Theory of Traditional Oriental Medicine (TOM) is based on 'Yin-yang' and the 'Five elements' which are ancient chinese ideology for comprehending universe. TOM is also a kinds of ideological medicine, that contains confucian ideas, Buddhism, Taoism as progression of history and cultural trend. Ideological TOM explains physiologic and pathologic condition by 'Maintaining and Disruption of Balance' like Hippocrates, Galen, Ayurvedic medicine. The holy principle of comprehending TOM can be expressed as "To practice medicine based on ideological intuition". In western society original western ideological medicine was died out in the course of scientific revolution. But ancient and medieval oriental medicine is still in existence as a strong medical power in Korea. Recently, with the trend of academic integration, there was an attempt to find affirmative components of TOM. However, the theory of TOM is so different from any criteria for modern knowledge of science and seems to be incommensurable with modern evidence based medicine. As we know, science is the knowledge that could progress cumulatively unswayed by paradigm. To integrate TOM and modern scientific medicine, first of all, the theory of TOM must be made as a precise knowledge through strict ontological and epistemological study. The precise knowledge met clear study requirements will be integrated spontaneously, and Only that has the right to join competition for developing practical technical development. In this knowledge society, the survival and integration of TOM will not only achieved by ideological slogan but also emotional sympathy anymore.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Buddhism ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; Humans ; Integrative Medicine ; Korea ; Medicine, Ayurvedic ; Medicine, East Asian Traditional ; Religious Philosophies ; Yin-Yang

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), also referred to as complementary medicine describes those unconventional healthcare practices that are not considered standard medical approaches. The increasing popularity and use of CAM modalities by consumers indicate a high need to integrate CAM education into conventional medical curriculum and evaluate CAM-related educational outcomes including the medical students' attitudes towards CAM. The number of Korean medical schools offering courses in CAM has risen sharply in recent years. Educational courses of study in CAM have developed. The Korean Society of Complementary and Integrative Medicine proposed a standard 16-hour CAM curriculum for medical students. The CAM Health Belief Questionnaire (CHBQ) is useful in measuring the medical students' attitudes toward CAM theories and practices. The students have shown positive attitudes toward CAM. The findings of positive attitude/beliefs toward CAM is useful for guiding future CAM curriculum development. The didactic CAM instruction curriculum appeared not to have additionally impacted on already positive attitudes toward CAM. It seems that we have to collect information on changes in CAM knowledge and skills to demonstrate an increase in these domains of learning.
Complementary Therapies ; Curriculum ; Delivery of Health Care ; Humans ; Integrative Medicine ; Learning ; Schools, Medical ; Students, Medical ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Majority of cancer patients used CAM modalities during and even after cancer treatment. Main reasons for CAM use are to improve immunity, with expectation of fewer recurrences, and to have better quality of life. Still many patients did not reveal precise detailed information of CAM use to their physicians. Due to possible interaction between herbs and cancer drugs, it is essential for physicians to know whether their patients use CAM modalities or not and to have interest in existing evidence. This article will provide the lists of evidence and references on supplements and life styles including diet and exercise. Mind body medicine is not commonly used in Korea but there is increasing evidence on meditation and usefulness with relaxation even in supportive care.
Diet ; Humans ; Integrative Medicine ; Korea ; Life Style ; Meditation ; Mind-Body Therapies ; Quality of Life ; Recurrence ; Relaxation

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for health maintenance and disease management has been on a steady rise for more than 10 years. The number of visits to alternative care providers seems to have exceeded the number of visits to primary care providers. Most of these users are women who are frequently making decisions regarding treatment options without the advice of their physicians. The spectrum of CAM is broad and includes methods worthy of integration into our current practics, as well as ineffective or fraudulent practices that should be avoided. The management of many women's health issues can be enhanced by the integration of selected CAM approaches. Important issues of CAM use in the gynecologic field are menstrual disorders such as premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea, Infertility and menopause. The purpose of this article is to provide the clinician with current information of CAM of the above mentioned gynecologic issues and to be helpful in providing benefits to patients with appropriate treatment options.
Complementary Therapies ; Disease Management ; Dysmenorrhea ; Female ; Gynecology ; Humans ; Infertility ; Menopause ; Premenstrual Syndrome ; Primary Health Care ; Women's Health

The author herein reviews recent series of projects aimed at developing computer- and robot-assisted otological surgery. The author's team and its collaborating institutions have developed devices for image-guided surgery and robots for otological procedures. The accumulation of user-oriented research resulted in developing a unique robotic system of human-robot collaborative control, which is the system that restricts the surgeon's hand only if surrounding structures are in danger of injury. Thus, as many other fields in the surgery, otological procedures can also be assisted by computers and robots that provide objective and patient-specific anatomical information during surgery.
Hand ; Surgery, Computer-Assisted

The interventional procedure is a percutaneous treatment modality using various devices such as a guide-wire and a catheter under a minimal incision. It is usually done under a fluoroscopy (X-ray radiography) guidance, therefore the operator would be exposed to X-ray irradiation. Recently, a new procedure using a master-slave robotic system is proposed for the intervention procedure, especially in the era of vascular disease. Many state of art intervention robots are under development and this approach can drastically reduce radiation exposure by replacing human effort by a robotic system for high radiation exposure procedures. However, robotic intervention is still more expensive and needs more efficient end effector and easier human interface for a safer and faster procedure. This article provides a comprehensive summary of vascular intervention and necessity of the vascular intervention robot system.
Catheters* ; Fluoroscopy ; Humans ; Radiation Exposure ; Vascular Diseases

Our hospital has started laparoscopic cholecystectomy in 1991, and thereafter many surgeons have been trained in the era of laparoscopic and minimally invasive surgery. Since then numerous procedures have been applied for laparoscopic surgery, and many patients have benefited as a result. We have performed the first automated surgery in Korea using the Automated Endoscopic System for Optimal Positioning (AESOP) in June, 1996 [1]. With the help of Inbae Yoon's inspiration [2] and donation, our hospital has started the “I.B. Yoon Multi-Specialty Endoscopic Research & Training Center” in 1998. We then started the “Severance Robot and Minimally Invasive Surgery Center” in March 2005. These infrastructures enables us the expansion of laparoscopic surgery and inspires many surgeons to understand the principles and equipments of laparoscopic and robotic surgery. We performed the first robotic surgery using the da Vinci system in July, 2005. During a 10 years period after introducing the da Vinci surgical system in 2005 we have performed more than 15000 cases of robotic surgery successfully. With collaboration between medicine and robotic engineering, we are now developing our own version of Korean robotic system.
Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic ; Cooperative Behavior ; Humans ; Korea* ; Laparoscopy ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; Surgeons

An important trend of surgical procedure is minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Neurosurgery is an important part of the surgical field that may lead in trends. The MIS provides surgeons use of a variety of techniques to operate with less injury to the body than with open surgery. In general, it is safer than open surgery and allows patients to recover faster and heal with less pain and scarring. There are various techniques and medical devices for improving the MIS. Recently, robotic surgery was introduced to MIS. Advanced robotic systems give doctors greater control and vision during surgery, allowing them to perform safe, less invasive, and precise surgical procedures. On the one hand, several robotic systems have been developed for use in neurosurgery. Some of those neurosurgical robots have been commercialized and used in clinical practice while others have not been used because of safety and ethical issues. This paper provides a brief review on robotic systems for neurosurgery, primarily focusing on commercially available systems.
Cicatrix ; Ethics ; Hand ; Humans ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; Neurosurgery* ; Radiosurgery ; Surgeons

Recently robotic thyroidectomy has gained its popularity for the treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer and benign thyroid tumors. It has been developed to overcome the drawbacks of conventional open trans-cervical thyroidectomy, which is an apparent neck wound that is visible unless concealed with clothes. Robotic thyroidectomy provides surgeons with three-dimensional magnified view and multiarticulated robotic arms that can stabilize hand tremors. It also has advantages over conventional trans-cervical thyroidectomy that include recovery of voice symptoms and acoustic parameters along with superior cosmetic outcomes. Robotic thyroidectomy results in equivalent surgical outcomes including oncologic safety and complications compared with conventional thyroidectomy. Various approaches including transaxillary, postauricular facelift, and breast-axillary approaches have been developed for robotic thyroidectomy. Recently, the indication of robotic surgery has been extended to neck dissection of the lateral compartment. Herein we summarize the indication, procedures, and efficacy of robotic thyroidectomy, and also introduce our experience with robotic thyroidectomy.
Acoustics ; Arm ; Clothing ; Hand ; Neck ; Neck Dissection ; Rhytidoplasty ; Surgeons ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroidectomy* ; Tremor ; Voice ; Wounds and Injuries

No abstract available.
Surgery, Computer-Assisted*