M-mode, pulsed Doppler and Doppler color flow mapping, in addition to two-dimensional echocardiography, have greatly improved imaging of the fetal heart through identification of abnormal cardiac anatomy and rhythm in utero. The early detection of cardiac disturbance in utero permits alteration in obstetric management such as delivery in a high-risk center for optimal neonatal care and/or decision in optimal delivery time. We report two cases of the neonatal arrhy-thmia which were observed by fetal echocardiography. In the first case, female baby showed neonatal arrhythmias including tachycardia and brady-cardia until 3 days after birth, and then turned to bradyarrhythmia due to non-conducted atrial bigeminy. These events lead us to review the fetal echocardiographs of the patient carefully. Premature atrial contractions were observed in her fetal echocardiography. At 2 months after birth, the patient's electrocardiogram showed normal sinus rhythm. Severe neonatal bradycardia of the second case was due to congenital complete heart block, identified clearly by electrocardiogram after birth. This case also showed complete heart block in her fetal echocardiography. After insertion of the temporary pacemaker, cardiomegaly was improved. Both the neonate and the mother had positive anti-SSA/Ro autoantibody. But any other symptoms and signs of neonatal lupus did not appear in the neonate. Patient's mother also did not show any symptoms and signs of systemic lupus erythematosus. Since the prognosis depends upon the cause of bradyarrhythmia in fetus and neonates, differential diagnosis is important in obstetric management and optimal neonatal treatment.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac* ; Atrial Premature Complexes ; Bradycardia ; Cardiomegaly ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Echocardiography* ; Electrocardiography ; Female ; Fetal Heart ; Fetus ; Heart Block ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Mothers ; Parturition ; Prognosis ; Tachycardia

To evaluate the usefulness of indocyanine green (ICG) iris angiography in darkly pigmented iris and to investigate whether the anterior segment ischemia can be produced by tenotomies of two or more rectus muscles in rabbits, twenty one eyes of 21 pigmented rabbits wer divided into four groups according to the surgical procedures. Group I (2 eyes) underwent only conjunctival peritomy as a control. Group II (6 eyes), Group III (9 eyes), Group IV (4 eyes) underwent tenotomies of two, three and four rectus muscles, respectively. All these eyes underwent ICG iris angiography at pre-op, post-op 10 housrs, 3 days, 7 days and 14 days. In eight eyes of Group I and Group II, fluorescein iris angiography was taken simultaneously. The quality of fluorescein iris angiography was much lower in the pigmented iris and the interpretation was more difficult compared to ICG iris angiography. The peritomy (Group I) or tenotomies of two rectus muscles (Group II) produced no circulatory defect of the iris even after 10 hours postoperatively. After tenotomies of three rectus muscles (Group III) there were transient mild filling defects in superior or inferior sector of iris in 7 of 9 eyes. These defects lasted for 1 to 3 days. Tenotomies of four rectus muscles (Group IV) produced transient filling defects which lasted for 1 to 7 days. ICG iris angiography was suitable for the evaluation of anterior segment circulation in darkly pigmented iris, thus, it can be applied to the coriental brown iris. And in contrast to the previous concept that the rabbits iris arteries derive solely from the long posterior ciliary arteries, circulatory disturbance of iris, even though transient, could be produced by severance of rectus muscles.
Angiography* ; Arteries ; Ciliary Arteries ; Fluorescein ; Indocyanine Green* ; Iris* ; Ischemia* ; Muscles ; Rabbits* ; Tenotomy

Tuberculous spondylitis is not rare disease. Today the posterior instrumentation and posterior or posterolateral fusion concomitant with the anterior decompression and anterior interbody fusion have been used for the treatment of spinal tuberculosis. The authors experienced a case of tuberculous spondylitis complicated with descending aortic pseudoaneurysm. An aneurysm is defined as a localized dilatation of an artery that is at least one-half the size greater than is expected for that artery. Pseudoaneurysm occurring after previous operation, trauma, and infection. Erosion of the thoracic aorta with the development of an fistula in the presence of infection is an unusual and difficult problem to manage. We report a case and review related articles briefly.
Aneurysm ; Aneurysm, False* ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Arteries ; Decompression ; Dilatation ; Fistula ; Rare Diseases ; Spondylitis* ; Tuberculosis, Spinal

OBJECTIVE: To determine the reproductive outcomes of women undergoing microsurgical reversal of tubal sterilization at age 36 years or older. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A series of 133 patients who received microsurgical reversal of the previously sterilized fallopian tubes at Seoul National University Hospital from July, 1980 to January, 1992 was reviewed and evaluated for clinical characteristics, pregnancy rates, and factors influencing the outcome of tubal reversal. RESULTS: Of 133 patients, 78 (58.6%) had been sterilized by laparoscopic cautery. Loss of children was a leading cause for tubal reversal. The mean interval from tubal sterilization to tubal reversal was 65.0 months. The overall pregnancy rate was 52.6% (70/133), and the mean interval was 9.4 months from tubal reversal to pregnancy. Excluding 7 patients who were lost to follow-up, 76 pregnancies were confirmed in 63 patients with the delivery rate per patient of 66.7% (42/63). There were no significant differences in age, duration of tubal sterilization, postoperative tubal length between pregnant and non-pregnant groups. CONCLUSIONS: Microsurgical reversal of tubal sterilization could be a justifiable method in women 36 years age or older.
Cautery ; Child ; Fallopian Tubes ; Female ; Humans ; Lost to Follow-Up ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Rate ; Seoul ; Sterilization, Tubal*

Hypermobility of the bladder neck in response to increased intraabdominal pressure is the anatomical cause of female stress urinary incontinence ( SUI) and the degree of bladder neck movement has been used to classify SUI patients and to guide management decisions. We performed transvaginal ultrasonography in 14 SUI patients and 20 normal female as control to assess its role on the demonstration of the anatomical features associated with SUI. We adopted three anatomical factors in the sagittal plane which affect the bladder neck mobility , vertical (JY) and horizontal(JX) distance difference between pubic symphysis and bladder neck, and rotation angle difference(JZ) composed of by pubic symphysis and bladder neck during rest and stress states. There were significant differences in Y and Z between the two groups. Three months after corrective surgery for SUI these two factors showed significant improvement in all patients. It could be concluded that transvaginal ultrasonography is a safe and reliable method to diagnosis and evaluate the postoperative outcome for SUI.
Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Neck ; Pubic Symphysis ; Ultrasonography* ; Urinary Bladder ; Urinary Incontinence*

PURPOSE: A consecutive series of 710 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy for carcinoma was studied with a special reference to the number or frequency of lymph node metastasis and the patient's prognosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Survival rates were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method, and the difference between each group was evaluated statistically by the log-rank method. Follow-up was obtained for 709 patients (99.9%). RESULTS: According to the number of lymph nodal metastases, the five year survival rate for group 1 (1~3 positive nodes) was 50.9%; for group 2 (4~6 positive nodes), 56.7%; and for group 3 (more than 6 positive nodes), 12.0% (p<0.0001). According to the frequency of lymph node metastases, the five year survival rate for those with up to 25 per cent frequency of metastases was 47.5%; for those with up to 50 per cent frequency of metastases, 15.6%; and for those with greater than 50 per cent metastases, 6.3% (p<0.0001). According to the frequency of the regional lymph nodes (which include perigastric nodes along the lesser and greater curvatures, nodes located along the left gastric, common hepatic, splenic, and celiac arteries) metastasis, we categorized them as group 0 (N0: no metastasis), 1 (N1: metastasis in up to 25%), and 2 (N2: metastasis in greater than 25%). CONCLUSION: This subdivision could be successfully applied to the clinical evaluation of gastric carcinoma (five year survival rate for N0, 86.9%; for N1, 49.0%; and for N2, 10.7% (p<0.0001)) without difficulty in dividing certain lymph nodes into the correct location.
Follow-Up Studies ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of MRI in bladder or rectal invasion of cervical cancer. METHODS: Between January 2000 and December 2005, 106 cervical cancer patients who underwent cystoscopy or sigmoidoscopy examination retrospectively compared with results of the MRI finding. A 5-point invasion score was used to determine bladder or rectal invasion in MRI (1 = no invasion, 3 = serosal invasion, 5 = definite mucosal invasion). Score of 3 or above was suspicious for both rectal and bladder invasion. RESULTS: Eighty one patients with negative for both rectal and bladder invasion in MRI were normal in cystoscopy and sigmoidoscopy. MRI identified 17 patients with suspected bladder invasion, 7 patients had confirmed bladder invasion in cystoscopy. MRI identified 11 patients with suspected rectal invasion, 1 patients had confirmed rectal invasion in sigmoidoscopy. The detection of rectal and bladder invasion by MRI had a negative predictive value of 100%. CONCLUSION: The use of a 5-point scoring system for predicting rectal or bladder invasion in MRI is accurate in detecting cervical cancer patients with no evidence of rectal or bladder invasion. The cervical cancer patients with no evidence of rectal or bladder invasion in MRI can obviate invasive cystoscopy and sigmoidoscopy.
Cystoscopy ; Diagnosis* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Retrospective Studies ; Sigmoidoscopy ; Urinary Bladder* ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*

The following report is a case of central cord syndrome in a seven-year-old girl. There was no history of major trauma except instances of standing on her head. Plain x-rays and CT myelography of the cervical spine revealed no abnormalities. Although she was apneic for 12 days and quadriparetic, the patient recovered and was able to walk on the 24th hospital day. Since central cord syndrome as a result of standing on head is unusual in children with a normal cervical spine, the arthors decided to report the above described case for medical interest.
Central Cord Syndrome* ; Child* ; Female ; Head* ; Humans ; Myelography ; Spinal Injuries ; Spine

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: In spite of increasing dental treatment for the disabled, there was no collected data on prosthodontic treatment status and dentists' perceptions in Korea. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to research the dentists' perceptions about current prosthodontic treatment status for the disabled in Korea and to suggest public health policies for the disabled. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Total of 68 dentists who have regularly treated the disabled were asked to fill questionnaires regarding prosthodontic treatment for the disabled. RESULTS: 1. 45.6% of dentists felt the necessity of an esthetic prosthesis for the disabled. However, 54.3% of dentists reported the improvement of access to implant,orthodontic and esthetic treatment is needed. 2. Most (79.4%) of the dentists thought it is imperative for the government to support the disabled to maintain adequate oral health by providing at least 50% of charge in their prosthesis. CONCLUSION: Through this research, 97.1% of dentists answered that the current prosthodontic treatment status for the disabled in Korea is poor. This indicated the necessity of the financial support from the government for the disabled.
Dentists ; Fees and Charges ; Financial Support ; Humans ; Korea ; Oral Health ; Prostheses and Implants ; Prosthodontics ; Public Health ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the therapeutic value of conization using right-angled triangular shape loop cone biopsy excisor in patients with CIN 3 who want preserve the uterus. METHODS: A retrospective review of 64 patients was performed who underwent therapeutic conization for CIN 3 by using right-angled triangular shape loop cone biopsy excisor from January 2000 to August 2005. RESULTS: The mean duration of 64 follow-up patients who had conization for therapeutic purpose was 21.5 months (range 10-68). Their mean age was 41.1 years old and mean parity was 1.7. Two of 64 patients had CIN 3 on exocervix margin. During the followed up period, only one person (1/64) had relapse of CIN 3, hence, a simple hysterectomy was done. CONCLUSION: Right-angled triangular shape loop cone biopsy excisor is more effective than U-shaped loop with low rate of margin positive and recurrent rate in conservative treatment in CIN 3 patients who want to preserve uterus or fertility.
Biopsy ; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia* ; Conization* ; Female ; Fertility ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Parity ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Uterus