PURPOSE: Diverticular disease of the colon is relatively common in western population and rare in oriental population but in recent years the incidence is steadily increasing in oriental population including Korean, so more concerns and appropriate management are required. METHODS: We reviewed 111cases who had diverticular disease in the colon from January 1988 to May 1998 in the Soonchunhyang University Chunan Hospital. Of 111 cases, 87 cases were treated conservatively and 24 cases received a surgical treatment. RESULTS: The annual incidence increased progressively for the last 10 years. The mean age of the patients at the time of diagnosis was 49.6 years and the most common age-group was forth decades (25%). The diverticula were located in the right colon 89%, left colon 7% and both side 4%. Among 24 surgically treated cases, the most common preoperative diagnosis was acute appendicitis (75%) and the correct preoperative diagnosis was made only 3 cases (13%) who had previous appendectomy history, previous diagnosed history or received barium enema due to recurrent pain attack. The surgical procedures of the colonic diverticulosis were right hemicolectomy (6 cases), ileo-ascending colectomy (6 cases), diverticulectomy (2 cases), segmental resection of transverse colon (1 case), left hemicolectomy (1 case), appendectomy (2 cases), appendectomy with drainage (3 cases), appendectomy with drainage and diverticulectomy (3 cases). The postoperative complication was wound infection in all complicated cases. There was no postoperative mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The outcome of patients in our series is satisfactory despite of diagnostic inaccuracies. Preoperative barium study is recommended in those above the 40 years of age suspected the appendicitis. We recommend surgery for patients after two or three episodes of acute diverticulitis that resolves after medical treatment with antibiotics.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Appendectomy ; Appendicitis ; Barium ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Colectomy ; Colon* ; Colon, Transverse ; Diagnosis ; Diverticulitis ; Diverticulosis, Colonic ; Diverticulum ; Drainage ; Enema ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mortality ; Postoperative Complications ; Wound Infection

A gastric intramural hematoma is very rare and commonly associated with trauma, anticoagulation therapy, coagulopathy, pancreatic disease, aneurysm and peptic ulcer disease. This is a case of gastric intramural hematoma which occurred in a patient taking aspirin after hypertonic saline-epinephrine injection for bleeding from a biopsy site. We describe a case of gastric intramural hematoma that was successfully managed with conservative therapy.
Aneurysm ; Aspirin ; Biopsy ; Epinephrine ; Hematoma* ; Hemorrhage ; Hemostasis* ; Humans ; Pancreatic Diseases ; Peptic Ulcer ; Saline Solution, Hypertonic

No abstract available.
Bone Marrow* ; Granulocyte Precursor Cells*

Endometriosis generally occurs in the pelvis, particularly in the broad ligament, round ligament, ovaries, fallopian tubes or uterosacral ligament. However, many unusual sites have been described, including the umbilicus, cesarean section scars, hernia sacs, appendix, vagina, vulva, omentum and perineum. We experienced a case of perineal endometriosis diagnosed according to cyclic perineal pain associated with menstration and report it with brief review of literature.
Appendix ; Broad Ligament ; Cesarean Section ; Cicatrix* ; Endometriosis* ; Episiotomy* ; Fallopian Tubes ; Female ; Hernia ; Ligaments ; Omentum ; Ovary ; Pelvis ; Perineum ; Pregnancy ; Round Ligament of Uterus ; Umbilicus ; Vagina ; Vulva

OBJECTIVE: To determine the feasibility, safety, advantages and limitations of laparoscopic management of adnexal masses in pregnancy by comparing with laparotomy. METHODS: Between Jan 2001 to Jan 2003, 36 laparoscopic procedures and 15 laparotomy procedures were performed in 51 patients with adnexal masses in pregnancy. Operation time, hospital stay, pathologic findings, complications and pregnancy outcome were analyzed in these patients. RESULTS: Most common pathologic finding was mature cystic teratoma (45%) and malignancy of adnexal tumors were 3 cases (5.9%). There were no differences in size of adnexal tumor, operation time, hemoglobin level change after operation, gestational age at delivery, birth weight, Apgar score, preterm delivery and fetal anomaly between the two groups. Hospital stays was shorter and gestational age at operation was earlier in laparoscopy than explolaparotomy. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic management of adnexal masses in pregnancy is safe and effective procedure.
Apgar Score ; Birth Weight ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Laparoscopy* ; Laparotomy* ; Length of Stay ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Pregnancy* ; Teratoma

OBJECTIVE: To compare single-dose prophylactic antibiotics after cord clamping with multi-dose postoperative antibiotics in operative complications after elective cesarean section. METHODS: Forty-five women undergoing elective cesarean section had 1g cefazolin administration after umbilical cord clamping. Forty-five women was control group who had antibiotics administration postoperatively 4 times 1 g cefazolin and 5 days more per oral. Postoperative complication including febrile morbidity, wound infection, endometritis, urinary tract infection, pneumonia were recorded, as were the duration of hospital stay and the need for therapeutic antibiotics. RESULTS: Postoperative complication incuding febrile morbidity, wound infection, endometritis, urinary tract infection, pneumonia had no difference between two groups significantly. Also, their hospital stay had no difference significantly. CONCLUSION: Single-dose prophylactic antibiotics administration after cord clamping in elective cesarean section is considered to have no difference in comparison with multi-dose post-operative administration. Single-dose prophylactic antibiotics administration after cord clamping will reduce side effect of drugs and resistance. Also it will provide better cost effectiveness.
Anti-Bacterial Agents* ; Cefazolin ; Cesarean Section* ; Constriction* ; Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Endometritis ; Female ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Pneumonia ; Postoperative Complications ; Pregnancy ; Umbilical Cord ; Urinary Tract Infections ; Wound Infection

Purpose: There are increased therapeutic usages of rituximab in kidney transplantation (KT). However, few studies have evaluated the effect of rituximab on cancer development following KT. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of rituximab on the cancer occurrence and mortality rate according to each type of cancer. Methods: Five thousand consecutive recipients who underwent KT at our center were divided into era1 (1990–2007) and era2-rit– (2008–2018), and era2-rit+ (2008–2018) groups. The era2-rit+ group included patients who received single-dose rituximab (200–500 mg) as a desensitization treatment 1–2 weeks before KT. Results: The 5-year incidence rates of malignant tumors after KT were 3.1%, 4.3%, and 3.5% in the era1, era2-rit–, and era2-rit+ group, respectively. The overall incidence rate of cancer after transplantation among the 3 study groups showed no significant difference (P = 0.340). The overall cancer-related mortality rate was 17.1% (53 of 310). Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) had the highest mortality rate (61.5%) and relative risk of cancer-related death (hazard ratio, 8.29; 95% confidence interval, 2.40–28.69; P = 0.001). However, we found no significant association between rituximab and the incidence of any malignancy. Conclusion Our results suggest that single-dose rituximab for desensitization may not increase the risk of malignant disease or cancer-related mortality in KT recipients. HCC was associated with the highest risk of cancer-related mortality in an endemic area of HBV infection.

Purpose: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been shown significant oncological improvements in several cancers.However, ICIs are still in their infancy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), tumorinfiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) have been known as prognostic factors in HCC. Therefore, we have focused on identifying the molecular mechanisms between each marker to evaluate a predictive role. Methods: Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples were obtained from 166 patients with HCC who underwent surgery. The expression of PD-L1 and TILs and EMT marker were evaluated by immunohistochemical analysis. Results: The multivariate analysis showed that TIL expression (hazard ratio [HR], 0.483; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.269–0.866; P = 0.015) were independent prognostic factors for overall survival. The prognostic factors for disease-free survival were EMT marker expression (HR, 1.565; 95% CI, 1.019–2.403; P = 0.005). Patients with high expression of TILs had significantly better survival compared to patients with low expression (P = 0.023). Patients who were TIL+/EMT– showed a significantly better prognosis than those who were TIL–/EMT+ (P = 0.049). Conclusion This study demonstrates that PD-L1 expression of TILs is closely associated with EMT marker expression in HCC. Clinical investigations using anti–PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in patients with EMT-associated PD-L1 upregulation are warranted.

Deciding on the appropriate antiplatelet therapy is a challenge when treating patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and who are undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We describe here a case of PCI in a patient with chronic, refractory ITP. A 61-year-old woman presented with exertional chest pain and a low platelet count (4 x 109/L) at admission. Coronary angiography revealed 99% stenosis of the mid left anterior descending artery and 95% stenosis of the mid left circumflex artery. Antiplatelet agents couldn't be administered because of the risk of bleeding. After transfusion of platelets and administering intravenous immunoglobulin, we deployed baremetal stents in both lesions without administering any antiplatelet agents. Although focal in-stent restenosis developed 5 months later, there was no episode of stent thrombosis despite not using antiplatelet agents. The present case suggests that the rate of stent thrombosis may be lower was previously thought and antiplatelet therapy may be considered on a case by case for patient suffering with thrombocytopenia.
Arteries ; Chest Pain ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Angiography ; Female ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors* ; Platelet Count ; Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic* ; Stents* ; Thrombocytopenia ; Thrombosis

PURPOSE: This study comparedthe effectiveness and safety of laparoscopic adrenalectomy with conventional open adrenalectomy for the treatment of pheochromocytoma. METHODS: Medical records of 100 patients who underwent surgical removal of pheochromocytoma (open adrenalectomy, n=59; laparoscopic adrenalectomy, n=39) at Samsung Medical Center from June 1995 to August 2007 were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: To draw an appropriate comparison, patients with a tumor less than 7 cm in size were evaluated (open adrenalectomy, n=23; laparoscopic adrenalectomy n=31). No statistically significant differences were evident according to age, gender and tumor size. The mean operating time was 158 min for the open surgery group and 114 minfor the laparoscopic group (P<0.01). The mean postoperative hospital stay was 10.4 days following open surgery and 5.6 days following laparoscopic surgery (P<0.01). The mean volume of the estimated blood loss for the laparoscopic surgery group (482 ml) was less than for the open surgery group (mean 229 ml) (P=0.06), and the time to first oral intake was 1.7 days after laparoscopic adrenalectomy and 3.5 days after open surgery (P<0.01). The frequency of using analgesics for postoperative pain after laparoscopic adrenalectomy was markedly lower than following conventional open adrenalectomy. There was no recurrence or complications during the follow-up periods (mean: 30 months). CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic adrenalectomy offers advantages of less postoperative pain, shorter operative time and a shorter hospital stay as compared with conventional open adrenalectomy. Laparoscopic adrenalectomy for treating pheochromocytoma is a minimally invasive alternative to conventional open adrenalectomy.
Adrenalectomy* ; Analgesics ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Length of Stay ; Medical Records ; Operative Time ; Pain, Postoperative ; Pheochromocytoma* ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies