The occurence of pseudarthroses associated with neurofibromatosis is a well documented phenomenon, with the majority of reported cases in the tibia but quite rare in forearm,Only ten cases in the English-literature and one case in Korean-literature of this lesion revealed appearing in the bones of the forearm till now. Of these, four in solitary pseudarthroses of the ulna(4.5.15), five in a solitary lesion of the radius(7.8.10.16.17), and only two cases was on the both bones of the forearm(9.14). We are presenting the case report of a Korean adult male with the clinical stigmata and a positive familial history of neurofibrormotosis who had congenital pseudarthroses of both the radius and ulna of the right forearm. Therefore, the present case is the third to be reported. We treated him with by production of an one-bone forearm using a dual a onlay bone graft positioned in neutral of supination and pronation. A stable, functional extremity with good union of pseudarthroses were encountered.
Adult ; Christianity ; Extremities ; Forearm ; Humans ; Inlays ; Male ; Neurofibromatoses ; Neurofibromatosis 1 ; Pronation ; Pseudarthrosis ; Radius ; Supination ; Tibia ; Transplants ; Ulna

A 29-year-old male patient was admitted due to subacute onset of right chest pain. He had no history of trauma, chest surgery or other medical disease. Chest roentgenogram showed an expansile, radiolucent lesion on the posterior segment of right seventh rib. Computed tomogram of the chest also showed lytic expansile mass with septation. He took an en-bloc resection of the involved rib. Pathologically there were multiple cystic spaces, filled with blood and collagenofibrous tissue proliferation and locally areas of new bone formation and giant cells of osteoclastic type, which was compatible with aneurysmal bone cyst. We report a case of aneurysmal bone cyst of the rib with a brief review of literature.
Adult ; Aneurysm ; Bone Cysts ; Chest Pain ; Giant Cells ; Humans ; Male ; Osteoclasts ; Osteogenesis ; Ribs* ; Thorax

In an attempt to investigate the pattern of the urinary acidification process in the Korean, the urinary excretion of phosphate, ammonia, and the titratable acid were measured in 20 medical students (A group) and in 15 psychiatric patients (B group) under regular Korean diets, while the effects of high protein diets on them were studied in 4 subjects. In addition, TmPO4 was also determined in 11 subjects. The urinary excretions of phosphate, titratable acid, and ammonia under regular Korean diets were markedly lower as compared to those of the Europeans. However, there was no difference in the plasma concentration of phosphate between the Korean and the European. Upon administration of high protein diets, the urinary excretions of phosphate and titratable acid increased while the urine pH and the ammonia excretion were little affected. Thus, the correlations between urinary nitrogen and titratable acidity were 0.50 and 0.65, respective1y, showing a linear relationship. However, the correlation between urinary nitrogen and ammonia excretion was slight. The value of TmPO4 ranged from 74 to 355 muM/min with the mean of 193 muM/min, which is considerably higher than that of the European. On the basis of these findings, the overall pattern of the urinary acidification processes in the Korean is discussed.
Acids/*urine ; Adult ; Ammonia/*urine ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Dietary Proteins ; Human ; Kidney Function Tests ; Korea ; Male ; Phosphates/*urine ; Protein Deficiency/metabolism

BACKGROUND: As the incidence of coloanal diseases has been steadily increasing during the past few decades in Korea, we illustrate the necessity of a specialized colorectal clinic for the efficient management of such diseases. METHOD: Outpatients at our colorectal clinic were studied epidemiologically and clinically by retrospective studies between November 1986 to December 1996. RESULTS: During this period, the total number of outpatients were 30,590 of which 24% were new patients. The patient pool consisted of anal diseases (62%), colon diseases (28%) and other diseases (10%). In this study, we found that condyloma, perianal abscesses, anal fistulas were predominant in males compared to females while rectovaginal fistulas, functional bowel diseases, and perianal fissures were predominant in females. There was no sexual bias for rectal cancer. Colorectal diseases occurred in all age groups; however, the peak age was in the fourth or fifth decade where social activity was maximum. There was a variation in age incidence among different disease entities. The range of age for benign conditions such as hemorroids, perianal abscessess and functional bowel diseases were from the third to the fifth decades; however, malignant lesions such as colon cancer were frequently seen in older patients (> 40 years). Condyloma was frequently seen in younger patients (< 20 years). There were no monthly variations in the incidences of colorectal diseases. Yearly variations were not found for colorectal disease, but were found for cancer. Of the cancers, the incidence of rectal cancer was higher than s-colon cancer or colon cancer in year variations. The diagnostic time has been reduced significantly over the past decade. The mean time required for a diagnosis work up in the period from 1984 to 1986 was 9.4 days; the diagnostic time in the period from 1993 to 1996 was 4.7 days. CONCLUSIONS: The incidences of coloanal disease have increased recently in Korea; thus, the demand for an efficient outpatient colorectal clinic has inevitably increased. We concluding that a specialized clinic, such as our colorectal clinic, has become essential for properly managing the exploding number of coloanal patients in Korea.
Abscess ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; Colon ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Male ; Outpatients* ; Rectal Fistula ; Rectal Neoplasms ; Rectovaginal Fistula ; Retrospective Studies

No abstract available.
Humans ; Mastocytosis

No abstract available.
Perfusion* ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Stomach*

Laparoscopic approaches are increasingly used in pancreatic surgery. In the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the pancreas, enucleation is one of the recommended surgery. Although many clinical experiences have reported the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic enucleation of functioning NETs, such as insulinomas, few reports have explored such treatment for non-functioning NETs. Here, we present a case of 70-year old female patient who underwent successful laparoscopic enucleation of a nonfunctioning NET located in the body of the pancreas.
Aged ; Female ; Humans ; *Laparoscopy ; Neuroendocrine Tumors/pathology/*surgery/ultrasonography ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/pathology/*surgery/ultrasonography

PURPOSE: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is known to be produced by various malignant tumors and thought to be involved in microvascular permeability and angiogenesis. However, the clinicopathologic significance of the expression of VEGF in gastric cancer remains unclear. METHODS: To examine the relationship between VEGF expression in gastric cancer and clinicopathologic factors or patient survival, tumor VEGF expression was assessed by immunohistochemical study in 144 gastric cancer patients. In addition, serum VEGF (S-VEGF) level was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 116 patients and in 32 healthy controls. RESULTS: Positive staining for VEGF was observed in 68.8% (99 out of 144) of gastric cancers, and its expression was observed more frequently in patients with intestinal type and serosal invasion tumors. However, there was no significant correlation between the patients' survival and VEGF positivity. Significant differences in preoperative S-VEGF level were found between healthy controls and patients with gastric cancer (P=0.014), whereas there was no significant difference in the S-VEGF level between control and curative resection group. When S-VEGF levels were compared between groups categorized by different clinicopathologic vari-ables, a significant correlation was found between a high S-VEGF level and a tumor size greater than 5 cm, serosal invasion, lymph node and distant metastasis. Moreover, postoperative S-VEGF levels were significantly elevated as compared to preoperative levels (P=0.000). When the median S-VEGF level was used as a cutoff level, the survival rate of patients with elevated S-VEGF levels was significantly lower than that of patients with low levels (P=0.001). CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that a high preoperative S-VEGF level is associated with tumor progression, metastasis and a poor outcome in patients with gastric cancer. Further studies are warranted to determine the clinical value of S-VEGF as an tumor marker and an indicator of tumor angiogenesis in gastric cancer.
Capillary Permeability ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis* ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Survival Rate ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A*

BACKGROUND: A mummy is a dead body of a human being or an animal that has been preserved artificially or naturally from decaying. Because the natural environment of Korea isn't appropriate for mummification and Korean people haven't artificially made mummies, mummies were rarely studied in Korea. METHODS: On September 6, 2002, a well-preserved female mummy was found in the grave of a family in Kyunggi-do. She was submitted to a thorough autopsy examination along with the review of genealogical documents. RESULTS: The mummy died in winter. She was pregnant and the fetal head was observed at the vaginal orifice. The uterine wall was ruptured, and the peritoneum was discolored, probably by hemorrhage. Histologically, the gastric mucosa was well preserved. On the smear cytology of gastrointestinal material and the fluid from the coffin, pollens and parasitic eggs were observed. The woman seemed to be death from hypovolemic shock due to uterine rupture during the 2nd phase of labor. CONCLUSION: From this case, we concluded the causes of the woman's mummification included the cold and dry circumstance at the time of her death, and the thick mortared wall of the grave that completely isolated the body from the outside.
Animals ; Autopsy ; Eggs ; Female ; Gastric Mucosa ; Gyeonggi-do ; Head ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Korea ; Mummies ; Ovum ; Paleopathology ; Peritoneum ; Pollen ; Pregnant Women* ; Shock ; Uterine Rupture

BACKGROUND/AIM: Recent advances in both diagnosis and treatment have markedly improved the prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Bone metastasis has become a clinical problem in the treatment of HCC patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the palliative effect of radiotherapy for painful bone metastasis from HCC. METHODS: From January 1991 to June 2000, 51 patients (77 sites) with painful bone metastasis from HCC were retrospectively analyzed. Ages ranged from 21 to 80 years (median 55 years). The male:female ratio was 7.5:1. Synchronous or metachronous bone metastasis was seen in 20 (39%) and 31 patients (61%), respectively. The most common symptom of bone metastasis was pain (45 patients, 88%). Twenty-one patients (41%) had a solitary bone metastasis while 30 (59%) had multiple ones. The sites of bone metastasis, in order of frequency, were the vertebra (38), rib (20), and pelvis (19). The total radiation dose ranged from 12.5 to 50 Gy (median 30 Gy). The Wisconsin Brief Pain Questionnaire was used to evaluate pain response. RESULTS: The overall 1 and 2 year survival rates from the time of bone metastasis were 15% and 4%, respectively. The median survival time was 5 months. Intrahepatic stage(p=0.014), and metastasis to other organs(p=0.019) were significant prognostic factor for survival by univariate analysis. There was, however, no independent prognostic factor on multivariate analysis. Pain relief after radiotherapy was achieved for 56 sites (73%). CONCLUSION: The expected life span (median 5 months) in this group of patients suggests a strong necessity for effective treatment for symptomatic palliation. Radiation therapy was effective in pain palliation for bone metastasis from HCC, and this could improve patients' quality of life.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bone Neoplasms/*radiotherapy/*secondary ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/mortality/*radiotherapy/*secondary ; English Abstract ; Female ; Human ; Liver Neoplasms/mortality/*pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Palliative Care ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate