The perineum refers to the anatomical area immediately below the pelvis, and is comprised of diverse anatomic and somatic innervation. Although various interventions have been proposed for the management of intractable cancer-related perineal pain, their efficacy are limited because the target of nerve blocks has focused on somatic rather than sympathetic components. Recently, blockade of the ganglion impar has been introduced as an alternative means of managing intractable neoplastic perineal pain of sympathetic origin. We successfully treated a patient who had suffered from cancer-related intractable perineal pain with ganglion impar block.
Ganglion Cysts* ; Humans ; Nerve Block ; Pelvis ; Perineum ; Rectal Neoplasms

We report a case of transient unilateral exotropia, a rare complication that occurred after an infraorbital local anesthetic injection, and present the possible mechanism underlying this adverse effect. A 64-year-old man underwent an excisional biopsy under local anesthesia for bilateral lower eyelid masses. He received a subcutaneous injection of a local anesthetic (a combination of 1:100,000 epinephrine and 2% lidocaine). Intraoperatively, we observed a homogeneous, fat-attenuated mass with thin fibrous septae inside the orbital septum of each eye. Following excision of the masses, the patient developed severe diplopia accompanied by exotropia, impaired adduction, and mydriasis of the right eye. The pupillary light reflex, visual acuity, and visual field test results were within normal ranges. Notably, his symptoms completely resolved 4 hours postoperatively without intervention. To our knowledge, transient unilateral exotropia following infraorbital local anesthetic injection is rare. The exotropia was attributed to diffusion of the epinephrine/lidocaine solution, which may have affected the ciliary ganglion and the medial rectus muscle. Caution is warranted during local anesthetic injections in patients who undergo periorbital surgery.

The use of lower extremity tourniquets for procedures of the lower leg is considered routine in orthopedic surgery, but, lower extremity tourniquets do harm occasionally. While the tourniquet is inflated, metabolic changes such as increased PaCO2 , lactic acid, and serum potassium and decreased level of PaO2 and pH occur in the ischemic limb. Deflation of tourniquet results in release of anaerobic metabolic products during ischemia into systemic circulation. In this ischemia/reperfusion situation, oxygen free radicals could potentially be produced during the reperfusion period by several mechanisms. One of these mechanisms is release of intracellular superoxide or hydrogen peroxide by activated neutrophils in the area. These reactive oxygen species(ROS) could be a causative factor for the postreperfusion no-flow, lung injury, induction of tourniquet shock, etc. The purpose of this clinical study was to investigate the effect of tourniquet deflation on the hemodynamic changes, changes of blood gas analysis, and hydrogen peroxide production using flow cytometric analysis of fluorescent DCF(Dichlorofluorescein). Quantitative analysis of fluorescent DCF was performed in resting and fMLP(N-formyl-methyonyl-leucyl-phenylalanine) or PMA(phorbol myristate acetate) stimulated neutrophils. Also differences of these factors between two groups of tourniquet time, one is less than one hour and the other more than one to two hours, were analysed. The hemodynamics(blood pressure, pulse rate), arterial PO2, bicarbonate, base excess, and hydrogen peroxide production showed no significant change before and after tourniquet release(p>0.05). Arterial pH and PaCO2 decreased significantly until 10 and 5 minutes after tourniquet release, respectively(p>0.05). Tourniquet time didn’t reveal any significances differences. These results indicate that tourniquet application with400mmHg pressure and less than 2 hours does not release significant hydrogen peroxide into systemic circulation during reperfusion period after tourniquet release.
Blood Gas Analysis ; Blood Pressure ; Clinical Study ; Extremities ; Flow Cytometry ; Free Radicals ; Hemodynamics ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; Hydrogen ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Ischemia ; Lactic Acid ; Leg ; Lower Extremity ; Lung Injury ; Myristic Acid ; Neutrophils ; Orthopedics ; Oxygen ; Potassium ; Reperfusion ; Shock ; Superoxides ; Tourniquets

About half of all burst fractures at the thoracolumbar junction lead to neurological impairment and several clinical series have demonstrated a statistically significant correlation between canal encroachment and neurologic impairment, but not directly related. Spontaneous canal remodelling over time due to bone resorption has been observed in conservatively treated burst fractures. The aim of this study was to measure spinal canal remodelling after stabilization of burst fractures. So, we evaluated 22 cases of surgically stabilized burst fractures of thoracolumbar junction about pre and postoperative spinal canal stenotic ratio and canal remodelling by bone resorption over time. The results were as follows; l. Pedicle splaying increases the spinal canal area and necessitates correction. 2. Patients with neurological deficits had average 53% encroachment and the neurological normal patient had a canal compromise of 33.9%. 3. Postoperatively canal encroachment had decreased to a mean of 17.4% and further reduced by resorption of bony fragment to a mean of 8.3% within 14 months. In conclusions, remodelling of the spinal canal by resorption of encroaching bone fragments is a consistent feature in surgically stabilized thoracolumbar burst fractures and most patients regain their prefracture canal demensions within 14 months.
Bone Resorption ; Humans ; Spinal Canal*

Intracranial lipomas are rare tumor which are usually found at or near the mid saggital plane, especially in the corpus callosum. 3 cases of intracranial lipomas, diagnosed by CT scanning, are presented. The first case was a lipoma involving the midline of occiput to the bilateral occipital lobes through the skull defect. There was a calcified area in this tumor. The second case presented a generalized convulsive seizure as clinical manifestation, and the lipoma was found to be located in the corpus callosum. In the third case, the lipoma was located near the third ventricle and the tumor was found incidentally after head trauma. The first case was operated and the tumor was completely removed, the others were managed with symptomatic treatment. The literature on this rare tumor is reviewed and discussed.
Corpus Callosum ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Lipoma* ; Occipital Lobe ; Seizures ; Skull ; Third Ventricle ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

An advantage of breast augmentation with injectable fillers is that the desired size can be determined and achieved under local anesthesia with a short recovery time. However, a high complication rate is a critical disadvantage. Some fillers are challenging to remove, resulting in breast deformity and scarring. Five patients who underwent surgery to manage a foreign body in the breasts in 2021 were enrolled in this study. Two had copolyamide filler injections, while the other three had polyacrylamide hydrogel filler injections. A physical examination was performed, and preoperative and intraoperative photographs were obtained. Two patients underwent subcutaneous mastectomy because most of the filler had infiltrated into the normal breast tissue. In contrast, the other patients underwent filler removal and debridement because most of the filler had remained separate from the normal breast tissue. All patients who had a subcutaneous mastectomy and one who underwent only filler removal underwent immediate breast reconstruction with cohesive gel implants. The other patients rejected immediate reconstruction, and only filler removal was performed. All patients recovered without complications. We propose an algorithm for diagnosis and treatment based on our cases, which we hope can help clinicians manage the complications of filler injections for breast augmentation.

Background: As rhinoplasty techniques have become more complex, surgeons often need more than what septal or conchal cartilage can provide. While costal cartilage became more popular for that reason, some surgeons are still uncomfortable with its invasiveness and donor site morbidity. Here, we used lyophilized allogeneic costal cartilage for septorhinoplasty and investigated its safety and usefulness. Methods: The costal cartilage was harvested from a cadaveric donor and treated via multiple steps, including defatting and lyophilization, to remove all viable cells and antigenicity. The cartilage was then stored at room temperature and rehydrated 24 hours before use. Lyophilized cartilage allografts were used in 20 patients. Three types of septal graft were performed — spreader, batten, and extension — to correct septal or columellar deviation and enhance the nasal tip. Results: The mean follow-up period was 4.3 years. In all cases, the graft successfully met the rhinoplasty purpose. No significant deformation was detected in any of the patients. Although warping was observed in one patient (5%), there was no case of clinical infection, extrusion, or graft removal and no revisional surgery for an unfavorable aesthetic result. Conclusions Lyophilized allogeneic cartilage was used for septorhinoplasty very safely and effectively. It can be carved into any shape and has all other properties required for perfectly replacing autologous costal cartilage. The main advantage of cartilage allografts is a limitless supply of high-quality cartilage without donor site morbidity. The disadvantages include the need for special facilities and manpower and extra covering cost.

Early gastric cancer (EGC) patients are annually increasing due to nationwide screening program. As long-term survival of EGC patients improved, the need for the surgical tool to improve the quality of life of the patient has risen, resulting in increased popularity of laparoscopic surgery. However, laparoscopic surgery has disadvantages such as limitation in vision and maneuverability, which has brought the invention of robotic surgical system. Robotic surgical system has merits over laparoscopic surgery in that it provides 3D visualization, endowrist with 7 degrees of freedom, and stable camera function. With these merits, the number of operations using robotic surgical system increased continually. Its method of surgery does not differ much from laparoscopic gastrectomy. Reports regarding the postoperative outcomes of robot gastrectomy so far showed that the result was no less satisfactory than those of laparoscopic surgery. However, robot surgical system has drawbacks of high cost and undefined long term postoperative results as of yet. The lack of a unique merit that can counterbalance the high cost is also a problem that has to be solved. And because the advantages of robot surgical system as a tool of minimally invasive surgery are distinct, additional randomized trials may have to be performed in order to define its merits over laparoscopic surgery.
Freedom ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Inventions ; Laparoscopy ; Mass Screening ; Quality of Life ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Vision, Ocular

PURPOSE: Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia has benign courses in most cases, but the possibility of toxicity of hyperbilirubinemia required courses examination of every newborn infant to identify the severity of hyperbilirubinemia progress. This study aims to see how the body surface area of newborns influences the decline rate of serum bilirubin level in conventional phototherapy. METHODS: Based on the charts of the Pediatrics Department, Dae-Dong Hospital from January 2003 to December 2006, we analyzed 168 neonates diagnosed as neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (serum bilirubin > or =15 mg/dL) in retrospective way. We excluded newborn infants under 37 weeks of gestation and under 2,500 g birth weight and classified neonates into four groups by the calculation results of body surface area:males above 75 percentile (group A), males below 25 (group B), females above 75 (group C), and females below 25 (group D). RESULTS: Out of 168 samples, the number of group A, B, C, D was 30, 20, 20, 15 respectively. In conventional phototherapy, the mean decline rates of serum bilirubin of group B and D recording 2.09 mg/dL/day and 1.77 mg/dL/day, were significantly faster than those of group A and C recording 1.63 mg/dL/day and 1.41 mg/dL/day (P<0.01). No significant differences were found in different duration of phototherapy between groups below 25 percentile and those above 75 in both genders. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, body surface area influences of infants the decline rate of serum bilirubin level in conventional phototherapy.
Bilirubin* ; Birth Weight ; Body Surface Area* ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperbilirubinemia ; Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Pediatrics ; Phototherapy* ; Pregnancy ; Retrospective Studies

Splenic hamartomas are rare benign tumors, which are usually small in size and asymptomatic and which are discovered incidentally at surgery or autopsy. The authors report on a case of splenic hamar toma in a 35-year-old man with intermittent left upper quardrant pain, who underwent an elective splenc tomy. Final pathology confirmed diagnosis of a hamartoma of the red pulp in the spleen. The patient's symptoms were resolved after the splenectomy. A splenic hamartoma should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of splenic tumors. The authors suggest that a splenectomy is indicated in cases where malignancy cannot be excluded and in cases of associated clinical symptoms or hematologic disorders.
Adult ; Autopsy ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Hamartoma* ; Humans ; Pathology ; Spleen* ; Splenectomy