PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate attitudes toward death according to personality types and to suggest the need to develop related hospice programs. METHODS: Personality types were identified by the Korean version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Form G. A questionnaire with 26 five-point Likert items was used to survey participants' attitudes toward death. RESULTS: The ESFP personality type was most common (20%) among available 100 participants. Significant differences were observed in the attitudes towards death preparation according to personality type s. Participants with personality preference types E, T and J showed positive attitudes (P<0.05) toward death, but no significant differences were shown based on the SN index. CONCLUSION: The attitudes toward death differed by personality types. Therefore, this study points to the need to develop diverse hospice programs based on the personality types.
Hospice Care ; Personality Inventory ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Thoracic disc herniation is an uncommon cause of thoracic cord compression. Herniation in this region is of particular importance because of the serious disorders of nervous function which result from anterior compresstion of the spinal cord. Early diagnosis and prompt surgical treatment are imperative because of the progressive and serious neurological deficit which results from delay. Numerous problems remain as to the safest surgical approach to the prolapsed thoracic intervertebral disc. We treated a case of herniated intervertebral disc occuring at Tll–T12 using the anterior approach. The result was favourable.
Early Diagnosis ; Intervertebral Disc ; Spinal Cord

The aims of treatment of children with CDH untreated until walking age should be to reestablish the mechanics of the hip joint and avoid complications, especially avascular necosis, thus delaying the devlopment of osteoarthritis. In the child who is first seen between the ages of one and three years, considerable controversy still exists as to the merit of closed versus operative management. The average 29.3 months follow-up results in fifty congenitally dislocated hips in forty-five children with were between six and thirty-six months old when treatment was begun have been reviewed at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, In Je University, College of Medicine, Paik Hospital from June, 1979 to Aug, 1989. The results of this study were as follows: 1. Factors affecting method of treatment were age, degree of dislocation and acetabular index; A. Age 1) The children below ages of 18 months were treatment by closed reduction. 2) The children below ages of 18 months were treatment by open reduction with concomittant procedures. B. Degree of dislocation: Open reduction was more frequently reguired in higher degree of dislocation. C. Acetabular index: It was little influenced on method of treatment. 2. The complications were persisten subuxation (3 cases), temporary irregular ossification (16 cases) and avascular necrosis (1 cases).
Acetabulum ; Child ; Dislocations ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hip ; Hip Joint ; Humans ; Mechanics ; Methods ; Necrosis ; Osteoarthritis ; Walking

Differential diagnosis of benign giant tumors includes a circumscribed fibrocystic disease, giant fibroadenoma, juvenile fibroadenoma, lipoma, cystosarcoma phylloides, and hamartoma. Current general surgery textbooks describe excision through an inframammary incision and state that reconstructive procedures with flap rotation and prosthesis are inappropriate because the breast remnant generally returns to a normal configuration and contour following removal of a benign breast tumor. Although we agree with this recommendation for smaller fibroadenomas, the distortion and asymmetric stretching that occur with the larger tumors call for a breast reconstructive technique to achieve symmetry. We report 3 cases of giant benign tumors which were treated by excision and reconstruction using mastopexy technique. It's highly recommended that patients with benign giant tumors of breast should be treated by plastic surgeons with reconstructive techniques.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Fibroadenoma ; Hamartoma ; Humans ; Lipoma ; Phyllodes Tumor ; Prostheses and Implants

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of the biofeedback balance training using Interactive Balance System (IBS) in acute stroke patients. METHOD: We recruited 40 acute stroke patients who were able to stand independently. The patients were divided into two groups. One group received conventional balance training (control group) and the other group received biofeedback balance training using IBS (case group) for 2 weeks. After training, the effects were evaluated using 3 parameters: indices from IBS (stability score, weight distribution index, and distance form zero point to body's center of pressure (COP) in coordinate), balance assessments (Berg balance scale and postural assessment scale for stroke patients), and functional outcome (the Korean version of modified Barthel index). RESULTS: There were no differences in age and time since onset between the two groups. All parameters were significantly improved in both groups after training. However, the distribution of COP of the case group was significantly closer to the zero point than that of the control group in coordinate after training (p=0.005). CONCLUSION: Biofeedback balance training using IBS has a better effect on the symmetry in static condition on evaluation using IBS than conventional balance training for acute stroke patients.
Biofeedback, Psychology ; Humans ; Stroke

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of vitrification on the implantation the pregnancy of human blastocysts. METHOD: The transfer of the frozen-thawed blastocysts by the slow freezing or vitrification was performed between January 1998 and July 1999. The zygotes derives from IVF were cocultured with cumulus cells in YS medium containing 20% hFF for 5days. Two or three of the best balstocysts produced on day 5 were transferred into the uterus, and then supernumerary blastocysts were randomly divided into two groups. One was frozen by slow freezing and the other was frozen by vitrification method. The slow freezing procedure was performed in two steps (5% glycerol and 9% glycerol + 0.2 M sucrose for 10 min, respectively) using programmed freezer (-2degrees C/min to -7degrees C, 0.3degrees C and plunged into LN2). The blastocysts frozen by slow freezing were thawed at 36degrees C then removed glycerol in 7 steps. The vitrification procedure was performed in three steps (10% glycerol for 5 min, 10% glycerol + 20% ethylene glycol for 5 min, 25% glycerol + 25% ethylene glycol and directly LN2 within 1 min). The blastocysts frozen by vitrification were thawed at 20degrees C water then removed cryoprotectant in 3 steps. In each group, thawed blastocysts were cocultured with cumulus cells in YS medium containing 20% hFF for 18h and transferred into the uterus. The implantation rate was evaluated per transferred blastocysts and the pregnancy rate was evaluated per transfers. RESULTS: The survival rate of vitrified group (74.5%) was higher than slow freezing group (68.0%), but not significant. When 98 thawed blastocysts of vitrification were transferred in 40 cycles, 19 pregnancies (clinical pregnancy rate; 47.5%) were established. One miscarriage occurred in the eighth week of pregnancy (ongoing pregnancy rate; 45.0%). 7 pregnancies were ongoing, 11 pregnancies went to term, and 16 healthy infants were born. The Implantation rate was 31.6%. These results were higher than those obtained by the slow freezing (clinical pregnancy rate; 40.3%, ongoing pregnancy rate; 32.5% and implantation rate; 25.3%), but not significant. CONCLUSION: Vitrification is a simple, quick and economical method when compared to slow freezing. It will be chosen as a good method of human embryo freezing in IVF-ET programs.
Abortion, Spontaneous ; Blastocyst* ; Cumulus Cells ; Embryonic Structures ; Ethylene Glycol ; Female ; Freezing ; Glycerol ; Humans ; Infant ; Pregnancy Rate ; Pregnancy* ; Sucrose ; Survival Rate ; Uterus ; Vitrification* ; Water ; Zygote

No abstract available.
Infarction*

Sarcoma of the kidney is a rare condition. Leiomyosarcoma is the most common of the kidney sarcomas. Renal leiomyosarcoma usually originates from the smooth muscle layers of the kidney, for example, the renal capsule and renal vessels. Renal pelvis neoplasms, however, are primarily transitional cell carcinomas, and renal pelvis leiomyosarcomas are extremely uncommon. Renal pelvis leiomyosarcoma has never been reported in Korea. Moreover, no more than 10 cases have been reported internationally. However, none of these were associated with kidney abnormalities. Here we describe a case of leiomyosarcoma that originated from the blind end of a bifid renal pelvis.
Female ; Humans ; Kidney Neoplasms/*pathology ; Kidney Pelvis/*pathology/radiography ; Leiomyosarcoma/*pathology ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was done to evaluate the effects of digital image processing techniques on the detectability of simulated pulmonary nodules and cysts in chest radiographs. Image processing techniques used were the contrast inversion, unsharp masking, and filtered equalization method. Simulated pulmonary nodules and cysts were generated by the computed program using Turbo-C language for personal computer. Each processed and unprocessed image sets of sixty images with pulmonary nodules and cysts and one hundred and twenty normal images were analyzed by three board-certified radiologists and four senior residents training in diagnostic radiology by five rating category. Area under the ROC curve was calculated using the trapezoidal rule. Mean area under the ROC curve of seven radiologists of the unprocessed image was 0.6360±0.0583, contrast inversion was 0.5660±0.0478, unsharp masking was 0.7534±0.0355 and filtered equalization was 0.6915±0.0472. Unsharp masking(p<0.01) and filtered equalization image(p<0.05) was statistically significant than unprocessed image. Digital chest radiographs processed by the unsharp masking method significantly increased the detectability of simulated pulmonary nodules and cysts overlapped with mediastinum and pulmonary cysts in free lung fields.
Lung ; Masks ; Mediastinum ; Methods ; Microcomputers ; Radiography, Thoracic* ; ROC Curve ; Thorax*

Thoracic outlet syndrome is a relatively common disease. However, costoclavicular syndrome as a condition secondary to nonunion of a displaced fracture of the clavicle is very rare. Most clavicular fractures in adults are united with no or minimal persistent symptoms. Also, symptomatic nonunion of a displaced fracture of the clavicle is rare. A 55-year-old male initially presented with persistent forearm pain after slip-down was initially diagnosed with simple muscle strain. However, he was given a delayed diagnosis of costoclavicular syndrome, caused by compression of the subclavian artery due to trauma in the fibrotic nonunion of the right clavicle without apparent symptoms. We obtained satisfactory results by surgical treatment. Here we report this case with a review of the literature.
Adult ; Clavicle ; Delayed Diagnosis ; Forearm ; Humans ; Male ; Muscles ; Sprains and Strains ; Subclavian Artery ; Thoracic Outlet Syndrome