Vascularization of the hydroxyapatite sphere is important for many advantages of hydroxyapatite implant. If the rate of vascularization can be increased, the motility hole can be drilled earlier and rapid cosmetic effect and stability can be achieved. Hydroxyapatite orbital implantation procedure for earlier vascularization of the hydroxyapatite ws modified. Twenty-eight patients received modified hydroxyapatite implantation after enucleation and the graft vascularization was evaluated, at various intervals after implantation, with bone scintigraphy. The patients were divided into group I(the interval was 1 month after implantation) 12 eyes, group II(2 months after implantation) 7 eyes, and group III(4 or more months after implanation) 9 eyes, In group I, Perry grade 2 or more was achieved in 11 eyes(91.7%) and mean spect ration was 2.97. In group II and III, Perry frade 2 or more was achieved in 7 eyes(100%), 8 eyes(88.9%) respectively, and mean spect ration was 3.34. and 4.34. We found that there wasearlier vascularization of hydroxyapatite after modified hydroxyapatite implantation. So we expect more rapid cosmetic rehabilitation of the patients with modified hydroxyapatite implantation.
Durapatite* ; Humans ; Orbit* ; Orbital Implants* ; Radionuclide Imaging ; Rehabilitation ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon ; Transplants

Anomalous origin of one pulmonary artery from the ascending aorta is a rare congenital malfomation. To date, there have been 60 reported cases in the literature. Usually the right pulmonary artery arises form the ascending aorta and other malformations such as patent ductus arteriosus are commonly associated. Early diagnosis is essential because congestive heart failure develops in early life and operation is contraindicated if severe pulmonary vascular changes have occurred. We report a case of anomalous origin of right pulmonary artery from the ascending aorta, which is associated with patent ductus arteriosus and severe pulmonary hypertension. She was diagnosed by digital subtractional angiography and cardiac catheterization.
Angiography ; Aorta* ; Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Ductus Arteriosus, Patent ; Early Diagnosis ; Heart Failure ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Pulmonary Artery*

Purpose: Genu valgum in Legg-Calve-Perthes disease (LCPD) is not a known complication. We investigated whether this valgus tendency is a complication of femoral varus osteotomy (FVO) or the sequela of the disease process itself, and what are the related factors. Materials and Methods: 35 patients treated by FVO and 38 by abduction orthosis (AO) were selected for this study. Only those patients with unilateral involvement, fragmentation stage, Catterall Group III or IV, and who were followed-up to full skeletal maturity were included in the study. We measured mechanical axis deviation percentage and hip-knee-ankle angle for femorotibial alignment, and mechanical lateral distal femoral angle and medial proximal tibial angle (mMPTA) for knee orientation on teleoroentgenograms and compared the affected and normal limbs. Results: All measurements, excluding the mMPTA, demonstrated a tendency of relative genu valgum versus the opposite normal limbs. This tendency was observed in both groups. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. Conclusion: Genu valgum occurred in 66% to 70% of the LCPD patients. Four factors were found to be significantly correlated with valgus shift: increased medial bowing of the femoral neck, decreased acetabulum head index, coxa magna, and limb shortening. Multivariate regression analysis identified limb shortening as the factor most responsible for valgus shift.
Acetabulum ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Extremities* ; Femur Neck ; Genu Valgum* ; Head ; Hip ; Humans ; Knee ; Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease* ; Orthotic Devices ; Osteotomy

Distinction of hepatocellular carcinoma from benign entities such as focal nodular hyperplasia is important because failure of prompt diagnosis could result in a missed opportunity for curative resection. The differential deagnosis, especially among focal nodular hyperplasia and adenoma and even hepatocellualr carcinoma, may have difficult; and when using inly a single imaging method, the diagnosis is often equivocal. Therefore, a combination of imaging modalities is preferred. For focal nodular hyperplasia, the combination of computerized tomography (CT ), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and radionuclide scintigraphy showed a high sensitivity and specificity. But, histologic examination is required for the differential diagnos is of hepatic mass. We report a case of hepatocellular carcinoma without clinical evidence of malignancy or serum elevation of tumor marker, that mimicked the CT , MRI, and radionuclide scint igraphic appearance of focal nodular hyperplasia.
Adenoma ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Diagnosis ; Focal Nodular Hyperplasia* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Radionuclide Imaging ; Sensitivity and Specificity

No abstract available.
Fluorides* ; Osteoblasts*

Colonoscopy is frequently used for lower GI tract screening tests. Although rare, splenic injury may develop in the high-risk patients on anticoagulants or antiplatelet agents. A 78-year-old female visited our hospital complaining of chest pain. She had taken antihyperlipidemic and antiplatelet agent with hyperlipidemia and 20%-stenosis in the left anterior descending artery. She was taken polypectomy after colonoscopy 4 years ago. The next day, after a follow-up colonoscopy for polypectomy, she complained epigastric and left upper abdominal discomfort. Pain intensity was not high, but next day, epigastric pain was increased, so coronary angiography was performed 2 days later using anticoagulants. Coronary angiography showed 40~50%-stenosis in the left anterior descending artery. Another antiplatelet agent was added. After 72 hours on colonoscopy, her pain was localized upper left abdominal area. Abdominal CT showed intracapsular bleeding in the spleen with a small amount of hemoperitoneum in the pelvis. Since her vital signs were stable, she was treated with conservative management. Her pain improved and discharged. One month later, she was taken Abdominal CT. CT showed the size of intracapsular fluid collection in the spleen was increased, but the whole fluid collection was liquidized. 2 weeks later, follow-up sonography showed the size of fluid collection conspicuously was reduced. The case reported herein is a splenic Injury after Colonoscopy in patient on antiplatelet agents.
Aged ; Anticoagulants ; Arteries ; Chest Pain ; Colonoscopy* ; Coronary Angiography ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemoperitoneum ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; Lower Gastrointestinal Tract ; Mass Screening ; Pelvis ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors ; Spleen ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Vital Signs

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Hypercholesterolemia is a key factor in the development of atherosclerosis. We sought to evaluate the relation between hypercholesterolemia and plaque composition in patients with coronary artery disease. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Study subjects consisted of 323 patients (mean 61.5 years, 226 males) who underwent coronary angiography and virtual histology-intravascular ultrasound examination. Patients were divided into two groups according to total cholesterol level: hypercholesterolemic group (> or =200 mg/dL, n=114) and normocholesterolemic group (<200 mg/dL, n=209). RESULTS: Hypercholesterolemic patients were younger (59.7+/-13.3 years vs. 62.6+/-11.5 years, p=0.036), than normocholesterolemic patients, whereas there were no significant differences in other demographics. Hypercholesterolemic patients had higher corrected necrotic core volume (1.23+/-0.85 mm3/mm vs. 1.02+/-0.80 mm3/mm, p=0.029) as well as percent necrotic core volume (20.5+/-8.5% vs. 18.0+/-9.2%, p=0.016) than normocholesterolemic patients. At the minimal lumen area site, percent necrotic core area (21.4+/-10.5% vs. 18.4+/-11.3%, p=0.019) and necrotic core area (1.63+/-1.09 mm2 vs. 1.40+/-1.20 mm2, p=0.088) were also higher than normocholesterolemic patients. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that total cholesterol level was an independent factor of percent necrotic core volume in the culprit lesion after being adjusted with age, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol , hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking and acute coronary syndrome (beta 0.027, 95% confidence interval 0.02-0.053, p=0.037). CONCLUSION: Hypercholesterolemia was associated with increased necrotic core volume in coronary artery plaque. This study suggests that hypercholesterolemia plays a role in making plaque more complex, which is characterized by a large necrotic core, in coronary artery disease.
Acute Coronary Syndrome ; Atherosclerosis ; Cholesterol ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Demography ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Hypertension ; Linear Models ; Smoking

BACKGROUND: Bacterial infections in diabetic patients are an important cause of increased morbidity and mortality. It has been reported that bacterial infections in diabetics showed more impaired PMN functions such as reduced PMN respiratory burst and decreased microbicidal activity in inflammed tissues. Also, apoptosis(programmed cell death) is postulated to be a key mechanism for neutrophil elimination. It is very important that PMN apoptosis keeps the balance from an area of inflammation. Actuallly, as little was known about PMN apoptosis and respiratory burst in diabetes, we investigated PMN apoptosis and hydrogen peroxide production after endotoxin exposure. METHODS: Peripheral venous blood samples were collected by routine venipuncture from healthy volunteers and diabetics to harvest neutrophils. We respectively measured the PMN apoptosis, the production of hydrogen peroxide, and the cell viability. RESULTS: Normal neutrophils showed a tendency to decreased apoptosis after endotoxin treatment. In patients with diabetes, PMN apoptosis was significantly decreased compared with healthy controls. In addition, the LPS-induced neutrophils in diabetics demonstrated more decreased apoptosis. However, the production of hydrogen peroxide was not different between groups. CONCLUSION: These observations suggest that the decreased PMN apoptosis in diabetics with endotoxin exposure may also affect the increased susceptibility and severity of infections.
Apoptosis* ; Bacterial Infections ; Cell Survival ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; Inflammation ; Mortality ; Neutrophils* ; Phlebotomy ; Respiratory Burst

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare three methods of hernioplasty: high ligation (HL), tissue repair (TR), and tension free (TF) and to determine the usefulness of high ligation for repair of indirect inguinal hernia in young adults. METHODS: One hundred thirty two patients who were under the age of 25 and who underwent repair of their inguinal hernia between January 2001 and December 2005 were reviewed retrospectively by using their inpatient and outpatient records and phone calls. Sixty seven, 23 and 42 patients underwent HL, TR and TF, respectively. The clinical features that were analyzed included location, type, signs and symptoms, operation method, complications and recurrence. RESULTS: The operation times were (mean+/-SD) 46.2+/-19.1, 56.0+/-11.5, and 61.8+/-14.9 minutes for HL, TR and TF, respectively. For the post-operative complications, there was 1 case of wound infection (1.5%) and 1 case of scrotal hematoma (1.5%) for HL; 1 case of wound infection (4.4%) and 1 case of scrotal swelling (4.4%) for TR; 3 cases of wound infection (7.0%), 2 cases of scrotal swelling (4.7%), 1 cases of intermittent pain (2.3%) and 1 case of scrotal hematoma (2.3%) for TF. Two patients in the HL group had recurrences, but there was no recurrence in the TR and TF groups. CONCLUSION: High ligation hernioplasty in young adults showed a shorter operation time, but there were no differences in the rate of complications between the methods. In the case of recurrence, it can be corrected by performing tissue repair or tension free hernioplasty because the normal anatomy may be preserved even after operation. Therefore, high ligation hernioplasty proved to be a useful method for repair of indirect inguinal hernia in young adults. In contrast, for the recurred or older age patients, tissue repair or tension free hernioplasty may be a more useful method.
Hematoma ; Hernia, Inguinal* ; Herniorrhaphy ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Ligation* ; Outpatients ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Wound Infection ; Young Adult*

Although the rare earth elements (REEs) recycling industry is expected to increase worldwide in high-tech industry, regulations for worker safety have yet to be established. This study was conducted to understand the potential hazard/risk of REE recycling and to support the establishment of regulations or standards. We review the extensive literature on the toxicology, occupational safety, and health issues, and epidemiological surveys related to the REEs, and propose suitable management measures. REE recycling has four key steps such as collection, dismantling, separation, and processing. In these processes, hazardous substances, such as REEs-containing dust, metals, and chemicals, were used or occurred, including the risk of ignition and explosion, and the workers can be easily exposed to them. In addition, skin irritation and toxicities for respiratory, nervous, and cardiovascular systems with the liver toxicity were reported; however, more supplementary data are needed, owing to incompleteness. Therefore, monitoring systems concerning health, environmental impacts, and safety need to be established, based on additional research studies. It is also necessary to develop innovative and environment-friendly recycling technologies, analytical methods, and biomarkers with government support. Through these efforts, the occupational safety and health status will be improved, along with the establishment of advanced REE recycling industry.
Biomarkers ; Cardiovascular System ; Dust ; Environmental Health ; Explosions ; Hazardous Substances ; Liver ; Metals ; Occupational Health ; Recycling ; Skin ; Social Control, Formal ; Toxicology