Low back pain and sciatica is one of the troublesome problems in the orthopedic field. Many authors reported the pathogenesis of the low back pain and sciaticadue to disc prolapse. Prior to 1934, when the connection between sciatica and disc prolapse was established, non-surgical management was almost always the therapy of choice. The surgical alternative, was established in the middle of the 1930's by the work of Mixter and Barr and others. Even if many patients obtained symptomatic relief from discectomy alone, many authors proposed intervertebral fusion to prevent aggravation of segmental instability. We reviewed the cases of 60 patients who underwent anterior lumbar spine fusion for herniated lumbar disc, and were followed for 10 months to 9 years from January 1975 to December 1984. We results were as follows. l. Among 60 patients, 45(75%) were successful, and 56(93.3%) were effective. 2. Fifty-eight patients(96.7%) showed bony union which took place in 7.9 months on an average. 3. Ambulation started with Knight-Kim type back brace in 10.2 days on an average after operation, and discharged in 11.5 days on an average. 4. When duration of symptoms was less than 6 months, and the involved level was confined in one level and was L4 intervertebral disc, the results were good. 5. Postoperative wound infection was noted in 5%, and 22 patients(36.7%) complained of postsympathectomy symptoms.
Arthrodesis ; Braces ; Diskectomy ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc ; Low Back Pain ; Orthopedics ; Prolapse ; Sciatica ; Spine ; Surgical Wound Infection ; Walking

No abstract available.
Brassica* ; Ear*

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans ; Humerus*

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of topical diquafosol tetrasodium (DQS) after laser epithelial keratomileusis (LASEK). METHODS: This randomized prospective study included 97 eyes of 49 patients who were scheduled for LASEK. Patients in the DQS group used both 0.3% sodium hyaluronate and 3% DQS for 3 months after surgery while patients in the control group used only 0.3% sodium hyaluronate. Corneal staining score, tear film break-up time (TF-BUT), Schirmer test and ocular surface disease index (OSDI) were evaluated before surgery and 2, 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks after surgery. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in visual acuity, spherical equivalent and corneal haziness between the 2 groups after surgery. Corneal staining score was significantly lower in the DQS group than in the control group 2 weeks after LASEK (p < 0.01) and increased in the control group after LASEK compared with the preoperative value (2 weeks after LASEK, p < 0.01), but decreased in the DQS group (12 and 16 weeks after LASEK, p < 0.05). TF-BUT was significantly higher in the DQS group than in the control group 2 to 16 weeks after LASEK (p < 0.01) and increased values were observed in the DQS group after LASEK compared with the preoperative value (4 to 16 weeks after LASEK, p < 0.05). The mean OSDI was significantly higher 4 to 16 weeks after LASEK in the control group than in the DQS group (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Subjective dry eye symptoms and objective markers were worse for 4 weeks after LASEK. The use of 3% DQS for 12 weeks after surgery improved these symptoms and markers with the effect lasting 16 weeks after LASEK.
Dry Eye Syndromes ; Humans ; Hyaluronic Acid ; Keratectomy, Subepithelial, Laser-Assisted ; Prospective Studies ; Refractive Surgical Procedures ; Tears ; Visual Acuity

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical features of high myopic eyes with cataracts implanted with negative power intraocular lenses (IOLs) at the time of cataract surgery. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was conducted of 18 eyes of 14 patients who underwent cataract surgery with negative power IOLs and 10 eyes in 9 patients with low power IOLs. We investigated axial length, IOL power, preoperative and postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and preoperative and postoperative spherical equivalent (SE) refractive errors. RESULTS: Mean BCVA showed significant improvement in both groups. We measured postoperative SE refraction and the difference between the mean intended and the mean achieved SE refractive errors in the negative power group (17 eyes) was +1.59 ± 1.34 D and +0.31 ± 0.50 D in the low power group. CONCLUSIONS: BCVA was significantly improved in the majority of eyes, although they had myopic macular degeneration or posterior staphyloma. However, the mean achieved postoperative SE refraction was more hyperopic than the predicted postoperative SE error. Additionally, hyperopic refractive error was greater in the negative power group than the low power group. Therefore, we recommend that postoperative hyperopic refractive error should be considered when performing cataract surgery in high myopic patients.
Cataract Extraction* ; Cataract* ; Humans ; Lens Implantation, Intraocular* ; Lenses, Intraocular* ; Macular Degeneration ; Myopia* ; Refractive Errors ; Retrospective Studies ; Visual Acuity

PURPOSE: To analyze and compare ultrasound pachymetry (USP) with a more recently adopted device, the intra ocular lens (IOL) master 700, which are both used to measure central corneal thickness. METHODS: The central corneal thickness was measured in 24 eyes of 12 glaucoma patients and in 83 eyes of 42 normal patients. First, the IOL master 700 was used to measure the central corneal thickness, followed by measurements taken using USP later. The results were analyzed using a paired t-test. We analyzed the agreement and the correlations between the two test devices by using Bland-Altman plots and the Pearson correlation test. To evaluate the reproducibility, measurements with the IOL master 700 were taken twice for a few normal patients within a small time interval. RESULTS: Via the IOL master 700, the thickness of the central cornea showed a high reproducibility and repeatability, demonstrating 2.7 ± 1.7 µm for the test-retest variability, 6.78% for the coefficient of variation, and 0.997 for the intraclass correlation value. The mean measurements using USP and the IOL master 700 are 554.4 ± 37.4 µm and 551.1 ± 37.1 µm, respectively, showing that the IOL master 700 measured significantly smaller values than USP with a p-value < 0.001. The deviations between the two methods are scattered throughout the 95% confidence interval. According to the Pearson correlation test, the measured values of the two test devices were found to have a highly positive correlation (r = 0.977, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that the central corneal thickness (CCT) measured via the IOL master was significantly thinner than that of USP, and the two test devices had a high correlation and good agreement. The CCT value measured via the IOL master 700 also exhibited high reproducibility.
Cornea ; Glaucoma ; Humans ; Tomography, Optical Coherence* ; Ultrasonography*

PURPOSE: To compare the outer retinal thickness in normal fellow eyes of patients with unilateral age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and normal control eyes. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 60 patients with unilateral exudative AMD including polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy and 60 normal controls. Spectralis optical coherence tomography was performed in the normal fellow eyes of patients with unilateral AMD and in the normal group. The thicknesses between the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) line and the cone outer segment tips (COST) line, between the COST line and the photoreceptor inner segment/outer segment (IS/OS) line, and between the IS/OS line and the external limiting membrane (ELM) line were measured at the fovea in both groups. RESULTS: The thickness between the RPE and COST lines was 32.4 ± 3.0 µm in normal fellow eyes of patients with unilateral AMD and 35.3 ± 3.5 µm in the normal group (p < 0.001). Total retinal thickness, thicknesses between the COST and the IS/OS lines and the IS/OS and the ELM lines in fellow eyes were not significantly different from those of normal eyes (p = 0.126, 0.615, 0.874). There was no significant difference in total retinal thickness or each outer retinal thickness measured in normal fellow eyes between patients with neovascular AMD and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. CONCLUSIONS: The thickness between the RPE and the COST lines was thinner in the fellow eyes of patients with unilateral AMD than in the normal eyes. We suggest that less thickness between the RPE and COST lines might indicate a greater risk of AMD.
Choroid ; Humans ; Macular Degeneration* ; Medical Records ; Membranes ; Retinal Pigment Epithelium ; Retinaldehyde* ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, Optical Coherence

No abstract available.
Dysgerminoma* ; Female ; Ovary* ; Pregnancy*

To clarify the mechanism of the protective effect of hemodialysis on lipid peroxidation in RBC membrane structures, the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) which is the lipid peroxidation product, and the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were determined before and after hemodialysis in the RBCs from 20 patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD), and from 14 healthy subjects. Before dialysis, MDA levels in the RBCs from the patients with ESRD were higher than those from healthy controls. SOD and catalase activities in the RBCs were lower. After hemodialysis, MDA, SOD, and catalase in the RBCs from the patients with ESRD were normalized. These results indicate that hemodialysis treatment is helpful to protect the peroxidative darnage through normalizing the activities of antioxidant enzymes.
Catalase ; Dialysis ; Erythrocytes* ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic* ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Malondialdehyde* ; Membranes ; Renal Dialysis* ; Superoxide Dismutase

No abstract available.
Eustachian Tube*