Double outlet right ventricle, a complex of congenital cardiac anomalies in which both great arteries arise wholly or in large part from the morphologic right ventricle presents diverse clinical manifestations according to the morphological characteristics. Eighty cases with DORV were diagnosed and operated at Yonsei Cardiovascular Center from 1988 to 1992. The analysis of the morphological characteristics of this anomaly and comparative study of operative methods and mortality according to the morphological classification led to the following results: 1) The location of VSD varied to be subaortic in 40 cases, subpulmonic in 15, doubly committed in 6 and noncommitted in 19 cases. The great arteries were interrelated in D-malposition in 43 cases and L-malposition in 18 and 26 cases among above mentioned 61 cases revealed the side-by-side relationship. Ten of the cases showed normal position and the rest 9, A-malposition. 2) Pulmonary stenosis was found in 60 cases, and when associated with subpulmonic VSD, occurring less frequently. PDA and ASD secundum were associated in successional order and only 3 cases were verified to carry aortic arch anomalies such as coarctation and interruption, all with subpulmonic VSD. 3) Intraventricular tunnel repair was possible in every case associated with subaortic VSD and the postoperative prognosis was excellent. In comparison, most of the cases associated with other types of VSD in which only palliative surgery or various types of intraventricular repair were performed, the general outcome was poor. But total cavopulmonary connection, one of the physiological corrective methods, showing a better postoperative prognosis is being carefully considered for its broad adoptation in future. In conclusion, double outlet right ventricle, a pathophysiological complex of various anomalies, should be thoroughly evaluated for the morphological characteristics to decide the most appropriate types of operation and for consequent improvement of prognosis.
Aorta, Thoracic ; Arteries ; Classification ; Double Outlet Right Ventricle* ; Heart Ventricles ; Mortality ; Palliative Care ; Prognosis ; Pulmonary Valve Stenosis

Coarctation and occlusion of the aorta is a rare condition that typically presents with hypertension or cardiac failure. However, neuropathy or myelopathy may be the presenting features of the condition when an intraspinal subarachnoid hemorrhage has compressed the spinal cord causing ischemia. We report two cases of middle-aged males who developed acute non-traumatic paraplegia. Undiagnosed congenital abnormalities, such as aortic coarctation and occlusion, should be considered for patients presenting with nontraumatic paraplegia in the absence of other identifiable causes. Our cases suggest that spinal cord ischemia resulting from acute spinal subarachnoid hemorrhage and can cause paraplegia, and that clinicians must carefully examine patients presenting with nontraumatic paraplegia because misdiagnosis can delay initiation of the appropriate treatment.
Aorta ; Aortic Coarctation* ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Diagnostic Errors ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Ischemia ; Male ; Paraplegia* ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Diseases ; Spinal Cord Ischemia ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

In the spring of 2011, a cluster of lung injuries caused by humidifier disinfectant (HD) usage were reported in Korea. Many patients required mechanical ventilation, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and even lung transplantation (LTPL). However, the long-term course of HD-associated lung injury remains unclear because the majority of survivors recovered normal lung function. Here we report a 33-year-old woman who underwent LTPL approximately four years after severe HD-associated lung injury. The patient was initially admitted to the intensive care unit and was supported by a high-flow nasal cannula. Although she had been discharged, she was recurrently admitted to our hospital due to progressive lung fibrosis and a persistent decline in lung function. Finally, sequential double LTPL was successfully performed, and the patient's clinical and radiological findings showed significant improvement. Therefore, we conclude that LTPL can be a therapeutic option for patients with chronic inhalation injury.
Adult ; Catheters ; Disinfectants ; Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation ; Female ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Humidifiers* ; Inhalation ; Inhalation Exposure ; Intensive Care Units ; Korea ; Lung Injury* ; Lung Transplantation* ; Lung* ; Oxygen Inhalation Therapy ; Respiration, Artificial ; Survivors

In the rat hippocampal formation, the time-course and dose-response of the expression of enkephalin and dynorphin gene were examined after kainate (KA) treatment with in situ hybridization histochemistry. The KA induced enkephalin and dynorphin mRNA expression in hippocampus occurred mainly in the dentate gyrus. The enkephalin mRNA expression appeared at 3hour after KA injection, increased dramatically at 6hour, and then decreses. At 24hour after KA injection, the expression of enkephalin mRNA disappeared. The dynorphin mRNA expression appeared at once after injection and increased dramatically at 3hour. Unexpectedly at 6hour after injection, the expression was decreased, and then increased less than the 3hour expression. The increased pattern persisted to 24hour after injection. Unexpected result was also encounted in the experiment of KA dose-response of enkephalin mRNA and dynorphin mRNA. In the hippocampal formation, in contrast with other areas, low dosage (8mg/kg) of KA induced more significant expression of both genes than high dosage (16mg/kg) of KA.
Animals ; Dentate Gyrus ; Dynorphins ; Enkephalins ; Gene Expression* ; Hippocampus* ; In Situ Hybridization ; Kainic Acid ; Opioid Peptides* ; Rats* ; RNA, Messenger ; Seizures*

The hemodynamic feature of the tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is best characterized by equality of left and right ventricular peak systolic pressure. The interventricular septum is flattened and thickened. Even after the right ventricular pressure is normalized in the postoperative period, the morphological abnormality continues for some time We have analyzed the morphological changes of the IVS echocardiographically after total correction and tried to correlate them with the prognosis of the patients. Forty five patients underwent total correction of TOF between May 1991 and July 1992.The IVS morphology was assessed with 2-D echocardiography before and after surgery. The control group consisted of 15 normal subjects(8 with functional cardiac murmur and 7 with non-cardiac diseases).We also evaluated the influence of the residual pulmonary regurgitation(PR) or pulmonic stenosis (PS) upon sequential changes in the end-systolic configuration and the thickness of the IVS. The following results were obtained. 1) Four months after total correction the IVS thickness and configuration at end-systole of the study patients were normalized, and they were not significantly different compared to those of the control group. 2) The postoperative residual PR of mild to moderate degree did not influence the course of morphological normalization. On the other hand, the postoperative residual PS greater than moderate degree hindered the normalization process. And the morphological abnormalities in the patients with the residual PS lasted longer than in the patients with the residual PR. 3) It would be necessary to perform cardiac catheterization in order to evaluate and to take care of the residual hemodynamic abnormalities if the IVS morphology remains to be abnormal even after one year after total correction.
Blood Pressure ; Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Echocardiography* ; Hand ; Heart Murmurs ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Postoperative Period ; Prognosis ; Pulmonary Valve Stenosis ; Tetralogy of Fallot* ; Ventricular Pressure

Solitary fibrous tumor is rare benign mesenchymal neoplasm. The spinal solitary fibrous tumor is extremely rare. The authors experienced a case of intramedullary solitary fibrous tumor of cervicothoracic spinal cord in a 48-year-old man with right lower extremity sensory disturbance. Spinal MRI showed intradural mass lesion in the level of C7-T1, the margin between the spinal cord and tumor was not clear on MRI. A Left unilateral laminectomy and mass removal was performed. Intra operative finding, the tumor boundary was unclear from spinal cord and it had intramedullary and extramedullary portion. After surgery, patient had good recovery and had uneventful prognosis. Follow up spinal MRI showed no recurrence of tumor.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Laminectomy ; Lower Extremity ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Solitary Fibrous Tumors* ; Spinal Cord* ; Spine

Solitary fibrous tumor is rare benign mesenchymal neoplasm. The spinal solitary fibrous tumor is extremely rare. The authors experienced a case of intramedullary solitary fibrous tumor of cervicothoracic spinal cord in a 48-year-old man with right lower extremity sensory disturbance. Spinal MRI showed intradural mass lesion in the level of C7-T1, the margin between the spinal cord and tumor was not clear on MRI. A Left unilateral laminectomy and mass removal was performed. Intra operative finding, the tumor boundary was unclear from spinal cord and it had intramedullary and extramedullary portion. After surgery, patient had good recovery and had uneventful prognosis. Follow up spinal MRI showed no recurrence of tumor.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Laminectomy ; Lower Extremity ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Solitary Fibrous Tumors* ; Spinal Cord* ; Spine

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Electrical stimulation is one of various methods of treatment for patients suffering from tinnitus. However, the effect or mechanism of electrical stimulation is still unclear. Also, although the success rate of electrical stimulation ranged from 13% to 80% in other studies, the best condition of electrical stimulation is unknown yet. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the effect of alternate current electrical stimulation at tympanic membrane on tinnitus suppression and to seek the best condition that yield maximum tinnitus reduction. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Forty-five patients who suffered from tinnitus with moderately severe hearing loss above 56 dB and 20 patients with limited frequency hearing loss above 56 dB were selected for this study. The study was performed in 4 phases. Fourty-five patients who passed the screening phase received 10 min duration of electrical stimulation twice a week for 6 weeks. RESULTS: The results were as follows. 1) Among the 65 patients, alternate current stimulation suppressed tinnitus in 45 patients (69%) in the screening phase. So 45 patients were selected for the electrical stimulation group. 2) Tinnitus suppression was most effective in patients with sudden deafness in the screening phase. 3) Effective tinnitogram for electrical stimulation was white noise and 8 kHz (pure tone) in the screening phase. 4) The most common optimal stimulation was the low frequency square wave. 5) The mean intensity of the current was 47.5 microliterA. 6) Suppression of tinnitus was achieved in 30 patients (67%) among 45 patients who received electrical stimulation therapy. 7) Long term treatment was more effective than short term, but adaptation phenomenon was noted during the treatment phase in 15 patients (33%). CONCLUSION: These results showed that alternate current stimulation for patients with tinnitus is effective and that the optimal condition to use is the low frequency square wave. We found good response to electrical stimulation in patients with sudden deafness and moderate to severe hearing loss. Therefore, we think electrical stimulation is a good treatment for patients with tinnitus for whom it is difficult to apply TRT (tinnitus retraining therapy).
Electric Stimulation Therapy ; Electric Stimulation* ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Loss, Sudden ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Noise ; Tinnitus* ; Tympanic Membrane*

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of a separate distolingual root and to measure the thickness of the buccal cortical bone in mandibular first molars in Koreans using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images. MATERIALS AND METHODS: High-quality CBCT data from 432 patients were analyzed in this study. The prevalence of a separate distolingual root of the mandibular first molar was investigated. The distance from the distobuccal and distolingual root apices to the outer surface of the buccal cortical bone was measured. We also evaluated the thickness of the buccal cortical bone. RESULTS: The prevalence of a separate distolingual root (2 separate distal roots with 1 canal in each root; 2R2C) was 23.26%. In mandibular first molars with 2R2C, the distance from the distobuccal root apex to the outer surface of the buccal cortical bone was 5.51 mm. Furthermore, the distance from the distolingual root apex to the outer surface of the buccal cortical bone was 12.09 mm. In mandibular first molars with 2R2C morphology, the thickness of the buccal cortical bone at the distobuccal root apex of the mandibular first molar was 3.30 mm. The buccal cortical bone at the distobuccal root apex was significantly thicker in the right side (3.38 mm) than the left side (3.09 mm) (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A separate distolingual root is not rare in mandibular first molars in the Korean population. Anatomic and morphologic knowledge of the mandibular first molar can be useful in treatment planning, including surgical endodontic treatment.
Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Humans ; Molar* ; Prevalence

The mentum plays an important role in the aesthetics of the face, and genioplasty is performed to improve an unbalance of the mentum. Among the various surgical approaches, setback genioplasty is used to create an aesthetic jaw-end appearance by moving the mentum backward when it protrudes more than normal. However, conventional setback genioplasty may be aesthetically disadvantageous because the profile of the mentum could become flat. This case study attempted to overcome the limitations of conventional setback genioplasty by rotating the position of the menton and pogonion.We devised a new method for setback genioplasty by rotating the segment anteroinferiorly. Using virtual surgery, we were able to specify the range of surgery more accurately and easily, and the surgery time was reduced. This case report showed the difference in chin soft tissue responses between conventional setback genioplasty and setback genioplasty with rotation.