Common iliac artery aneurysm (CIA) often occurs in conjunction with an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), which extends into one or both CIAs in 20% to 30% of patients. Conventional endovascular treatment includes coil embolization of the internal iliac artery (IIA), followed by extension of the main bifurcated AAA stent-graft into the external iliac artery. However, complications from intentional occlusion of unilateral or bilateral IIAs are frequent and sometimes serious. Several methods try to preserve the unilateral or bilateral IIA. Here we report a case of concomitant bilateral CIA and AAA successfully treated with bilateral branched iliac stent-grafts.
Aneurysm ; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal ; Endovascular Procedures ; Humans ; Iliac Aneurysm ; Iliac Artery

Subclavian venous catheterization was previously frequently performed, but because of life-threatening complications such as hemothorax, pneumothorax, mediastinal hematoma, and myocardial injury, its use has become less common. However, this practice has some advantages in patient mobility, secured dressing, and rapidity and adequacy of vascular access. In some situations where patient comfort is an especially important consideration, such as with totally implantable venous port insertion for chemotherapy, the subclavian route can be a good choice if an experienced and well-trained faculty is available. The authors have had recent experience with pinch-off syndrome-in other words, spontaneous catheter fracture-in 3 patients who had undergone venous port implantation through the right subclavian route. Through these cases, we intend to review the dangers of subclavian venous catheterization, the causes of pinch-off syndrome, and its clinical presentation, progress, treatments, and prevention.
Bandages ; Catheterization ; Catheters ; Hematoma ; Hemothorax ; Humans ; Pneumothorax

PURPOSE: In this study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of regulated negative pressure vacuum-assisted wound therapy for inguinal lymphatic complications in critically ill, liver transplant recipients. METHODS: The great saphenous vein was harvested for hepatic vein reconstruction during liver transplantation in 599 living-donor liver transplant recipients. Fourteen of the recipients (2.3%) developed postoperative inguinal lymphatic complications and were treated with negative pressure wound therapy, and they were included in this study. RESULTS: The average total duration of negative pressure wound therapy was 23 days (range, 11 to 42 days). Complete resolution of the lymphatic complications and wound healing were achieved in all 14 patients, 5 of whom were treated in hospital and 9 as outpatients. There was no clinically detectable infection, bleeding or recurrence after an average follow-up of 27 months (range, 7 to 36 months). CONCLUSION: Negative pressure wound therapy is an effective, readily-available treatment option that is less invasive than exploration and ligation of leaking lymphatics and provides good control of drainage and rapid wound closure in critically ill patients.
Critical Illness ; Drainage ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhage ; Hepatic Veins ; Humans ; Ligation ; Liver ; Liver Transplantation ; Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy ; Outpatients ; Recurrence ; Saphenous Vein ; Transplants ; Wound Healing

PURPOSE: Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block is a newly developed and effective peripheral block involving the nerves of the anterior abdominal wall for lower abdominal surgery. We evaluated the postoperative analgesic efficacy of ultrasound-guided TAP block using 20 mL of 0.5% levobupivacaine in patients undergoing open appendectomy. METHODS: Forty-four patients undergoing appendectomy were assigned either to undergo a right sided-TAP block (group I, n = 22), or to receive standard care (group II, n = 22). All patients received standard anesthetics, and the TAP block group received ultrasound-guided right side TAP block using 20 mL of 0.5% levobupivacaine after induction of anesthesia. All patients received acetaminophen, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug as required during the 48 postoperative hours. Each patients was assessed for time to first rescue analgesia, verbal numerical rating pain scores (VNRS), number of rescue analgesic demands, nausea, vomiting, pruritus, and drowsiness by a blinded investigator at 0, 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours postoperatively. RESULTS: The TAP block group with levobupivacaine compared to the control group reduced VNRS significantly up to 12 hours postoperatively. There were no significant differences in time to first analgesia, number of rescue analgesics demands, nausea, vomiting, pruritus and drowsiness between the groups. There were no complications attributable to the TAP block. CONCLUSION: Ultrasound-guided TAP block using 20 mL of 0.5% levobupivacaine provided effective postoperative analgesia during the 12 postoperative hours after an open appendectomy.
Abdominal Wall ; Acetaminophen ; Analgesia ; Analgesics ; Anesthesia ; Anesthetics ; Appendectomy ; Bupivacaine ; Humans ; Nausea ; Nerve Block ; Pain, Postoperative ; Pruritus ; Research Personnel ; Sleep Stages ; Vomiting

PURPOSE: To compare and assess the efficacy, safety and utility of hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (HALS) with open surgery (OS) in total colectomy with ileorectal for colonic inertia. METHODS: From January 2001 to February 2012, 56 patients diagnosed with colonic inertia who failed to respond to medical treatments underwent hand-assisted laparoscopic total colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis. Another 68 patients underwent laparotomy. Main parameters such as clinical manifestations, conversion to open procedure, operative time, incision length, pain score, intraoperative blood loss, time to first flatus and hospitalization, early postoperative complications and hospitalization cost were retrospectively analyzed. Postoperative defecating frequencies were followed up in both groups. RESULTS: All patients received successful operation, no surgical mortality happened and none of the patients required conversion to an exploratory laparotomy in HALS group. The clinical features, the estimated blood loss, incision length, pain score, first passing flatus time, and postoperative hospitalization time were superior in HALS group (P < 0.05). The early postoperative complications and frequency of defecation were similar. However, the mean operative time was longer and hospitalization cost was higher in HALS group than those in OS group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: HALS total colectomy can be a safe and efficient technique in the treatment of colonic inertia. HALS can result in a better cosmetic result and a quicker postoperative recovery, but requires higher direct cost.
Colectomy ; Colon ; Constipation ; Cosmetics ; Defecation ; Flatulence ; Hand-Assisted Laparoscopy ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Laparotomy ; Operative Time ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgical Procedures, Operative

PURPOSE: We sought to evaluate the feasibility and outcomes of laparoscopic resection of giant hepatic cysts and surgical success, focusing on cyst recurrence. METHODS: From February 2004 to August 2011, 37 consecutive patients with symptomatic hepatic cysts were evaluated and treated at Dong-A University Hospital. Indications were simple cysts (n = 20), multiple cysts (n = 6), polycystic disease (n = 2), and cystadenoma (n = 9). RESULTS: The median patient age was 64 years, with a mean lesion diameter of 11.4 cm. The coincidence between preoperative imaging and final pathologic diagnosis was 54% and half (n = 19) of the cysts were located in segments VII and VIII. Twenty-two patients had American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification I and II, and nine had ASA classification III. Surgical treatment of hepatic cysts were open liver resection (n = 3), laparoscopic deroofing (n = 24), laparoscopic cyst excision (n = 4), laparoscopic left lateral sectionectomy (n = 2), hand assisted laparoscopic procedure (n = 2), and single port laparoscopic deroofing (n = 2). The mean fellow-up was 21 months, and six patients (16%) experienced radiographic-apparent recurrence. Reoperation due to recurrence was performed in two patients. Among the factors predicting recurrence, multivariate analysis revealed that interventional radiological procedures and pathologic diagnosis were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic resection of giant hepatic cysts is a simple and effective method to relieve symptoms with minimal surgical trauma. Moreover, the recurrence is dependent on the type of pathology involved, and the sclerotherapy undertaken.
Cystadenoma ; Hand ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Liver ; Multivariate Analysis ; Recurrence ; Reoperation ; Sclerotherapy

PURPOSE: The goals of this study are to evaluate the effect of duodenojejunal bypass (DJB) for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients below body mass index (BMI) 25 kg/m2 in one year follow-up, and to compare the results of 1 week which we have reported in 2011. METHODS: In this prospective observational study, there were 31 type 2 diabetic patients who underwent DJB at Inha University Hospital from July 2009 to January 2011. We did laboratories such as 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), insulin level and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), etc. and compared their changes of preoperative, a week, 3 months, and 12 months. RESULTS: Mean BMI was 23.1 +/- 1.3 kg/m2, mean duration of T2DM was 8.3 +/- 4.7 and mean age was 46.6 +/- 7.7 years. There were a significant decrease of 75-g OGTT levels and increase of insulin secretion after 3 months. 13.3% showed diabetic remission (HbA1c < 6.0, medication cessation) and 26.7% showed diabetic improvement. The rates of remission and improvement much declined comparing with that of postoperative 1 week although those were determined by fasting and postprandial 2 hour level of glucose. CONCLUSION: This is the first study of metabolic surgery in Korean diabetes patients in the healthy weight range. DJB exerted positive influences on insulin resistance as well as beta cell function. Early effects on T2DM after DJB could be estimated as one of good modalities, although the effectiveness seems to be unacceptable. Further studies are mandatory for evaluation of the effectiveness of metabolic surgery and finding prognostic factors.
Body Mass Index ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Fasting ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Hemoglobins ; Humans ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Prospective Studies

PURPOSE: The cervical lymph nodes are the most common sites of locoregional recurrence in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Accurate tumor localization is important for the successful removal of impalpable recurrences in the cervical lymph nodes. We evaluated the benefits of ultrasound-guided localization (UGL) performed by a single surgeon on site. METHODS: Of 53 PTC patients who underwent reoperation for impalpable nodal recurrences, 32 (group 1) were assessed only using preoperative imaging, while 21 (group 2) were additionally evaluated by on-site UGL performed by the operating surgeon. Postoperative outcomes were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Operation times were significantly shorter (P < 0.001) and the mean size of the resected lymph nodes were smaller (P = 0.013) for group 2 patients. More lymph nodes were identified and resected in group 1 (3.56 vs. 3.19), but the rate of positive lymph nodes was significantly higher in group 2 (P < 0.001). There were no differences between the two groups in terms of resection success rate, complication rate, and postoperative hospital stay. During a mean follow-up period of 27.6 months, 52 patients (98.1%) showed no evidence of recurrence on routine ultrasound, and serum thyroglobulin concentrations remained < 1 ng/mL in 49 patients (92.5%). CONCLUSION: On-site UGL performed by the operating surgeon is useful for accurate resection of impalpable nodal recurrences in PTC patients.
Carcinoma ; Factor IX ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Lymph Nodes ; Recurrence ; Reoperation ; Thyroglobulin ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms

PURPOSE: Ultrasonographic (US) criteria on malignant thyroid bed mass have been suggested, including taller than wide shape, loss of echogenic hilum, abnormal vascularity, and microcalcification. The relationship between fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology findings and US findings on thyroid bed mass is unknown. We have retrospectively assessed the malignant thyroid bed mass after total thyroidectomy due to papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 2,048 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy due to PTC. FNA was performed in 97 patients on the thyroid bed under US surveillance. The 97 suspicious thyroid bed masses were divided into two groups: metastatic thyroid bed group (n = 34) and nonmetastatic group (n = 63). The groups were evaluated according to various clinical, serologic, and US findings. RESULTS: Within a median 47.0 months of follow-up, the proportion of malignant thyroid bed mass was high in large tumor size (1.37 cm vs. 1.03 cm), isthmic position (10.3% vs. 3.9%), and previous N1a (55.9% vs. 34.9%). US findings revealed that the presence of microcalcification or macrocalcification (47.1% vs. 19.0%) and thyroid bed mass height (5.4 mm vs. 3.9 mm) were the only discriminable criteria for central compartment recurrence. But, degree of echogenicity, loss of hilum, and irregularity of margin failed to discriminate malignant thyroid bed mass. CONCLUSION: US findings on malignant thyroid bed mass were different from previously reported general criteria on lateral metastatic nodes. Additional FNA cytology should be performed on patients, even low-risk patients, who present the above findings.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Carcinoma ; Factor IX ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroidectomy

Median arcuate ligament syndrome is a rare cause of abdominal pain which results from compression of the celiac artery (CA) or rarely, the superior mesenteric artery by a ligament formed by the right and left crura of the diaphragm. We report a case of open surgical decompression of the CA by division of the median arcuate ligament for a 37-year-old female patient who had suffered from chronic postprandial epigastric pain and severe weight loss. We described clinical features, characteristic angiographic findings and details of the surgical procedure for the patient with this rare vascular problem.
Abdominal Pain ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Celiac Artery ; Decompression, Surgical ; Diaphragm ; Female ; Humans ; Ligaments ; Mesenteric Artery, Superior ; Weight Loss