Dynamic cardiomyoplasty is a recently introduced surgical method to improve myocardial performance. It consists of a placement of a skeletal muscle flap around the heart and stimulation of the flap in synchrony with ventricular contraction. We experienced a case of cardiomyoplasty in a 25 year old male patient with congestive heart failure. Anesthesia was induced and maintained with fentanyl, midazolam and isoflurane. The operation was performed for 8hrs without cardiopulmonary bypass and the patient was transferred to the intensive care unit. He was mechanically ventilated electively overnight and extubation was done 18hrs postoperatively. The patient was discharged home on the 40days after operation and improved in exercise tolerance. We report the anesthetic management and hemodynamic changes in a patient who underwent dynamic cardiomyoplasty.
Adult ; Anesthesia ; Cardiomyoplasty* ; Cardiopulmonary Bypass ; Exercise Tolerance ; Fentanyl ; Heart ; Heart Failure ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Isoflurane ; Male ; Midazolam ; Muscle, Skeletal

Ischemic stroke is a serious neurological complication of infective endocarditis. Intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), which has only been approved for treatment of hyperacute stroke, has been excluded as an ischemic stroke treatment due to infective endocarditis according to current expert consensus guidelines. Here, we describe a case of a hyperacute stroke patient treated with intravenous t-PA, who was later diagnosed with infective endocarditis.

A global increase in the incidence of tuberculosis has prompted the need for earlier diagnosis, treatment, and isolation of the disease. In tuberculosis, concomitant tuberculous meningitis and vascular complications such as intracranial aneurysms and subarachnoid hemorrhage are very rare. Because of the poor prognosis of tuberculous meningitis as well as intracranial aneurysm and subarachnoid hemorrhage, early diagnosis and management are crucial. We present the case of a 76-year-old woman who had two intracranial aneurysms complicated by subarachnoid hemorrhage, who had concomitant tuberculous meningitis. She remained well with medical management.

No abstract available.
Follow-Up Studies* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Radiculopathy*

BACKGROUND: Serious pulmonary complications after lung surgery increase morbidity and mortality in perioperative period. Ketamine hydrochloride produces strong analgesic effect in spite of the psychomimetic effects. Intravenous anesthesia with ketamine was performed in lung surgery of patients with decreased pulmonary function and compared with inhalation anesthesia with enflurane. METHODS: Sixty patients, scheduled for elective lung surgery, were randomly assigned to two groups. Patients received either enflurane (Group 1, n=30) or ketamine (Group 2, n=30) as main anesthetic drug. Blood pressure and heart rate were compared in preinduction, postinduction, postintubation, postincision, intraoperative period (30 minutes, 60 minutes) and recovery room between groups, and in each group. Arterial blood gas analysis was compared in preoperative period, intraoperative period and recovery room between groups. Postoperative psychological complications evaluated in group 2. RESULTS: Blood pressure and heart rate were significantly different in postinduction, postintubation and recovery room between groups. PaO2 in group 2 was higher than in group 1 during intraoperative period and recovery room. Postoperative psychological complications occured in 4 patients (13%) in group 2. CONCLUSIONS: Ketamine affords advantage over enflurane anesthesia in terms of PaO2 during intraoperative period and recovery room in lung surgery of patients with decreased pulmonary function.
Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, Inhalation* ; Anesthesia, Intravenous* ; Blood Gas Analysis ; Blood Pressure ; Enflurane* ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Inhalation* ; Intraoperative Period ; Ketamine* ; Lung* ; Mortality ; Perioperative Period ; Preoperative Period ; Recovery Room

Jehovah,s Witnesses who require operation represent a challenge to the physician because of the patient,s refusal to accept blood transfusion. An orthotopic heart transplantation was succesfully performed in a 40-year old Jehovah,s Witness without use of any blood product. During the operation, cell saver was used for shed blood and aprotinin was administered intravenously. The use of blood conserving methods, meticulous operative technique and brisk postoperative diuresis has added to the efficacy of heart transplantation in this patient. Total postoperative drainage was 860 ml and the lowest hemoglobin level was 11.8 g%. The patient recovered uneventfully and discharged on the 60th postoperative day.
Adult ; Anesthesia* ; Aprotinin ; Blood Transfusion ; Disulfiram ; Diuresis ; Drainage ; Heart Transplantation* ; Heart* ; Humans ; Transplantation

Post-stroke movement disorders are uncommon, but comprise an important part of secondary movement disorders. These exert variable and heterogeneous clinical courses according to the stroke lesion and its temporal relationships. Moreover, the predominant stroke symptoms hinder a proper diagnosis in clinical practice. This article describes the etiology, treatment options and prognosis of post-stroke movement disorders.
Diagnosis ; Movement Disorders* ; Prognosis* ; Stroke

Healing is an intricate, interdependent process that involves complex interactions between cells, the microcellular environment, biochemical mediators and extracellular matrix molecules. The goals of wound healing are to minimize bloods loss, to replace any defect with new tissue, and to restore an intact epithelial barrier as rapidly as possible. The rate of wound healing is limited by the available vascular supply and the rate of formation of new capillaries and matrix molecules, which are heavily influenced by locally-acting growth factors that affect proliferation, angiogenesis, chemotaxis, gene expression, proteinases, and protein production. We present a new method for wound control and treatment, the V.A.C (vacuum-assisted closure) technique. It places open-cell foam dressing into the wound cavity and applies subatmospheric pressure. The application of subatmospheric pressure accelerates the rate of wound healing by the foollowing two mechanisms: 1. Removal of excessive interstitial fluids, which decrease localized edema, reduce concentration of inhibitory factors, and increase local blood flow. 2. Transmission of mechanical forces to surrounding tissues with resultant deformation of the extracellular matrix and cells, which then increase protein and matrix synthesis as well as cell proliferation. We applied it to 17 patients: 1 Livedo vasculitis, 1 burned by flame 3 pressure sores, 1 extravasation injury, 1 wound infection, 2 wound disruption, and 8 diabetes mellitus feet. In the end, most of the remaining wounds were treated with a simple split-thickness skin graft and the results were encouraging. We concluded that the V.A.C technique may be an effective substitute to help promote wound healing. It could be especially helpful in chronic complicated wounds in aging or debilitated patients who can not tolerate aggressive surgical procedures.
Aging ; Bandages ; Burns ; Capillaries ; Cell Proliferation ; Chemotaxis ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Edema ; Extracellular Fluid ; Extracellular Matrix ; Foot ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; Peptide Hydrolases ; Pressure Ulcer ; Skin ; Transplants ; Vasculitis ; Wound Healing* ; Wound Infection ; Wounds and Injuries*

Recently, due to the evolution of technology, the field of neurosurgery is receiving spotlight. In particular endovascular neurosurgery has gained a great interest along with the advancement of the modern neurosurgery. The most remarkable advances were made in embolization of the cerebral aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations and intracranial stenosis during the past 10 years. These advances will further change the role of neurosurgeons in treating cerebrovascular disease. Because interventional neuroradiologists have performed most of procedures in the past, neurosurgeons have been deprived of chances to learn endovascular procedure. This article discusses the development of technological aspect of endovascular neurosurgery in chronological order. By understanding the history and current status of the endovascular surgery, the future of neurosurgery will be promising.
Aneurysm ; Arteriovenous Malformations ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Endovascular Procedures ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Neurosurgery

To investigate the effects of prostaglandin E1(PGX1) in prevention of proliferative scar formation, we cultured fibroblasts of normal skin (NS), hypertrophic scar (HS) and keloid (KL) tissues obtained from patients. We have compared type I collagenase production of cultured fibroblasts from normal skin, hypertrophic scar, and keloid tissues under various concentrations of PGE1. Our results demonstrate that type I collagenase production was significantly increased after addition of PGE1 in HS and KL, but not NS. Type I collagenase production of HS and KL fibroblasts were increased similarly in 10M and 10M of PGE1 and maximally increased in the concentration of 10M. This promotive effects of PGE1 on the production of type I collagenase was larger in KL than in HS. These results also suggest that PGE1 may play the promotive effects on type I collagenase production in dose-dependent manner. PGE1 may have a role in the prevention of hypertrophic scar and keloid by enhancing the production of type I collagenase of HS and KL fibroblasts. The promotive effects of PGE1 on type I collagenase production was variable depending on its concentration, and its effects was maximum in certain optimal condition. The maximally effective concentration of PGE1 in the prevention of proliferative scar formation should be searched in further investigations for clinical use.
Alprostadil ; Cicatrix ; Cicatrix, Hypertrophic* ; Collagenases* ; Fibroblasts* ; Humans ; Keloid* ; RNA, Messenger* ; Skin