Dear Colleagues,

Once again, I’d like to say that I feel very privileged to be the person responsible for publishing this, the 3rd issue, of our professional journal this year. In this issue we have four international articles. They are from USA, India, Bangladesh and Jordan. I want to extend a heartfelt thanks to all the reviewers, assistant editors, secretaries and the Galenos publishing team for the effort they all put into publishing this issue. We updated our reviewer list, and, as a result, we now have a stronger team. I am happy to announce that The Journal of Turkish Spinal Surgery (www.jtss.org), is under evaluation by the following international indexes: Cabi, Ebscohost, Embase and Index Copernicus. I hope that, in the near future, our journal will be indexed by other important international organizations.

This issue includes one basic research study, ten clinical research studies, two case reports, and one review article. I hope that each of you will take the time to review this issue very carefully, and incorporate the information and insights contained herein, to your already very well informed knowledge bases.

The first study examines the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Walter Reed Visual Assessment Scale in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis. The authors administered the translated Turkish version of WRVAS to 58 patients twice, at a one-week interval, to test reliability of the scale. The second study is “A Prospective Cohort Study Analyzing the Effectiveness of the Gensingen Brace in Treatment for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis.” Twenty-five patients diagnosed with AIS, and treated with a Gensingen brace, participated in this study. The third, is a clinical study, entitled “Clinical Results and Reoperation Rates after Long Adult Deformity Fusions from the Sacrum to the Thoracolumbar Spine.” Sixty-three adult spinal deformity patients who underwent long fusion, from sacrum to thoracolumbar area, at a single specialty spine center, were reviewed. The fourth article is a single center experience entitled, “Spontaneous Regression of Lumbar Disc Herniation.” 12 patients who had lumbar disc herniation regressions were retrospectively reviewed. The authors of the fifth study examined herniectomy without discectomy in extruded lumbar disc herniation. Should it be the gold standard? A total of 788 patients were retrospectively evaluated in the study. The sixth study compared the effectiveness of transforaminal epidural steroid injection alone, and combined with caudal epidural steroid injections, in multi-level lumbar disc herniation. In the seventh study, the authors evaluated a spino-semilaminafacet sparing technique which is a less invasive approach in isthmic spondylolisthesis. The eighth article is a retrospective study about posterior annulus repair after dynamic stabilization, while the ninth article is a basic research article investigating whether the consumption of green tea, or its derivative catechin, may improve neural regeneration in a rat spinal cord injury model. The tenth study is a retrospective study about the effectiveness of nipedicular kyphoplasty in osteoporotic thoracolumbar vertebrae compression fractures in elderly patients. The eleventh article, another retrospective study, examines the surgical outcomes of spinal gunshot wounds. A total of 32 patients over a 10-year period were evaluated in the study. The twelfth article is a case report about acute cord reperfusion injury and edema, after posterior cervical decompression, for chronic PLLO stenosis, and the thirteenth is a case report about asymptomatic extrusion of anterior cervical spine implant from hypopharynx. The fourteenth article is a review article about the COVID-19 pandemic and changing practices in spinal surgery.

Although the pandemic continues to wreak havoc in the world, it has not diminished the resolve of the people responsible for getting the July issue of our journal out to you. They are undaunted by the problems it poses, and continue to work tirelessly to provide you with an informative report on all of the cutting edge research in our field. I hope that all of our readers appreciate the effort that has gone into this issue. Our mission remains, as always, to keep you abreast of all the latest developments in our field. Once again, this issue is intended to further that goal.

With kindest regards,

Editor in Chief

Metin Özalay, M.D.