The resuIts of cryotherapy of the ciliary ganglion in absolute glaucoma are presented. The air cases had been suffered from severe ocular pain, headache without vision. The tip of the cryoapplicator (2.5mm in diameter, retinal probe, Amoils Cryo Unit) at a temperature between -60 degrees C to -70 degrees C was applied to the ciliary ganglion site for 30 seconds four to five times at one time. Edema of lids and conjunctiva occurred in all three cases except a case without lid edema and subsided in 5 days. All cases could spend life without pills for pain even though the tension was not decreased to normal leveI. The observation course was between 14 and 90 days.
Conjunctiva ; Cryotherapy ; Edema ; Freezing* ; Ganglion Cysts* ; Glaucoma* ; Headache ; Retinaldehyde

Acoustics ; Child ; Cleft Palate ; Humans ; Korea

PURPOSE: Bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) is an uncommon disease of the respiratory bronchioles and alveolar ducts that results in fibrosis and obliteration of the small airways. The causes of BO are diverse, but postinfectious BO is usually seen in children, especially after viral or Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) pneumonia. The aim of this study was to evaluate functional abnormalities such as bronchial hyperresponsiveness in the patients with High Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) findings suggestive of BO after M. pneumoniae pneumonia. METHODS: The diagnosis of M. pneumoniae pneumonia was made by a fourfold or higher rise in the antibody titers between acute and convalescent phase or a single very high titers (> or =1: 640) among children with clinical pneumonia. HRCT was checked in those with intermittent or chronic respiratory symptoms between one and two years after M. pneumoniae pneumonia. Eighteen patients with HRCT findings suggestive of BO (Group 1) and 24 patients with normal HRCT findings (Group 2) underwent methacholine bronchial challenge and skin prick testing. RESULTS: Mean FEV1 (% predicted) value of Group 1 (92.0%) was significantly lower than that of the Group 2. (101.1%) (P=0.048) The geometric mean of methacholine PC20 in Group 1 (8.5 mg/ mL) was significantly lower than that of the Group 2, (25.7 mg/mL) (P=0.008) with a higher frequency of bronchial hyperresponsiveness (PC20< 8 mg/mL) in Group 1 (38.8%) than in Group 2. (8.3%) (P=0.017) Prevalence of atopy was not different between Group 1 and Group 2, and mean FEV1 (% predicted) value and methacholine PC20 showed no significant difference according to the presence of atopy in either group. CONCLUSION: HRCT findings suggestive of BO after M. pneumoniae pneumonia were associated with functional abnormalities such as lower spirometric values and enhanced bronchial hyperresponsiveness.
Bronchioles ; Bronchiolitis Obliterans* ; Bronchiolitis* ; Child ; Diagnosis ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity, Immediate ; Methacholine Chloride ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae* ; Mycoplasma* ; Pneumonia* ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma* ; Prevalence ; Skin

No abstract available.
Female ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome* ; Pregnancy*

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to investigate the correlation between insertion depth of artificial disc and postoperative kyphotic deformity after Prodisc-C total disc replacement surgery, and the range of artificial disc insertion depth which is effective in preventing postoperative whole cervical or segmental kyphotic deformity. METHODS: A retrospective radiological analysis was performed in 50 patients who had undergone single level total disc replacement surgery. Records were reviewed to obtain demographic data. Preoperative and postoperative radiographs were assessed to determine C2-7 Cobb's angle and segmental angle and to investigate postoperative kyphotic deformity. A formula was introduced to calculate insertion depth of Prodisc-C artificial disc. Statistical analysis was performed to search the correlation between insertion depth of Prodisc-C artificial disc and postoperative kyphotic deformity, and to estimate insertion depth of Prodisc-C artificial disc to prevent postoperative kyphotic deformity. RESULTS: In this study no significant statistical correlation was observed between insertion depth of Prodisc-C artificial disc and postoperative kyphotic deformity regarding C2-7 Cobb's angle. Statistical correlation between insertion depth of Prodisc-C artificial disc and postoperative kyphotic deformity was observed regarding segmental angle (p<0.05). It failed to estimate proper insertion depth of Prodisc-C artificial disc effective in preventing postoperative kyphotic deformity. CONCLUSION: Postoperative segmental kyphotic deformity is associated with insertion depth of Prodisc-C artificial disc. Anterior located artificial disc leads to lordotic segmental angle and posterior located artificial disc leads to kyphotic segmental angle postoperatively. But C2-7 Cobb's angle is not affected by artificial disc location after the surgery.
Congenital Abnormalities ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Total Disc Replacement

A congenital coronary arteriovenous fistula is a rare condition, which is an abnormal communication of the coronary artery with the right or left ventricle, the right or left atrium or the pulmonary artery. A coronary arteriovenous fistula, complicated with a pulmonary aneurysm, is quite uncommon. A case of 68-year-old woman, complaining of resting chest pain for 1 week, is reported. The coronary arteriovenous fistula associated, with a pulmonary aneurysm, was confirmed by coronary angiography and multidetector-row helical CT (MDCT), and was surgically ligated.
Aged ; Aneurysm* ; Arteriovenous Fistula* ; Chest Pain ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Vessels ; Female ; Heart Atria ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Pulmonary Artery* ; Tomography, Spiral Computed*

About six percent of head and neck cancers occur on the external ears. Excision of the cancer can cause changes of morphology and poor cosmesis. Reconstruction of ear defects presents a unique and notable challenge to the dermatologic surgeons. This is due to the complex architecture of the external ear which is difficult to duplicate surgically. Several methods are available for reconstruction of defects to the external ear. However, the diversity of external ear shapes shows how difficult it is to achieve a certain solution to this problem. Postauricular island pedicle flap was initially reported as a technique for reconstruction of small defects of the concha after excision, and has since been used successfully in the repair of more extensive defects involving not only the concha, but also the antihelix and external auditory meatus. We report two cases of auricular squamous cell carcinoma in which the skin defect is reconstructed by a postauricular island pedicle flap ("flip-flop" flap).
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Ear ; Ear, External ; Head ; Neck ; Skin

PURPOSE: To investigate the modulation of radiosensitivity by celecoxib, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, on cancer cells over- and under-expressing COX-2. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A clonogenic radiation survival analysis was performed on A549 human lung and MCF-7 human breast cancer cell lines incubated in both 1 and 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) containing media. The apoptosis in both cell lines was measured after treatment with radiation and/or celecoxib. RESULTS: Celecoxib enhanced the radiation sensitivity of the A549 cells in the medium containing the 10% FBS, with radiation enhancement ratios of 1.58 and 1.81 respectively, at surviving fractions of 0.1, with 30 microM and 50 microM celecoxib. This enhanced radiosensitivity disappeared in the medium containing the 1% FBS. Celecoxib did not change the radiation sensitivity of the MCF-7 cells in either media. The induction of apoptosis by celecoxib and radiation was not synergistic in either cell line. CONCLUSION: Celecoxib, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, preferentially enhanced the effect of radiation on COX-2 over-expressing cancer cells compared to the cells with a low expression, and this effect disappeared on incubation of the cells during drug treatment in the medium with suboptimal serum concentration. Apoptosis did not appear to be the underlying mechanism of this radiation enhancement effect due to celecoxib on the A549 cells. These findings suggest radiosensitization by a selective COX-2 inhibitor is COX-2 dependent.
Apoptosis ; Breast Neoplasms ; Cell Line ; Cyclooxygenase 2* ; Humans* ; Lung ; MCF-7 Cells ; Radiation Tolerance* ; Celecoxib

BACKGROUND: Ischemic-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a clinically important mechanism of cellular damage, which is suspected to be caused by the attack of oxygen radicals generated in a reoxygenation phase. Nitric oxide (NO), which is essential to the endothelial function, has been thought to be a key material in IRI. In hepatic transplantation, IRI is inevitable, but the effect of NO on hepatic IRI has not yet been elucidated exactly. This experiment was designed to evaluate the effects of antioxidants and a NO supplement on hepatic IRI. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups: a sham operation group, a group with ischemic-reperfusion (IR), and a group with vitamin C and vitamin E (VC&VE) administered after IR, a group with L-arginine injected after IR, and a group with NG-nitro-L-arginine (NNLA) injected after IR. IRI was induced by clamping the hepatic portal area for 30 minutes, followed by declamping. To prevent blood congestion in the mesenteric vessel, we had performed a porto-systemic shunt operation 4 weeks before the portal clamping. Biochemical assays (tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in serum and malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase activity, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and NO synthase (NOS) activity in liver tissue) were performed after sacrificing five rats of each group, respectively, at one and six hours after reperfusion. RESULTS: IRI increased the MDA level dramatically and exhausted the catalase and the SOD activities remarkably at 1 hour and 6 hours. The group receiving VC&VE had much lower MDA levels and higher catalase and SOD activities than the IR group did. VC&VE had no significant effect on the NOS activities of the liver tissue. L-arginine administration had a definite antioxidant effect, but the effect was muchlower than that of VC&VE. The antioxidant effect of L-arginine seemed related to a reduction in the catalase exhaustion rather than to SOD exhaustion. Strangely, NNLA had a slight antioxidant effect, but had no effect on either the catalase or the SOD activity. CONCLUSIONS: Antioxidants and a supplement of NO partially prevented IRI of the liver. This effect is thought to be related to suppression of catalase exhaustion. Blocking NO biosynthesis also had a mild antioxidant effect.
Animals ; Antioxidants* ; Arginine ; Ascorbic Acid ; Catalase ; Constriction ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Humans ; Liver ; Liver Transplantation ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; Necrosis ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; Nitric Oxide* ; Nitroarginine ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Reperfusion ; Superoxide Dismutase ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Vitamin E ; Vitamins

Primary tumors of the heart are rare, three-quarters of the tumors are benign, and nearly half of the benign heart tumors are myxomas. Cardiac myxoma usually originate in the left atrium about 75 percent, but, only 3 to 4 percent of myxoma are detected in the left ventricle. Cardiac myxoma is histologically benign, but may be lethal because of their position. We reported a case of 65-year-old man with left atrium myxoma associated with inferior vena caval thrombi and pulmonary embolism. After the operation of myxoma, the Budd-Chiari syndrome developed and the patient died due to hepatic failure.
Aged ; Budd-Chiari Syndrome* ; Heart ; Heart Atria* ; Heart Neoplasms ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Liver Failure ; Myxoma* ; Pulmonary Embolism* ; Thrombosis*