PURPOSE: To determine the usefulness of MR urography technique for the evaluation of urinary systems in patients with obstructed urinary tract and normal volunteers with non-obstructed urinary tract after intravenous normal saline and diuretic injection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three normal volunteers and 12 patients with urinary tract obstruction [ureteral calculi(n=8), extraurinary mass(n=1), ureteral tumor invasion(n=3)] underwent MR urography using a 1.0T scanner and a 2D non-breath-hold heavily T2-weighted fast spin-echo sequence. These acquisition were postprocessed with a maximum intensity projection (MIP) algorithm. Two acquisitions were performed, the first prior to saline solution infusion following standard MR urography procedures, and the second, within 2-3 minutes of the infusion of 250 ml saline solution followed by 20 mg of Lasix administered intravenously. For this latter, drug-induced MR urography procedures were followed. RESULTS: In healthy volunteers (n=3) and those experiencing partial obstruction (n=4) by a urinary stone, drug-induced MR urography provided better images of the urinary tract than did standard MR urography. In those in whom a urinary stone or tumor had caused complete obstruction (n=8), standard MR urography provided good images, as did drug-induced MR urography. CONCLUSION: In patients with a partially or non-obstructed urinary tract, drug-induced MR urography provided better anatomic and functional details of the kidney and urinary tract than did standard MR urography. In those experiencing complete obstruction of the urinary tract, however, standard or drug-induced MR urography permitted very adequate evaluation of the tract, and drug-induced MR urography was unnecessary.
Furosemide* ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Hydronephrosis ; Kidney ; Sodium Chloride ; Ureter ; Urinary Calculi ; Urinary Tract* ; Urography*

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of common three photon energies (6-MV, 10-MV, and 15-MV) on intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plans to treat prostate cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty patients with prostate cancer treated locally to 81.0 Gy were retrospectively studied. 6-MV, 10-MV, and 15-MV IMRT plans for each patient were generated using suitable planning objectives, dose constraints, and 8-field setting. The plans were analyzed in terms of dose-volume histogram for the target coverage, dose conformity, organs at risk (OAR) sparing, and normal tissue integral dose. RESULTS: Regardless of the energies chosen at the plans, the target coverage, conformity, and homogeneity of the plans were similar. However, there was a significant dose increase in rectal wall and femoral heads for 6-MV compared to those for 10-MV and 15-MV. The V20 Gy of rectal wall with 6-MV, 10-MV, and 15-MV were 95.6%, 88.4%, and 89.4% while the mean dose to femoral heads were 31.7, 25.9, and 26.3 Gy, respectively. Integral doses to the normal tissues in higher energy (10-MV and 15-MV) plans were reduced by about 7%. Overall, integral doses in mid and low dose regions in 6-MV plans were increased by up to 13%. CONCLUSION: In this study, 10-MV prostate IMRT plans showed better OAR sparing and less integral doses than the 6-MV. The biological and clinical significance of this finding remains to be determined afterward, considering neutron dose contribution.
Head ; Humans ; Neutrons ; Organs at Risk ; Prostate ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Retrospective Studies

The funding acknowledgment in this article was omitted as published.

Surgical reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament is undergoing constant evolution. The variable success of these procedures can be attributed to many factors including graft selection, graft placement, graft tensioning, graft remodelling and rehabilitation program. Rigid fixation is probably the most important factor in the success of these procedures during the initial stages of healing. Arthroscopically assisted reconstruction of the ACL-deficient knee using a bone-patellar tendon-bone graft(two-incision technique) is a reliable and evolving technique. Rosenberg et al, described a one-incision technique that allows endosteal fixation of bone plugs within their femoral tunnels intraarticularly via the intercondylar notch. These two techniques are different from their femoral tunnel direction and bone plug placement. The present study was designed to develop a swine model for in vitro biomechanical testing of the bone-patellar tendon-bone ACL autograft to compare the pull-out strength of Outside-In technique and Inside-Out technique. The result were as follows: 1. Normal ACL(N=10 knees) pull-out tensile strength tests showed a maximum tensile strength of 1295.34(N), a stiffness of 120.95(N/mm), and a linear load of 1104.26(N). The failure sites were all tibial attachments. 2. Femoral and Tibial interference fit pull-out tensile strength tests(N=10 knees) showed a maximum tensile strength of 463.23±42.27(N), a stiffness of 33.62±3.18(N/mm), and a linear load of 392.51±95.42(N). The failure sites were all in the tibial tunnel area(N=9 knees), except for one which femoral tunnel area. 3. Inside-Out technique(N=15 knees) showed a maximum tensile strength of 1250.64±75.67(N), a stiffness of 94.31±26.44(N/mm), and a linear load of 1046.92±367.55(N), but the Outside-In tech-nique(N=15 knees) showed a maximum tensile strength of 805.35±54.61(N), a stiffness of 83.33±10.98(N/mm), and a linear load of 685.99±86.32(N)(p < 0.0001). The failure sites were all in the femoral tunnel area. 4. Tensile testing demonstrated that the Inside-Out technique was significantlly stronger than Outside-In technique for maximum tensile strength, stiffness and a linear load.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament ; Autografts ; In Vitro Techniques ; Knee ; Rehabilitation ; Swine ; Tensile Strength ; Transplants

Transurethral resection of Prostate(TURP) is the current optimal therapy for benign prostatic hypertrophy. But in some cases of BPH patients, TURP cannot be performed because the patients have medical disorders not to be operated. Thus several alternatives have been used in the management of BPH patients, especially who had anesthetic contraindications to an operation. We experienced 12 cases of BPH patients applied with Intraurethral Cath(IUC) from April 1991 to September 1995. Eleven patients became able to void after IUC insertion. The maximal flow rates were 5.1 to 15.7 ml/sec and average value was 11.8 ml/sec. Almost all patients showed irritative voiding symptoms such as urgency, urge incontinence, frequency, and dysuria at first. In 7 patients, these symptoms disappeared spontaneously within 2 to 5 days and oxybutynin chloride was used orally in 2 patients. Suprapubic cystostomy was done in three patients because two patients had severe irritative voiding symptoms and one patient had persistent urinary retention. The stent was changed every 3 to 6 months. Stone formation around the device was noted in 2 patients and migration of device into the bladder was found in 2 patients. In 4 patients, TURP was performed when the patient's condition improved enough to be operated under epidural anesthesia. In conclusion, the use of IUC is thought to be a valid, cost effective and safe alternative to TURP in the treatment of highly operative risk patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy.
Anesthesia, Epidural ; Cystostomy ; Dysuria ; Humans ; Prostatic Hyperplasia* ; Stents* ; Transurethral Resection of Prostate ; Urinary Bladder ; Urinary Incontinence, Urge ; Urinary Retention

PURPOSE: We reviewed clinical feature and survival rates of metastatic renal cell carcinoma(RCCa) and analyzed the prognostic factors and surgical outcomes in patients who underwent surgical resection of metastatic RCCa. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Among 287 patients who underwent radical nephrectomy for RCCa from January 1990 to June 1997, 65 patients had metastatic disease. In 31 patients, metastatic lesions were surgically removed. Survival rates were analyzed according to various prognostic factors(the completeness of metastasectomy, synchronicity or metachronicity of metastasis, interval to metastasis after radical nephrectomy, Fuhrman`s grade of metastatic lesions and interval to the development of a new metastatic lesion after metastasectomy) RESULTS: The metastasectomy was complete in 18 and incomplete in 13, and 3-year survival rates were 59% and 8%, respectively(p=0.0013). In the group of patients who underwent complete resection of metastatic lesion, time to recurrence was significantly influential on survival with 3 year survival rate of 100% and 15% for those whose disease recurred after and before 12 months, respectively(p=0.001). For those who underwent curative resection of the metastatic lesion, synchronicity or metachronicity of metastasis, time to metastasis and Fuhrman`s grade did not influence survival after complete resection (p=0.675, p=0.607 and p=0.074). CONCLUSIONS: Aggressive surgical treatment should be considered in selected cases in whom complete resection of the metastatic lesion is feasible for the purpose of long term survival. If no newly developed lesion is found within 1 year after operation, favorable prognosis could be expected.
Carcinoma, Renal Cell* ; Humans ; Metastasectomy* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Nephrectomy ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Survival Rate

No abstract available.
alpha-Fetoproteins* ; Birth Weight* ; Immunoglobulins* ; Parturition*

No abstract available.
Asthma* ; Dyspnea* ; Humans ; Respiratory Function Tests*

No abstract available.
Angioplasty*

Diencephalic syndrome of infancy which is characterized by progressive and profound emaciation often with normal or accelerated skeletal growth, hyperkinesias, hypotension, and hypoglycemia. The profound emaciation so characteristic this syndrome has yet to be explained. The diencephalic syndrome is caused by low grade astrocytoma, ependymoma in the third ventricle including the hypothalamus. Authers report a case of diencephalic syndrome which was confirmed in this patient with ependymoma in the region of anterior hypothalamus by transcallosal approach.
Astrocytoma ; Emaciation ; Ependymoma ; Humans ; Hyperkinesis ; Hypoglycemia ; Hypotension ; Hypothalamus ; Hypothalamus, Anterior ; Third Ventricle