PURPOSE: This study investigates the current state of and future trends in the field of cataract surgery in Korea. METHODS: Since 1995, the members of the Korean Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (KSCRS) have made annual surveys on cataract and refractive surgery. The 2005 annual survey, consisting of 76 multiple-choice questions, was mailed in February 2005 to 300 KSCRS members. Sixty-six (22.0%) members answered the questions. Current data were compared with those of previous annual surveys and with those of surveys in the United States. RESULTS: Forty-six percent of the respondents were in the fifth decade. The duration of hospital stay has decreased annually and the use of topical anesthesia (44%) did not change. Self sealing wound construction was the main wound closure technique in phacoemulsification (63%). The implantation of phakic IOL was performed by 38% of the respondents and the most preferred intraocular lenses for small incision cataract surgery were acrylic (79%). Interest in the value added IOL has increased annually. CONCLUSIONS: This survey summarized current trends and changes in cataract surgery in Korea.
Anesthesia ; Cataract* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Korea* ; Length of Stay ; Lenses, Intraocular ; Phacoemulsification ; Postal Service ; Refractive Surgical Procedures ; United States ; Wound Closure Techniques ; Wounds and Injuries

Eccrine angiomatous hamartoma (EAH) is a rare benign disease that is characterized by an abnormal proliferation of eccrine glands and vascular elements. It is generally congenital, but it can appear before puberty. It usually presents as a single plaque or nodule, but multiple patch-like lesions are also possible. EAH is mostly asymptomatic, but it is sometimes associated with pain or hyperhidrosis. It generally does not require aggressive treatment, but the lesion can be excised due to pain, enlargement and cosmetic reasons. A 3-week-old Korean female presented with a hemorrhagic skin lesion on the right foot since birth. There was no specific birth history. The lesion first appeared on the third toe of the right foot and quickly spread to almost half of the right foot. Histopathology examination revealed acanthosis in the epidermis and a proliferation of eccrine ducts, glands and capillaries. The eccrine glands were immunohistochemically-positive for carcinoembryonic antigen.
Capillaries ; Carcinoembryonic Antigen ; Cosmetics ; Eccrine Glands ; Epidermis ; Female ; Foot ; Hamartoma ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hyperhidrosis ; Parturition ; Puberty ; Reproductive History ; Skin ; Toes

Bowen's disease is a squamous cell carcinoma in situ and has the potential to progress to a squamous cell carcinoma. The authors treated two female patients (a 39-year-old and a 41-year-old) with Bowen's disease in the vulva area using topical photodynamic therapy (PDT), involving the use of 5-aminolaevulinic acid and a light-emitting diode device. The light was administered at an intensity of 80 mW/cm2 for a dose of 120 J/cm2 biweekly for 6 cycles. The 39-year-old patient showed excellent clinical improvement, but the other patient achieved only a partial response. Even though one patient underwent a total excision 1 year later due to recurrence, both patients were satisfied with the cosmetic outcomes of this therapy and the partial improvement over time. The common side effect of PDT was a stinging sensation. PDT provides a relatively effective and useful alternative treatment for Bowen's disease in the vulva area.
Adult ; Bites and Stings ; Bowen's Disease* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Female ; Humans ; Photochemotherapy* ; Recurrence ; Sensation ; Vulva*

Pemphigus vegetans is a rare variant of pemphigus vulgaris and is characterized by vegetating lesions in the inguinal folds and mouth and by the presence of autoantibodies against desmoglein 3. Two clinical subtypes of pemphigus vegetans exist, which are initially characterized by flaccid bullae and erosions (the Neumann subtype) or pustules (the Hallopeau subtype). Both subtypes subsequently develop into hyperpigmented vegetative plaques with pustules and hypertrophic granulation tissue at the periphery of the lesions. Oral administration of corticosteroids alone does not always induce disease remission in patients with pemphigus vegetans. We report here on a 63-year-old woman with pemphigs vegetans. She had a 2-year history of vegetating, papillomatous plaques on the inguinal folds and erosions of the oral mucosa. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was positive for anti-desmoglein 3, but it was negative for anti-desmoglein 1. She was initially treated with systemic steroid, but no improvement was observed. The patient was then successfully treated with a combination of systemic steroid and dapsone with a good clinical response.
Administration, Oral ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Autoantibodies ; Blister ; Dapsone ; Desmoglein 3 ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Granulation Tissue ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Mouth ; Mouth Mucosa ; Pemphigus

Adenoid basal carcinoma and adenoid cystic carcinoma of the uterine cervix are rare tumors that have often been regarded as a single entity. But adenoid basal and adenoid cystic carcinomas of the cervix differ from each other in their histology, treatment, and prognosis. We experienced 2 cases of these neoplasms, with 1 case in each category. Whereas adenoid basal carcinoma is a slow-growing, locally invasive lesion amenable to simply hysterectomy, adenoid cystic carcinoma is an aggressive tumor associated with regional lymph node involvement and late distant metastases. This study reviews the literature and formulates a program for the management of these rare lesions.
Adenoids* ; Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic* ; Cervix Uteri* ; Female ; Hysterectomy ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis

BACKGROUND: Pleural eosinophilia is rare and commonly considered to be an indicator of good prognosis. The diagnostic significance of eosinophilic pleural effusions remains controversial despite a century of observation and discussion. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of eosinophilia in 446 consecutive samples of pleural fluid, to review the cause of eosinophilic pleural effusion and to determine whether the presence of eosinophils increases the likehood of benign conditions. METHOD: A retrospective analysis was performed upon patients that underwent first thoracentesis due to pleural effusion between January 1999 and December 1999. RESULTS: Eosinophilic pleural effusions were identified in 24 of the 446 patients (5.4%). Malignancy, parapneumonic effusion and tuberculosis were determined the major causes of pleural effusion (80.6%). Malignancy was diagnosed as frequently in eosinophilic effusions as in non-eosinophilic effusions (54.2% vs 50.5%, p=0.725). No difference was found in the prevalence of eosinophilic and non-eosinophilic effusion according to the etiology. The mean blood eosinophil ratio in patients with eosinophilic pleural effusion was 5.4% and no significant correlation existed between the blood and pleural eosinophilic count. CONCLUSION: Pleural eosinophilia is not helpful for differentiating benign and malignant etiology and is not related with blood eosinophilia or repeated tapping.
Eosinophilia ; Eosinophils* ; Humans ; Pleural Effusion* ; Prevalence ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Tuberculosis

Perineurioma is a rare benign peripheral nerve sheath tumor, composed uniformly of perineurial cells. Soft tissue perineurioma primarily arises within the subcutaneous tissue of extremities and trunk as a painless solitary nodule, and should be distinguished from dermatofibroma, neurofibroma, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, meningioma and so on. A 25 year-old female is presented with three small asymptomatic papules on the third left finger which were found 3 years ago. Punch biopsy was performed on all of the papules. Microscopic examination demonstrated well-demarcated tumor within dermis, and proliferation of spindle cells with wavy nuclei and elongated bipolar cytoplasmic process, arranged in a whorled pattern. According to immunohistochemical analysis, the tumor cell showed positivity for epithelial membrane antigen, but negativity for S-100 protein, factor XIIIa, CD34, and smooth muscle actin. The diagnosis of soft tissue perineurioma was being made. We report this rare case of perineurioma presented as multiple papules localized within dermis of the digit.
Actins ; Biopsy ; Cytoplasm ; Dermatofibrosarcoma ; Dermis ; Extremities ; Factor XIIIa ; Female ; Fingers ; Histiocytoma, Benign Fibrous ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Meningioma ; Mucin-1 ; Muscle, Smooth ; Nerve Sheath Neoplasms ; Neurofibroma ; Peripheral Nerves ; S100 Proteins ; Subcutaneous Tissue

Sweet syndrome or acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis is characterized by abrupt onset of fever, leucocytosis, and tender erythematous nodules or plaques that respond to systemic corticosteroids. It occurs most commonly in middle aged women and is rare in children. We report a 2-year-old boy with Sweet syndrome who had fever, leukocytosis, neutrophilia and presented with erythematous maculopapules with tiny pustules over the whole body. Additionally he had an antecedent infection. Our evaluation and long term follow-up of this child failed to reveal evidence of an underlying malignancy or a chronic systemic illness.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Child ; Female ; Fever ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Leukocytosis ; Middle Aged ; Preschool Child ; Sweet Syndrome

Reed syndrome is an autosomal dominantly inherited disease with incomplete penetrance that is characterized by uterine and cutaneous leiomyoma. While the skin tumors are relatively uncommon and benign, women of affected families often develop uterine leiomyoma with associated infertility, pain and bleeding. Here, we report a case of Reed syndrome in a family with multiple cutaneous and uterine leiomyomas. A 30-year-old woman had not only multiple cutaneous leiomyomatosis on cheek and neck, but also uterine multiple leiomyoma. Her mother had lesions that the multiple cutaneous leiomyomatosis on both shoulders and underwent myomectomy for a huge uterine leiomyoma at the age of 45. Her older sister also underwent myomectomy for uterine leiomyoma.
Adult ; Cheek ; Female ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Infertility ; Leiomyoma ; Leiomyomatosis ; Mothers ; Neck ; Penetrance ; Shoulder ; Siblings ; Skin

Pulmonary mucormycosis is an opportunistic infection in patients with severe underlying illness such as immunocompromised diseases or uncontrolled diabetes mellitus. While patients with leukemia and lymphoma usually resent with diffuse parenchymal disease, diabetic patients usually have a localized endobronchial disease involving central airways. We report upon a case of pulmonary mucormycosis in diabetes mellitus patient presenting as an endobronchial mass, which was cured with antifungal therapy, rigid bronchoscopic mass removal and right pneumonectomy.
Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Leukemia ; Lymphoma ; Mucormycosis* ; Opportunistic Infections ; Pneumonectomy