Epilepsy surgery in Korea began as early as in the 1940s and continued to develop through the second half of the 20th century. Introduction of neuroimaging modalities, establishment of epilepsy monitoring units and the epilepsy team approach contributed to the rapid development. �or about 300�- 400 operations carried out yearly��, t�here i��s at �prese�nt suffi���cien�t n�umb ��er of ep�ileps� y surg�ery cen�ters�� an�d q�ualifi��ed neurosurgeons in Korea. However, Korean neurosurgeons should adapt themselves to changing recent trends. Etiologies of epilepsy have dramatically changed from head trauma and infectious diseases to tumors and developmental abnormalities. Although traditional resective surgery still constitutes the main bulk of the operations, new therapeutic procedures based on neuro�modulation are emerging as alternative treatments. There should also be participation in basic science research which would leads to future innovations in treatment of epilepsy.

No abstract available.
Animals ; Immunohistochemistry* ; Neurons* ; Rats* ; Substantia Nigra*

No abstract available.
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia* ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn

No abstract available.
Emphysema* ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular*

Non-metrical morphologic variations of skull foramina were studied with 250 crania of Korean adults. Studied morphologic variationts were presence of supra-orbital foramen(33.3%), frontal foramen(27.7%), accessory infraorbital foramen(13.2%), accessory lesser palatine foramen(41.0%), Vesalius foramen (16.9%), Huschke foramen(18.8%), condylar canal(62.6%) and parietal foramen(49.8%). The ahsence of posterior ethmoidal foramen(0.2%), zygomaticofacial foramen(7.1%) and mastoid foramen(30.2%) was also observed. The variations were presence of the exsutural location of anterior ethmoidal foramen 30.8%), mastoid foramen(35.9%) and incomplete development of oval foramen(4.9%), foramen spinosum(9.6%), hypoglossal foramen(9.6%). And incidence of these variations were compared with 12 different geographical localitics.
Adult ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mastoid ; Rabeprazole ; Skull*

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Humans ; Infant, Newborn*

No abstract available.
Contracture*

The perioperative use of anticonvulsants in patients receiving craniotomy for various CNS diseases has been a routine practice in neurosurgery. However, there have been no unified evidence-based guidelines for the perioperative use of anticonvulsants. We searched for published studies related to this subject in MEDLINE and reviewed them. Several randomized controlled studies were regarded as more important because they could provide strong evidence. The conclusions are as follows. First, postoperative seizures are serious problems in neurosurgical practice and should be strictly controlled. Second, anticonvulsants could decrease the occurrence of postoperative seizures. Third, the therapeutic serum levels of anticonvulsants are of utmost importance in the prevention of postoperative seizures. Fourth, valproic acid has no advantage over phenytoin in the prevention of postoperative seizures.
Anticonvulsants* ; Central Nervous System Diseases ; Craniotomy ; Humans ; Neurosurgery* ; Phenytoin ; Seizures ; Valproic Acid

PURPOSE: Visual internal urethrotomy is a standard therapy for incomplete urethral stricture, and may also be a reasonable initial treatment for a short complete urethral stricture. The success rate and final results of the repeated internal urethrotomy were retrospectively assessed to figure out the appropriate indication for visual internal urethrotomy as an initial treatment for incomplete pendulous and bulbous urethral stricture; according to the stricture free month. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 1990 and December 1999, an internal urethrotomy was primarily performed on 166 patients with urethral strictures. The exclusion criteria were complete urethral and posterior urethral stricture. Retrograde urethrography was performed under fluoroscopic control. When the stricture recurred, the urethrotomy was repeated as the primary procedure. RESULTS: With regard to the time to recurrence, the success rate of the group of stricture recurrence at 6 months was significantly lower than that of the stricture free group at 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: With regard to the stricture site and length, the stricture free month might be considered as an important predictor of the outcome of a repeated internal urethrotomy, and visual internal urethrotomy might be considered as an initial treatment method for incomplete urethral stricture under the following conditions; a bulbous stricture, a stricture length under 20mm, and stricture free at 6 months.
Constriction, Pathologic ; Endoscopy ; Humans ; Recurrence ; Reoperation ; Retrospective Studies ; Urethral Stricture*