Actinomycosis is a chronic suppurative and granulomatous disease characterized by peripheral spread and extension to contagious tissue, rare hematogenous spread, and the formation of multiple draining sinus tracts. In the rare case of hematogenous disseminated Actinomycosis; lesions appear in all parts of the body. Bone involvement, however, is very rare except the jaw and there has been only some reports about the ribs and vertebral columns. To our knowledge, this case represents the first report of documented distal femoral involvement.
Actinomycosis ; Femur ; Fractures, Spontaneous ; Jaw ; Osteomyelitis ; Ribs ; Spine

Tarsal tunnel syndrome consist of a complex of symptoms affecting the foot and is thought to be due to a compression neuropathy of the posterior tibial nerve within the fibro-osseous tunnel that lies beneath the flexor retinaculum on the medial side of the ankle. A case of tarsal tunnel syndrome caused by neurilemoma of the posterior tibial nerve was treated at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Seoul Red Cross Hospital. The patient had complained of pain and paresthesia on the plantar aspect of the left foot for one and half years before admission. Pain and paresthesia were almost completely improved after removal of the mass by intraneural lysis.
Ankle ; Foot ; Humans ; Neurilemmoma ; Orthopedics ; Paresthesia ; Red Cross ; Seoul ; Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome ; Tibial Nerve

PURPOSE: Nonfunctioning endocrine tumors of the pancreas have no specific symptoms. Therefore, diagnosis is usually delayed and the malignancy rate at the time of diagnosis is reported to be higher than 50%. However, it is difficult to discriminate malignant from benign nonfunctioning endocrine tumors preoperatively. The purpose of this study was to investigate clinical characteristics of nonfunctioning endocrine tumors of the pancreas, including predictive factors of malignancy and prognostic factors affecting long-term survival. METHODS: Between 1992 and 2010, clinicopathological data of 53 patients with nonfunctioning endocrine tumors proven by surgical pathology were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: Of the 53 patients, mean age was 54 years-old and the male to female ratio was 1:1.2 Median follow up was 32.1 months. At the time of diagnosis, liver metastasis was detected in 4 patients. Curative resection was achieved in 49 patients, and 17% of them had recurrence, which was most common in liver. The overall 5-year survival rate was 85.1%. Both the WHO classification (p<0.001) and AJCC staging (p<0.001) correlated well with long-term survival. Univariate analysis revealed preoperative body weight loss (p<0.001), weak enhancement at the early arterial phase (p=0.043), lymph node metastasis (p<0.001), liver metastasis (p=0.001), perineural invasion (p=0.001), or lymphovascular invasion (p=0.010) as prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: Nonfunctioning endocrine tumor of the pancreas has favorable survival outcomes. Lymph node metastasis (p<0.001), liver metastasis (p=0.001), perineural invasion (p=0.001), and lymphovascular invasion (p=0.010) are poor prognostic factors.
Body Weight ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Liver ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neuroendocrine Tumors ; Pancreas ; Pathology, Surgical ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Survival Rate

Possible association between systemic lupus erythematosus and disorders of thymus has been shown in several reposrts. But the association is clearly not common as judged by fewer than 20 case reports in the world literature. One case of systemic lupus erythematosus in a patient with thymic hyperplasia is described. The woman had been suffered from purpura, dry mouth and dry eyes and complained of chest discomfort. In this case, thymectomy did not modify the course of systemic oupus erythematosus. Systemic lupus erythematosus with thymic disorder is very rare so we report this case with a review of literatures.
Female ; Humans ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic* ; Mouth ; Purpura ; Thorax ; Thymectomy ; Thymus Gland ; Thymus Hyperplasia*