STUDY DESIGN: The indications of the lumbosacral spinal fusion has been very controversial. The posterior lumbar interbody fusion has the popularity of the spinal fusion: coaption of large surface areas of cancellous bone without shear forces, anatomic restoration and maintenance of more normal dimensions of the joint space, total discectomy as preparation for the fusion, and the accomplishment of better neural decompression without creating instability of the spine. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the long-term results of the surgical management of degenerative lumbar disease by the modified transdiscal posterior lumbar interbody fusion technique using cancellous chip graft were analyzed. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: The disadvantages of classical posterior lumbar interbody fusion has a injury of nerve root by extensive retraction with the insertion of peg grafts into the disc space, compression of root by graft retropulsion, inadeguate removal of annulus fibrosus and end plates from excessive bleeding from venous plexus of spinal canal and from vertebral cancellous bone. MATERIALS & METHOD: Author's 43 cases who had transpedicular instrumentation and modified transdiscal PLIF using cancellous chip graft since 1989 in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Korea University Hospital were analyzed, retrospectively. After preparation of the interspace has been complete by total discectomy, removal of the cartilaginous end plates and perforation of the cortical plates using the ring curette, cancellous chip grafts are inserted into the interspace with the Funnel technique. The structural success of each fusion was documented by sequencial radiographs. The criteria for fusion included: homogenous amalgamation of the fusion mass and vertebral bodies, trabeculation, mass configuration, and no motion demonstrable by hyperflexion studies. The results obtained were as follows: 1. Stable fusion was obtained in 39 patients(91%) at post-operative 6 months. 2. Clinically no patient developed neurologic deficit after fusion and 41 patients (95.3%) had good results by Gill's criteria. 3. No significant complications influencing operative result were observed except minor complications such as paralytic ileus, transient dysuria and superficial infection. 4. In conclusion, modified transdiscal PLIF procedure using cancellous chip graft showed excellent clinical and radiological results to achieve spinal fusion and the procedure is technically feasible and should be considered more widely employed.
Decompression ; Diskectomy ; Dysuria ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction ; Joints ; Korea ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Orthopedics ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Canal ; Spinal Fusion ; Spine ; Transplants*

No abstract available.
Cervix Uteri* ; Female ; Health Expenditures*

PURPOSE: Pain is the most distressing feature of cancer patients. Thoracoscopic splanchnicectomy, first performed in 1993, has caused a resurgence of interest in surgical treatment of such excruciating pain. We wish to introduce a method of splanchnicectomy. METHODS: Five patients underwent a splanchnicectomy for intractable cancer pain, over a period of 11 months. We evaluated the type of splanchnicectomy performed and the results. The procedure was done using a double lumen catheter to deflate the lung at the operation side under general anesthesia with the patient in the lateral decubitus position. A small opening was made with scissors in the pleura of the 5th intercostal space to expose the terminal branch of the greater splanchnic nerve. Six-Seven branches of splanchnic nerve were cut downward until the splanchnic nerve trunk and then cut. A left thoracoscopic splanchnicectomy was done in one case, and a bilateral thoracoscopic splanchnicectomy in four cases. RESULTS: The splanchicectomy appears to result in significant reduction of abdominal pain in all cases. There were no postoperative complications. CONCLUSION: As a conclusion, thoracoscopic splanchnicectomy is the treatment of choice for intractable intraabdominal cancer pain, affording drug cessation and recovery of daily activity in most patients.
Abdominal Pain ; Anesthesia, General ; Catheters ; Humans ; Lung ; Pleura ; Postoperative Complications ; Splanchnic Nerves ; Thoracoscopy

Endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) is effective for the management of bleeding esophageal varices, and its use is widespread now. EVL necessitates the use of overtubes. Two primary techniques have been used for overtube placement; one is with endoscope, and the other is with bougie dilator. Overtube placement with endoseope is not without risk. There are reportd of esophageal or pharyngeal laceration or perforation. Overtube placement with bougie dilator circumvents this risk, but it is rather cumbersome to use. The authors devised a safe and easy method for overtube placement, and applied it to a number of patients to test its safety and convenience. First, overtube-dilator assembly was prepared as follows. A Rigiflex achalasia dilator (balloon 30mm OD, 10cm length; Microvasive Co) was lubricated and inserted into the overtube. A tenth of the balloon tip was protruded out of the overtube, then the balloon was insufflated with air at 10-15 psi. Second, standard endoscopy was performed, followed by placement of guide wire in the stomach. Overtube-dilator assembly was lubricated and introduced over the wire as a rail. Once the overtube was properly positioned, the balloon was deflated, and the balloon and wire were removed as a whole, which completed overtube placement. For 65 patients with esophageal variceal bleeding, 82 procedures of EVL were performed using the new technique. Overtube-dilator assembly was easy to prepare and handle. This technique added little time to the procedure and minimizes patients discomfort. No patient suffered major complications such as bleeding, laceration or perforation. This novel method for overtube placement was safe and convenient for use in EVL. It can also be applied to other procedures using overtube such as endoscopic foreign body removal.
Endoscopes ; Endoscopy ; Esophageal Achalasia ; Esophageal and Gastric Varices ; Foreign Bodies ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Lacerations ; Ligation* ; Stomach

Early gastric cancer(EGC) is defined as carcinoma limited to the mucosa or submucosa, regardless of whether metastasis to lymph nodes have occurred, and the frequency of lymph node metastasis varies from 7 to 18%. The incidence of early gastric cancer has been increasing recently, probably with advance in the diagnostic procedure. Multiple gastric cancer, now cosidered to be a sort of multiple primary cancer by Moertels classification, is a special type of cancer in which two or more tumor lesions arise independently from the stomach. Multiple carcinoma was found in about 8.3% of 500 early gastric cancer cases at the National Cancer Center Hospital in Japan. In 77% of these, two lesions roexisted in the stomach. Coexistence of three lesions were found in 20% and more than four lesions in 3%. We report a case of multiple early gastric cancer of different histologic types in which two adenoma coexisted in the stomach.
Adenoma ; Classification ; Incidence ; Japan ; Lymph Nodes ; Mucous Membrane ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms*

Early gastric cancer(EGC) is defined as carcinoma limited to the mucosa or submucosa, regardless of whether metastasis to lymph nodes have occurred, and the frequency of lymph node metastasis varies from 7 to 18%. The incidence of early gastric cancer has been increasing recently, probably with advance in the diagnostic procedure. Multiple gastric cancer, now cosidered to be a sort of multiple primary cancer by Moertels classification, is a special type of cancer in which two or more tumor lesions arise independently from the stomach. Multiple carcinoma was found in about 8.3% of 500 early gastric cancer cases at the National Cancer Center Hospital in Japan. In 77% of these, two lesions roexisted in the stomach. Coexistence of three lesions were found in 20% and more than four lesions in 3%. We report a case of multiple early gastric cancer of different histologic types in which two adenoma coexisted in the stomach.
Adenoma ; Classification ; Incidence ; Japan ; Lymph Nodes ; Mucous Membrane ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms*

Transient cortical blindness is a known but rare complication occurring in 0.3~1% of patients undergoing cerebral or vertebral angiography. It is an extremely rare complication following cardiac catheterizaton and coronary arteriography. Cortical blindness is characterized by complete loss of visual perception and optokinetic nystagmus with preservation of ocular motility, pupillary responses, and normal fundoscopic examination. It has been suggested that its occurrence is due to an adverse reaction to the contrast agent, which causes an osmotic disruption of the blood-brain barrier. Patients outcome appears to be generally favorable with return of vision within 24-48 hr. We report a case of 48 year-old male patient with transient bilateral cortical blindness after coronary angiography.
Angiography ; Blindness, Cortical* ; Blood-Brain Barrier ; Coronary Angiography* ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nystagmus, Optokinetic ; Visual Perception

A five month female was referred complaining of intermittent vomiting with protrusion of a sausage-like mass through the oral cavity. Esophageal endoscopy and esophagogram revealed a mass in the upper esophagus, which was diagnosed as a fibrovascular polyp. Under general anesthesia, the mass was grasped through the oral cavity with a forcep and ligated and excised at the base, where a stump arose from the posterior wall of the cervical esophagus. The pathology was confirmed as a fibrovascular polyp, which is a rare benign esophageal lesion occurring mostly in adult males, and has not been reported in infancy.
Blood Vessels/pathology ; Case Report ; Esophageal Neoplasms/surgery ; Esophageal Neoplasms/pathology* ; Esophageal Neoplasms/blood supply ; Esophagoscopy ; Female ; Fibrosis ; Human ; Infant ; Polyps/surgery ; Polyps/pathology* ; Polyps/blood supply

PURPOSE: CA19-9 is the most widely used pancreatic-tumor marker, and has become the standard against which other makers. However, the CA19-9 level is increased in conditions such as gallbladder cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, gallbladder polyp, acute cholangitis, and chronic pancreatitis. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the CA19-9 positive rate of the above diseases in Korea. METHODS: A positive result was considered if the upper limit of normal was 37~40 U/ml. The CA19-9 level was measured in 53 patients with pancreatic cancer, 72 with cholangiocarcinoma, 41 with common bile duct cancer, 27 with gallbladder cancer, 35 with hepatocellular cancer, 70 with acute pancreatitis, 93 with chronic pancreatitis, and 30 with a gallbladder polyp from September 1998 to December 2000 in the Severance hospital. RESULTS: When the cut-off value was >40 U/ml, a positive result was found in 79.2% (42/53) of pancreatic cancer patients, 58.3% (42/72) of cholangiocarcinoma patients, 37% (10/27) of gallbladder cancer patients, 31.7% (13/41) of common bile duct cancer patients, 19.7% (14/70) of acute pancreatitis patients, 14.2% (5/35) of hepatocellular cancer patients, 16% (5/93) of chronic pancreatitis patients, and the 3.3% (1/30) of patients with a gallbladder polyp. CONCLUSION: The highest positive rate was 79.2% in the pancreatic cancer patients. We confirmed that the Lewis phenotype distribution indieates that pancreatic cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, and chronic pancreatitis show high frequency in Le(a-b-) group when they were statistically compared with a healthy control group, but that acute pancreatitis showed a stastically higher frequency in the Le(a-b-) group than chronic pancreatitis.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cholangiocarcinoma ; Cholangitis ; Common Bile Duct ; Gallbladder ; Gallbladder Neoplasms ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver Neoplasms ; Pancreas* ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; Pancreatitis ; Pancreatitis, Chronic ; Phenotype ; Polyps

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis is the most important disease that may cause ischemic syndrome in many organs including heart. It is supposed that apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMCs) is closely related to the progression and rupture of atheromatous plaque. Recent studies have documented evidence for elevated level of nitric oxide(NO) within advanced human atheroma and evidence of regression of atheroma by NO. So this study is designed to evaluate whether exogenous NO from NO donors can induce apoptosis of cultured rat VSMCs and which proapoptotic gene(s) is involved in this type of apoptosis. METHODS: Rat VSMCs were cultured and used for experiment at passage 5 through 7. For NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine(SNAP) of 0.5, 1, 2, 4mM were exposed to subconfluent VSMCs. The cells were harvested at 6, 12, 24, 48, 72hours after exposure of NO donors. Apoptosis was to be identified by 4, 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride(DAPI) staining of nuclei and in-situ nick end labeling(TUNEL). The amount of fragmented DNA was analyzed semiquantitatively by diphenylamine(DPA) assay. Immunocytochemical(ICC) staining and western bolt analyses were designed to detect apoptosisrelated gene products, such as Bax-a, Fas and Bcl-2. RESULTS: 1) Decreased mitotic activity was shown after 12 hours exposure of exogenous NO donors, and condensation and margination of chromatin was identified agter 24 hours exposure, by DAPI staining. 2) Percent DNA fragmentation assessed by DPA method was 0,2,9,48,45% at 0,6,12,24,48 hours after exposure of 2mM of NO donors respectively. 3) The expression of Bax-a and Bcl-2 proteins was demonstrated in apoptotic cells by ICC staining. 4) The expression of Bax-a protein in cells under 24 hours exposure of NO donors was elevated by more than 18% of control level on densitometric analysis of western blot. The level of Bcl-2 was suppressed by 26% of control. So, Bax-a/Bcl-2 ratio in cells under exposure of NO donors was elevated to 2.0 from 1.2 of control level. CONCLUSIONS: Exogenous NO from NO donors can induce apoptosis of cultured rat VSMCs, and it is considered that bax-a and bcl-2 genes are involved in this type of apoptosis.
Animals ; Apoptosis* ; Atherosclerosis ; Blotting, Western ; Chromatin ; DNA ; DNA Fragmentation ; Genes, bcl-2 ; Heart ; Humans ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular* ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitroprusside ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; Rats* ; Rupture ; Tissue Donors