No abstract available.
Humans ; Lymphocytes* ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Stomach*

Auricular arterio-venous malformation(AVM) is relatively rare and few have been reported in the literature. Two cases, presented here showed pulsating lesions of anterior and posterior auricular or even retroauricular mastoid area. They caused irregular macro and prominent ear compared with the opposite normal ear. After embolization of feeding arteries to the arteriovenous malformations, skin and subcutaneous masses were completely removed and grafted with full thickness skin: one was removed one stage and the other underwent a two stage operations. There were no evidence of recurrence for more than 2 years follow up and esthetic results were promising.
Arteries ; Arteriovenous Malformations ; Ear ; Follow-Up Studies ; Mastoid ; Recurrence ; Skin ; Transplants

No abstract available.
Snake Bites* ; Snakes*

No abstract available.
Thumb*

No abstract available.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the changes in thalamic volumes in subjects at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis. Subjects manifest changes which are similar to but different from those found in subjects with schizophrenia, and thalamic structural changes were often reported in schizophrenic subjects. METHODS: Thalamic volumes of 29 UHR subjects, 31 subjects with schizophrenia and 29 healthy controls, were measured from their T1-weighted coronal magnetic resonance (MR) images using manual tracing. RESULTS: UHR subjects showed greater right (6.243+/-0.848 cm3) and total (12.254+/-1.532 cm3) thalamic volumes compared to healthy control subjects (right thalamic volume=5.527+/-0.715 cm3, total thalamic volume=11.058+/-1.490 cm3) or patients with schizophrenia (right thalamic volume=5.855+/-0.938 cm3, total thalamic volume=11.513+/-1.784 cm3). The difference was significant for right (F=5.837, p=0.004) and total (F=4.217, p=0.018) thalamic volumes after intracranial volume had been accounted for as a covariate in ANCOVA. However, thalamic volume of subjects with schizophrenia showed no significant difference from controls. This difference was not affected by the presence of major depressive disorder or the magnitude of psychotic symptoms. Those among the UHR subjects taking antipsychotic agents did not show enlarged thalamic volume compared to controls. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the possibility of a volumetric alteration of the thalamus characteristic of the UHR state.
Antipsychotic Agents ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Psychotic Disorders ; Schizophrenia ; Thalamus

No abstract available.
Humans

OBJECTIVE: Clip artifacts limit the visualization of intracranial structures in CT scans from patients after aneurysmal clipping with cobalt alloy clips. This study is to analyze the parameters influencing the degree of clip artifacts. METHODS: Postoperative CT scans of 60 patients with straight cobalt alloy-clipped aneurysms were analyzed for the maximal diameter of white artifacts and the angle and number of streak artifacts in axial images, and the maximal diameter of artifacts in three-dimensional (3-D) volume-rendered images. The correlation coefficient (CC) was determined between each clip artifact type and the clip blade length and clip orientation to the CT scan (angle a, lateral clip inclination in axial images; angle b, clip gradient to scan plane in lateral scout images). RESULTS: Angle b correlated negatively with white artifacts (r=-0.589, p<0.001) and positively with the angle (r=0.636, p<0.001) and number (r=0.505, p<0.001) of streak artifacts. Artifacts in 3-D images correlated with clip blade length (r=0.454, p=0.004). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that angle b was the major parameter influencing white artifacts and the angle and number of streak artifacts in axial images (p<0.001), whereas clip blade length was a major factor in 3-D images (p=0.034). CONCLUSION: Use of a clip orientation perpendicular to the scan gantry angle decreased the amount of white artifacts and allowed better visualization of the clip site.
Alloys* ; Aneurysm ; Artifacts* ; Cobalt* ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Linear Models ; Multidetector Computed Tomography ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

PURPOSE: It is important for a patient's quality of life and for good recovery after surgery to control the postoperative pain. However, the patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) effect after gastrectomy is still not understood. METHODS: One hundred patients who had undergone an elective gastrectomy between August 1997 and July 1999 at Yongdong Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, were allocated to two groups: one received PCA (PCA group) and the other received intermittant demerol injection (Control group). The demanded amount of analgesic agent, clinical course, retrospective pain score, and side effects were analyzed. RESULTS: The amount of analgesic agents required after gastrectomy was variable and unpredictable. The average of the retrospective pain score in the PCA group was 2.4 compared to 3.0 in the control group (p=0.008). The clinical courses between the PCA group and the control group were not different in terms of L-tube removal, gas passing, diet start, and hospital stay. The complication rates of the two groups were similar. The most frequent side effect of PCA was urinary retention. CONCLUSION: PCA after gastrectomy is good way to alleviate the postopetrative pain, but does not shorten the recovery time.
Analgesia, Patient-Controlled* ; Analgesics ; Diet ; Gastrectomy* ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Meperidine ; Pain, Postoperative ; Passive Cutaneous Anaphylaxis ; Quality of Life ; Retrospective Studies ; Urinary Retention