surgical services around the world, which have also been neglected in pandemic recovery planning. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel index...

Background The 2015 Lancet Commission on global surgery identified surgery and anaesthesia as indispensable parts of holistic health-care systems. However, COVID-19 exposed the fragility of planned surgical services around the world, which have also been neglected in pandemic recovery planning. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel index...

Machine learning risk prediction of mortality for patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2: the COVIDSurg mortality score

Background/objectives: Reports about the implementation of recommendations from acute pancreatitis guidelines are scant. This study aimed to evaluate, on a patient-data basis, the contemporary practice patterns of management of biliary acute pancreatitis and to compare these practices with the recommendations by the most updated guidelines. Method...

Background/objectives Reports about the implementation of recommendations from acute pancreatitis guidelines are scant. This study aimed to evaluate, on a patient-data basis, the contemporary practice patterns of management of biliary acute pancreatitis and to compare these practices with the recommendations by the most updated guidelines. Methods...

Objective: Although readmission after surgical procedures has been recognized as a new problem, its association with cholecystectomy has not been solved. We aimed to investigate the rate of unplanned readmission after cholecystectomy and to evaluate the reasons and outcomes in these patients. Methods: All consecutive patients who underwent open...

Following the publication of the original article [1], the author name “Dragos Serban” under The WSES COVID-19 emergency surgery survey collaboration group was incorrectly written as “Dragos Seban” instead of “Dragos Serban”. The original article has been corrected.

Background: The CovidSurg-Cancer consortium aimed to explore the impact of COVID-19 in surgical patients and services for solid cancers at the start of the pandemic. The CovidSurg-GO Cancer subgroup was particularly concerned about the magnitude of adverse outcomes caused by the disrupted surgical gynecological cancer care during the COVID-19 pand...

Background Many surgeons routinely place intraperitoneal drains after elective colorectal surgery. However, enhanced recovery after surgery guidelines recommend against their routine use owing to a lack of clear clinical benefit. This study aimed to describe international variation in intraperitoneal drain placement and the safety of this practice....

Background: Many surgeons routinely place intraperitoneal drains after elective colorectal surgery. However, enhanced recovery after surgery guidelines recommend against their routine use owing to a lack of clear clinical benefit. This study aimed to describe international variation in intraperitoneal drain placement and the safety of this practice...

Aim:Parathyroidectomy causes significant changes in mineral metabolism in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). Hypomagnesemia may be seen after parathyroidectomy with unknown mechanisms. Our study aimed to evaluate the severity of hypomagnesemia and its correlation with clinical and biochemical variables after the surgery.Materials and...

Members of the COVIDSurg Collaborative are co-authors of this study and are listed under the heading Collaborators. For details of role see Appendix S1. Dear Editor During the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple theories were proposed based on the observation that countries with an ongoing national Bacillus Calmette-Gué rin (BCG) immunization programme had...

SARS‐CoV‐2 has been associated with an increased rate of venous thromboembolism in critically ill patients. Since surgical patients are already at higher risk of venous thromboembolism than general populations, this study aimed to determine if patients with peri‐operative or prior SARS‐CoV‐2 were at further increased risk of venous thromboembolism....

Background: Older patients undergoing emergency laparotomy have high morbidity and mortality rates. Preoperative risk assessment with good predictors is an appropriate measure in this population. Frailty status is significantly associated with postoperative outcomes in older adults. This study aimed to investigate the effect of preoperative risk f...

This study aimed to analyze the predictive impact of frailty index and patterns of outcomes in patients with obstructing and perforated colon cancer who had emergency surgery. Patients that underwent right and left hemicolectomy within emergency conditions such as obstruction or perforation of tumor between February 2017 and October 2020 were retro...

SARS-CoV-2 has been associated with an increased rate of venous thromboembolism in critically ill patients.Since surgical patients are already at higher risk of venous thromboembolism than general populations, thisstudy aimed to determine if patients with peri-operative or prior SARS-CoV-2 were at further increased risk ofvenous thromboembolism. We...

There is little evidence around the potentially protective role of previous Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination on postoperative mortality in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Prior BCG vaccination did not protect SARS-CoV-2 infected patients against postoperative pulmonary complications and 30-day mortality.

We aimed to determine the impact of pre-operative isolation on postoperative pulmonary complications after elective surgery during the global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We performed an international prospective cohort study including patients undergoing elective surgery in October 2020. Isolation was defined as the period before surgery during which pati...

Background Surgery is the main modality of cure for solid cancers and was prioritised to continue during COVID-19 outbreaks. This study aimed to identify immediate areas for system strengthening by comparing the delivery of elective cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic in periods of lockdown versus light restriction. Methods This internati...

Background Surgery is the main modality of cure for solid cancers and was prioritised to continue during COVID-19 outbreaks. This study aimed to identify immediate areas for system strengthening by comparing the delivery of elective cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic in periods of lockdown versus light restriction.

Background Surgery is the main modality of cure for solid cancers and was prioritised to continue during COVID-19 outbreaks. This study aimed to identify immediate areas for system strengthening by comparing the delivery of elective cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic in periods of lockdown versus light restriction.

Background: Surgery is the main modality of cure for solid cancers and was prioritised to continue during COVID-19 outbreaks. This study aimed to identify immediate areas for system strengthening by comparing the delivery of elective cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic in periods of lockdown versus light restriction. Methods: This internati...

Purpose: The minimum harvested 12 lymph nodes (LNs) is regarded as the limit for accurate staging of nodal status in colorectal cancer patients. Besides the association of the lengths of resected intestinal segments and vascular pedicles, the mesocolic mesenteric area's impact on LN count has not been studied. We aimed to evaluate the associations...

Objective:Incidental micropapillary carcinoma (IMC) is the most common variant of thyroid malignancies. There are unmet needs regarding the efficacy of nodule size in the prediction of the coexistence of IMC. We aimed to measure the effect of nodule size on the prediction of the coexistence of IMC.Method:The data of 194 patients who underwent biops...

Background: Preoperative SARS-CoV-2 vaccination could support safer elective surgery. Vaccine numbers are limited so this study aimed to inform their prioritization by modelling. Methods: The primary outcome was the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) to prevent one COVID-19-related death in 1 year. NNVs were based on postoperative SARS-CoV-2 rates an...

SARS-CoV-2 has been associated with an increased rate of venous thromboembolism in critically ill patients. Since surgical patients are already at higher risk of venous thromboembolism than general populations, this study aimed to determine if patients with peri-operative or prior SARS-CoV-2 were at further increased risk of venous thromboembolism....

Introduction: Although fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) with cytologic interpretation using the Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology has been widely used for thyroid nodules, its efficiency in Bethesda categories of III, IV, and V has been questioned due to variable risk of malignancy. We aimed to evaluate the impact of radiolog...

To support the global restart of elective surgery, data from an international prospective cohort study of 8492 patients (69 countries) was analysed using artificial intelligence (machine learning techniques) to develop a predictive score for mortality in surgical patients with SARS-CoV-2. We found that patient rather than operation factors were the...

To support the global restart of elective surgery, data from an international prospective cohort study of 8492 patients (69 countries) was analysed using artificial intelligence (machine learning techniques) to develop a predictive score for mortality in surgical patients with SARS-CoV-2. We found that patient rather than operation factors were the...

Peri-operative SARS-CoV-2 infection increases postoperative mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal duration of planned delay before surgery in patients who have had SARS-CoV-2 infection. This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study included patients undergoing elective or emergency surgery during October 2020. Su...

Aim. The disease caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus is known predominantly for its respiratory outcomes; a subset of critically ill patients demonstrates clinically remarkable hypercoagulability in which thrombotic events range from acute pulmonary embolism in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia to extremity ischemia. Our observational study aimed t...

Postoperative COVID-19 infection is associated with increased mortality and respiratory complications highlighting the importance of shielding of patients, caregivers, and relatives.

Background: Due to variable rates of colon carcinoma or advanced adenoma mimicking an acute diverticulitis episode, the necessity of colonoscopy to detect colon cancer or advanced adenoma remains to be explored. This study investigated the incidence and predictive factors of colon cancer or advanced adenoma following acute diverticulitis. Methods...