BACKGROUND: Anomalous origin of a coronary artery is rare, but it can lead to angina pectoris, acute myocardial infarction, or even sudden death in the absence of atherosclerosis. Even when an anomalous vessel is identified angiographically, it may be difficult to delineate its true course on the basis of angiography alone. We attempted to determine whether transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is of value in making the diagnosis and outlining the course of anomalous left circumflex (LCx) or right coronary arteries (RCA). METHOD: Eight adult patients with anomalous origin of LCx or RCA documented by selective coronary angiography were studied by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and multiplane TEE. RESULTS: Anomalous coronary ostia were visualized in all eight patients by TEE, but in only one with anomalous RCA out of eight patients by TTE. The proximal segments of anomalous coronary vessels were delineated in all eight patients by TEE and in only three with anomalous LCx out of eight patients by TTE. CONCLUSION: TEE is a valuable adjunctive diagnostic tool for the identification of anomalous coronary origin and course and is superior to TTE in adult patients.
Adult ; Angina Pectoris ; Angiography ; Atherosclerosis ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Vessels* ; Death, Sudden ; Diagnosis ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal* ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction

BACKGROUND: V. vulnificus infection is found between May and October when the man who has hepatic disorder or immunity disorder eats raw shellfish and it causes the systemic symptoms such as sudden fever, chilling, shock and stupor and local skin lesions like blob and necrosis. This disease has 46~61% of fatality rate in spite of intensive treatment. This study conducts the examination of history, epidemic study, ingesting raw fish and bacteriologic investigation in the patients with similar clinical symptoms to the above and examines the diagnostic correlations. METHOD: It is conducted with 31 cases who admitted at emergency medical center of Chosun University Hospital from May of 1995 to September of 1998 and are suspected to have V. vulnificus infection. It analyze bacteriologic examination, the survey of residence, eating raw shellfish, hepatic disorder, alcohol drinking habits and skin lesion. RESULTS: 1)the rate of male and female is 15.5:1 and in the age, 18 cases are in fifties, seven ale in fifties and six are over sixties. 2) Clinically, V. vulnificus is detected in 20 of 31 cases which is suspected to have V. vulnificus i18c1ion and it is not detected in 5 cases. Other bacteria are detected in 6 cases and they include staphylococcus aureus, pseudomonas species, beta hemotytic streptococcus and E-coil. 3) In local distribution, Kohung has 10 cases, Shinan and Mokpo have six, Haenam and Kangjin have aye, Yongkwang and Muan have five, Naju and Yongam have five and Kwangju has one. 4) Eating fishes and raw shellfishes is found in 31 cases. In the kind of shellfishes, eating raw clam is 10 cases, raw thin-shelled surf calm is 8 cases, raw oyster is 5 cases and sliced raw fish is 4 cases and pickled sea floods ate 4 cases. 5) The cases with hepatic disorder are 23 and 15 Gases with heavy alcohol dunking Carrier are included. The cases with Diabetic Mellitus are four and those with pulmonary tuberculosis are two. Two cases have not basal diseases. 6) On the opinion of skin lesion, 20 cases show vesicular necrosis, 7 cases have dendriform erythema, 3 cases have papule and one case doesn't show clear skin lesion. CONCLUSION: When V. vulnificus infection is detected, it is fatal and those who have hepatic disorder or heavy alcohol drinking habit must avoid eating fishes and shellfishes raw in summer. It is important to have emergency treatment for the patient whose V. vulnificus infection is suspected. It is considered that the administration of initial antibiotics is effective by generalizing the clinical symptom, epidemic opinion and patient history even before the results of bacteriologic confirmed.
Alcohol Drinking ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacteria ; Bivalvia ; Eating ; Emergencies ; Emergency Treatment ; Erythema ; Female ; Fever ; Fishes ; Floods ; Gases ; Gwangju ; Humans ; Jeollanam-do ; Male ; Necrosis ; Ostreidae ; Pseudomonas ; Shellfish ; Shock ; Skin ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Streptococcus ; Stupor ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary ; Vibrio vulnificus* ; Vibrio*

OBJECTIVE: In recent years, the neurosurgeon's role in managing cerebrovascular diseases (CVD) has becomes rapidly challenged and overlapped with other specialists. Furthermore, the patterns of CVD and patient recruitment have also changed. We conducted a retrospective study regarding the practical trends of CVD with reference to the management paradigms at our institute. METHOD: We reviewed all the available data, including the annual reports, the daily department records, the medical records and the radiographic films of the CVD patients who had been admitted to our Neurosurgery Department during the five years between Jan. 2004 and Dec. 2008. RESULTS: The total numbers of CVD operations showed a slight initial increase, but then they remained steady for the latter 3 years. The number of cases of non-angiomatous hemorrhage has been relatively steady, regardless of surgery. The total numbers of treated aneurysms increased, but the main body of this increment was attributed to the initiation of endovascular treatment and increased identification of unruptured vascular lesions. Vascular malformations were sustained with a small number of cases due to referring them to other institutes for radiosurgery, except for the cases that required urgent hemorrhagic evacuation. CONCLUSION: Hemorrhagic CVDs tended to decrease either due to increasing identification before rupture or shifting such patients into a large volume hospital. The increasing awareness of ischemic CVD, the early detection of unruptured aneurysms, and the separation of medical responsibilities from neurologists have all pushed neurosurgeons to make treatment plans in a more cooperative fashion, instead of a competitive way. Neurosurgeons should be furnished with several revolutionary surgical options to widen their scope of managing patients with CVD.
Academies and Institutes ; Aneurysm ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Infarction ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Medical Records ; Neurosurgery ; Patient Selection ; Radiosurgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Rupture ; Specialization ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage ; Vascular Malformations ; X-Ray Film

PURPOSE:It is important to evaluate the healing process of avascular necrosis (AVN) involving femoral head after treatment. The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of pinhole bone scintigraphy in the AVN of femoral head after surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the changing pattern of pinhole bone scintigram in 21 femoral heads of 16 patients (14 lesions/11 male, 7 lesions/5 female, mean age: 39.4 yrs) before and after multiple drilling or vascularized bone grafting for AVN of the femoral head. In all patients, pre-operative scintigrams were obtained at 1 to 3 months before treatment and the first post-operative scintigrams were obtained at 1 to 3 months after treatment. All patients were followed for 2 to 4 years after operation. RESULTS: The findings of the pinhole scintigrams were divided into three patterns: 1) curvilinear, 2) scattered spotty and 3) undetermined. The 10 of 11 lesions with curvilinear pattern had good postoperative clinical and radiological follow-up findings. However, all 6 lesions with scattered spotty pattern showed poor postoperative findings, which necessitated total hip joint replacement. Of the 4 lesions with undetermined pattern, 2 required total hip joint replacement. There was significant difference in postoperative prognosis between the curvilinear and scattered spotty patterns (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: We conclude that the pattern of pinhole bone scintigram obtained within 1 to 3 months after multiple drilling or vascularized bone graft operation is a useful prognostic indicator in the AVN of femoral head.
Bone Transplantation ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Head* ; Hip Joint ; Humans ; Male ; Necrosis* ; Prognosis* ; Radionuclide Imaging* ; Technetium Tc 99m Medronate ; Transplants*

Mechanical obstruction of the common hepatic duct includes the following causes; choledocholithiasis, sclerosis, cholangitis, pancreatic carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, postoperative stricture, primary hepatic duct carcinoma, enlarged cystic duct lymph nodes, and metastatic nodal involvement of the porta hepatis. Partial mechanical obstruction of the common hepatic duct caused by impaction of stones and inflammation surrounding the vicinity of the neck of the gallbladder had been reported on the “syndrome del conducto hepatico” in 1948 by Mirizzi. Nowadays, this disease was named by Mirizzi syndrome. Mrizzi syndrome is a rare entity of common hepatic duct obstruction that results from an inflammatory response secondary to a gallstone impacted in the cystic duct or neck of the gallbladder. It results from an almost parallel course and low insertion of the cystic duct into the common hepatic duct. In a variant of Mirizzi's syndrome, the cause of the common hepatic duct obstruction was a primary cystic duct carcinoma rather than gallstone disease. A 71-year-old man was admitted with a four-day history of right upper quadrant abdominal pain. Past medical history was unremarkable. On physical examination, the patient had a temperature of 38℃, icteric sclera and right upper quadrant tenderness. Pertinent laboratory findings included WBC 18,000/cm3; albumin 2.6 g/dl (normal 0-1) with the direct bilirubin, 4.4 mg/dl (normal 0-0.4). Ultrasonography revealed a dilated extrahepatic biliary tree. ERCP showed that the superior margin was angular and more consistent with a calculus causing partial CHD obstruction (Mirizzi syndrome). At surgery a diseased gallbladder containing calculi was found. In addition, there was two calculi partially eroding through the proximal portion of the cystic duct and compressing the common hepatic duct. A cholecystectomy and excision of common bile duct was performed, with Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy. The postoperative course was uneventful.
Abdominal Pain ; Aged ; Biliary Tract ; Bilirubin ; Calculi ; Cholangiocarcinoma ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde ; Cholangitis ; Cholecystectomy ; Choledocholithiasis ; Common Bile Duct ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Cystic Duct ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 ; Gallbladder ; Gallstones ; Hepatic Duct, Common ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Jaundice, Obstructive ; Lymph Nodes ; Mirizzi Syndrome* ; Neck ; Physical Examination ; Sclera ; Sclerosis ; Ultrasonography

The incidence of anomalous aortic origin of the coronary arteries in the general papulation is unknown. In recent reports from various laboratories, the incidence was between 0.6-12% in patients referred for coronary arteriogtaphy. Anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the left sinus of Valsalva is reported to constitute from 6% to 27% of all coronary anomalies, For many years pathologists classified it as a minor anomaly of no clinical importance. Recently, manifstations of myocardial ischemia have been described in patients with this anomaly in the absence of additional atherosclerotic or other disease processes. These manifestations have included acute myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, syncope, nonfatal ventricular fibrillation, and sudden death. We report a case of 56-year-old male with the anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the left sinus of Valsalva, who had been admitted due to severe substernal chest pain and acute inferior wall myocardial infarction. The coronary angiography revealed that the right coronary artery originated from the left coronary sinus without significant atheroscleotic narrowing. The anomalous right coronary artery passed anteriorly between pulmonary artery and aortic root without significant coronary obstruction.
Angina Pectoris ; Chest Pain ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Sinus ; Coronary Vessels ; Death, Sudden ; Humans ; Incidence ; Inferior Wall Myocardial Infarction* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Pulmonary Artery ; Sinus of Valsalva ; Syncope ; Ventricular Fibrillation

Avulsion fracture of medial cuneiform by tibialis anterior tendon is quite rare. It has been reported about the avulsion fracture and surgical repair of tibialis anterior tendon rupture at distal insertion site of medial cuneiform in Korea. We report a case of right foot medial cuneiform avulsion fracture by tibialis anterior tendon after autobike accident and describe this case with a review of literature.
Foot ; Korea ; Rupture ; Tendons

Myasthenia Gravis can be considered a lymphocyte dyscrasia. We report four cases of myasLhenia gravis, who were treated with whole body irradiation. Total of 180 rad was delivered in 9 fractions for 3 weeks with every other day treabmenL Three out of four cases showed remarkable symptomatic improvement on follow-up during 3 months.
Follow-Up Studies ; Lymphocytes ; Myasthenia Gravis* ; Pilot Projects* ; Whole-Body Irradiation*

PURPOSE: To evaluate the result of distal clavicle fracture treated by Hook plate (LCP clavicle hook plate, Synthes(R), Paoli, Switzerland). MATERIALS AND METHODS: 10 patients with distal clavicle fracture treated by Hook plate from April 2008 to March 2010 were analyzed. The average follow-up period was 10 (range 4 to 26) months. The reduction was qualified and evaluated according to the immediate post-operative, final radiographs. We analyze the result by UCLA score and Kona's functional evaluation. RESULTS: By radiologic evaluation, all cases showed anatomical reduction and solid union. By Kona's functional evaluation, there are 7 cases with excellent results, 3 cases with good results. The UCLA score was average 33.3 (range 29 to 35) points followed by 6 excellent cases, 4 good cases. As complication, 1 case showed post-operative clavicle shaft fracture and 1 case showed acromial osteolysis on X-rays. We found no complications such as skin irritation, infection, loosening of screws, and plate failure. CONCLUSION: The Hook plate fixation for distal clavicle fracture is considered effective method for satisfactory reduction and rigid fixation, a lower incidence of nonunion and excellent clinical result.
Clavicle ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Osteolysis ; Skin

Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) within the scrotum is a rare malignant genitourinary tumor in adults. Due to its rarity, a consensus on a clear approach to diagnosis and treatment guidelines has not yet been reached. We present a case of a paratesticular LMS in a 64-yearold man with a painless swelling of the right scrotum. Scrotal ultrasound and pelvic MRI were performed and revealed an extratesticular mass with a heterogeneous appearance.The patient underwent a right radical orchiectomy, and the mass was confirmed to be LMS, originating from the right spermatic cord. Preoperative diagnosis of LMS is challenging since it has overlapping clinical and imaging features with other sarcomas. MRI is a valuable imaging modality for the definitive characterization of the tumor. To provide timely and appropriate treatment, the correlation of the patient’s clinical information and imaging findings is necessary.