From January, 1990 to December, 1995, 106 patients received transvaginal bladder neck suspension by Raz. Follow up periods ranged from 3 months to 5 years, and mean age of patients was 52.2 years. Severity of incontinence were grade 1 in 22, grade II in 83, and grade III in 1 patient. After minimum of 3 months follow up, 87 (82.1%) patients were completely cured and 14 (13.2%) patients reported minimal leaking, the final success rate being 95.3% (101/106). Degree of posterior urethral angle and grades of incontinence(classified either by Blaivas or Green) were not significant factors in predicting outcome. Grade of incontinence, preoperative irritative voiding symptoms, previous incontinence surgery, age, and menopause were not correlated with success. However the history of hysterectomy and overweight were related with lower success rate. Mean hospital stay was 6.1 days, and 50 (47.2%) patients performed intermittent catheterization at discharge but later all resumed normal voiding. Among 34 patients with urgency preoperatively 25 (73.5%) improved after operation, and de novo urgency was found in 11 (16.2%). Complications including urinary tract infection blood loss requiring transfusion were seen in one patient respectively, but no case of peritonitis, bladder perforation, and wound perforation was seen. Success rate of Raz operation is more than 90%, which was higher than other types of bladder suspension. Raz colpo-suspension can place bladder neck traction sutures accurately without causing obstruction or significant morbidity, therefore should be recommended as a premier mode of surgical treatment in patients with stress urinary incontinence.
Catheterization ; Catheters ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Length of Stay ; Menopause ; Neck* ; Overweight ; Peritonitis ; Sutures ; Traction ; Urinary Bladder* ; Urinary Incontinence* ; Urinary Tract Infections ; Wounds and Injuries

BACKGROUND: Fine needle aspiration(FNA) is an accurate and safe method for the diagnosis of thyroid nodules. One of the limitations of FNA is the variable rate of unsatisfactory specimens, especially in small sized, deep seated or complex cystic nodules. To overcome this problem, ultrasound-guided FNA(US-FNA) has been widely used. In this study, the adequacy of cytologic specimens by US-FNA was compared with that of conventional palpation-guided FNA(P-FNA). METHODS: The medical records of all patients who were engaged in FNA due to thyroid nodules at Chungnam National University Hospital from January 2003 to July 2004 were retrospectively examined. The US-FNA and P-FNA were performed in 114 and 185 patients, respectively. RESULTS: Comparison of the adequacy of the two techniques in providing sufficient material for the cytologic diagnosis showed that specimens in 24(13.0%) and 6(5.3%) patients collected by P-FNA and US-FNA, respectively, were unsatisfactory(P=0.031). A total of 23 patients underwent thyroid surgery due to strong suspicion of malignancy at cytologic finding and/or on clinical judgement. Seventeen patients belonged to the P-FNA group and 6 patients to the US-FNA group. In the P-FNA group, a histologic diagnosis revealed two false-negative cytologic findings, but no false-negative findings were found in the US-FNA group. CONCLUSION: Compared with P-FNA, US-FNA may reduce the possibility of unsatisfactory cytologic specimens and the rate of false-negative diagnosis, and may improve the diagnostic accuracy in investigating thyroid nodules
Biopsy, Fine-Needle* ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Needles ; Retrospective Studies ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Nodule*

BACKGROUND: Thyroid cancers account for about 1% of all human malignancies, with papillary thyroid carcinomas being the most common istotype. Several investigators have recently identified the most common BRAF mutation, the T1796A transversion mutation, in 29~69% of papillary thyroid cancers. The BRAF mutation has been demonstrated as a novel prognostic biomarker for the prediction of poor clinicopathological outcomes, such as increased incidence of extrathyroid invasion and distant metastasis of the tumor. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of the BRAF mutation of thyroid tissues obtained by a thyroidectomy, and its correlation with the clinicopathological outcomes. METHODS: We studied 36 thyroid tissues obtained from 24 women and 12 men by thyroidectomies, including 30 papillary carcinomas, 3 follicular carcinomas, 1 medullary carcinoma and 2 nodular hyperplasia. The mutation was sought in all specimens using DNA sequencing. RESULTS: We studied the BRAF exon 15 T1796A in these 36 thyroid tissues. The mean age at surgery was 46.6, ranging from 18 to 72 years, with a median tumor size of 2.79, ranging from 1.5 to 4.5cm. At the time of diagnosis, 27 of the 34 patients presented with some kind of extrathyroidal invasion of the tumor, and 16 had lymph node metastases. 16, 2 and 16 patients were in stages I, II and III, respectively. There was no distant metastasis. A missense mutation was found at T1796A in exon 15 in 21 of the 30 papillary carcinomas(70%). The other thyroid diseases, including the 3 follicular carcinomas, 1 medullary carcinoma and 2 nodular hyperplasia show no exon 15 T1759A transversion mutation. No statistically significant association was found between the BRAF mutations and clinicopathological characteristics of papillary carcinomas. CONCLUSION: The BRAF mutation is a important genetic alteration, with a high prevalence in papillary thyroid carcinomas. However, there was no significant association between the BRAF mutation and any of the clinicopathological factors. Further, large scale studies will be needed to evaluate the correlation between the BRAF mutation and the clinicopathological factors
Carcinoma, Medullary ; Carcinoma, Papillary* ; Diagnosis ; Exons ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Incidence ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Mutation, Missense ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prevalence ; Research Personnel ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Thyroid Diseases ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroidectomy

BACKGROUND: Thyroid cancers account for about 1% of all human malignancies, with papillary thyroid carcinomas being the most common istotype. Several investigators have recently identified the most common BRAF mutation, the T1796A transversion mutation, in 29~69% of papillary thyroid cancers. The BRAF mutation has been demonstrated as a novel prognostic biomarker for the prediction of poor clinicopathological outcomes, such as increased incidence of extrathyroid invasion and distant metastasis of the tumor. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of the BRAF mutation of thyroid tissues obtained by a thyroidectomy, and its correlation with the clinicopathological outcomes. METHODS: We studied 36 thyroid tissues obtained from 24 women and 12 men by thyroidectomies, including 30 papillary carcinomas, 3 follicular carcinomas, 1 medullary carcinoma and 2 nodular hyperplasia. The mutation was sought in all specimens using DNA sequencing. RESULTS: We studied the BRAF exon 15 T1796A in these 36 thyroid tissues. The mean age at surgery was 46.6, ranging from 18 to 72 years, with a median tumor size of 2.79, ranging from 1.5 to 4.5cm. At the time of diagnosis, 27 of the 34 patients presented with some kind of extrathyroidal invasion of the tumor, and 16 had lymph node metastases. 16, 2 and 16 patients were in stages I, II and III, respectively. There was no distant metastasis. A missense mutation was found at T1796A in exon 15 in 21 of the 30 papillary carcinomas(70%). The other thyroid diseases, including the 3 follicular carcinomas, 1 medullary carcinoma and 2 nodular hyperplasia show no exon 15 T1759A transversion mutation. No statistically significant association was found between the BRAF mutations and clinicopathological characteristics of papillary carcinomas. CONCLUSION: The BRAF mutation is a important genetic alteration, with a high prevalence in papillary thyroid carcinomas. However, there was no significant association between the BRAF mutation and any of the clinicopathological factors. Further, large scale studies will be needed to evaluate the correlation between the BRAF mutation and the clinicopathological factors
Carcinoma, Medullary ; Carcinoma, Papillary* ; Diagnosis ; Exons ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Incidence ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Mutation, Missense ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prevalence ; Research Personnel ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Thyroid Diseases ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroidectomy