STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study OBJECTIVES: This study examined the effect of a TLSO brace treatment for the correction of axial rotational deformities in idiopathic scoliosis. SUMMARY OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW: A TLSO brace treatment is effective in correcting 2-dimensional deformities of idiopathic scoliosis but is questionable in axial rotational deformities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty three cases treated by bracing in March, 1999~February, 2005 at our department were reviewed. The posteroanterior and lateral radiographs were checked in the standing position throughout the study. The change in axial rotational deformity were analyzed using Nash & Moe method and Perdriolle's method. RESULTS: The rotational deformity had improved in 2 curves, was aggravated in 8 curves, and showed no change in 43 curves with the TLSO brace. CONCLUSIONS: The TLSO brace treatment in axial rotational deformity of idiopathic scoliosis is not effective in correcting the rotational deformity but is effective in preventing the progress of a rotational deformity.
Braces ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Orthotic Devices ; Retrospective Studies ; Scoliosis

PURPOSE: To analyze clinical, radiological and pathological features as well as clinical outcome after surgical treatment of patients with secondary chondrosarcoma arising from osteochondroma(tosis). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed clinical records, radiographs, pathologic slides of 14 patients. Nine patients were male and five were female. The mean age was 34 years. The mean follow-up period was 54 months. RESULTS: All patients had a history of previous mass since childhood or puberty. Preexisted osteochondroma was single in 3 patients and multiple in 10. Remaining 1 patient had multiple osteochondromatosis with enchondromatosis. MRI clearly provided thickness of cartilage cap, which was over 2 cm except in 2 cases. Chondrosarcoma was grade 1 in all except 1 case, which was grade 2. Wide excision was performed in 10 patients, marginal excision in 3 and amputation in 1. Twelve patients were doing very well without evidence of disease. Among 3 patients with marginal excision, 1 patient had local recurrence and 1 patient died of disease. CONCLUSION: Comprehensive understanding of clinical, radiological and pathological features of secondary chondrosarcoma is warranted for accurate diagnosis. The best result can be expected with early recognition of malignant change of osteohcondroma(tosis) and wide excision.
Amputation ; Cartilage ; Chondrosarcoma ; Enchondromatosis ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Osteochondroma ; Osteochondromatosis ; Puberty ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: To present the incidence and management of dural tears and cerebrospinal fluid leakage during corrective osteotomy [Pedicle Subtraction Osteotomy (PSO) or Smith-Petersen Osteotomy (SPO)] for ankylosing spondylitis with kyphotic deformity. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed for ankylosing spondylitis patients with fixed sagittal imbalance, who had undergone corrective osteotomy (PSO or SPO) at lumbar level. 87 patients were included in this study. 55 patients underwent PSO, 32 patients underwent SPO. The mean age of the patients at the time of surgery was 41.7 years (21-70 years). Of the 87 patients, 15 patients had intraoperative dural tears. RESULTS: The overall incidence of dural tears was 17.2%. The incidence of dural tears during PSO was 20.0%, SPO was 12.5%. There was significant difference in the incidence of dural tears based on surgical procedures (PSO vs. SPO) (p<0.05). The dural tears ranged in size from 12 to 221 mm2. A nine of 15 patients had the relatively small dural tears, underwent direct repair via watertight closure. The remaining 6 patients had the large dural tears, consequently direct repair was impossible. The large dural tears were repaired with an on-lay graft of muscle, fascia or fat harvested from the adjacent operation site. All patients had a successful repair with no patient requiring reoperation for the cerebrospinal fluid leak. CONCLUSION: The overall incidence of dural tears during PSO or SPO for ankylosing spondylitis with kyphotic deformity was 17.2%. The risk factor of dural tears was complexity of surgery. All dural tears were repaired primarily using direct suture, muscle, fascia or fat graft.
Cerebrospinal Fluid* ; Congenital Abnormalities* ; Fascia ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Osteotomy* ; Reoperation ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing* ; Sutures ; Transplants

PURPOSE: To analyze difference in bone mineral density (BMD) between intertrochanteric fracture and control group and to explore the predictive value of BMD for intertrochanteric fracture. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 57 patients who were over 60-year-old with intertrochanteric fracture were examined. For control group, 110 patients who did not have any fracture were selected. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry was studied at 1, 2, 3, 4 lumbar vertebrae, femoral neck, trochanter and Ward's triangle. BMD was compared at each site between two groups statistically. RESULTS: Fracture group consisted of 16 male, 41 female and was average 70.8 year old. Control group consisted of 21 male, 89 female and was average 68.1 year old. There was no differences in sex and age between two groups (p>0.05). BMD of L1, L2 and mean lumbar area were significantly less in fracture group than control group (p<0.05). There was no difference between two groups in BMD of another sites (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: BMD of L1, L2 and mean lumbar area in fracture group had lower value significantly, but had no differences between two groups at another sites. BMD of L1, L2 and mean lumbar area might be used as the most sensitive predictive indicator for risk of osteoporotic fractures including intertrochanteric fracture in elderly patient.
Absorptiometry, Photon ; Aged* ; Bone Density* ; Female ; Femur ; Femur Neck ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoporotic Fractures

The accuracy-based lipid (ABL) proficiency testing (PT) program was started in 2016 by the Korean External Quality Assessment Service to minimize the matrix effect. We analyzed 3 years of the program. We made or purchased six kinds of commutable frozen sera based on the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute 37A guideline and distributed it in two rounds per year from 2016 to 2018. We obtained reference values for levels of total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC), total glycerides, and triglycerides in each fresh frozen pool at the reference-measurement laboratories. We evaluated the average percent bias of the participating laboratories based on the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) bias limit. The number of participating laboratories evaluating TC, HDLC, LDLC, total glycerides, and triglycerides increased from 164 to 223, 163 to 223, 158 to 214, 98 to 139, and 61 to 82, respectively. The average percent bias of all participating laboratories for TC, HDLC, LDLC, total glycerides, and triglycerides was +0.14%, −0.54%, +2.9%, −1.08%, and −1.32%, respectively. The average percent bias exceeded the NCEP bias limit only once or twice for TC, HDLC, and total glycerides but frequently for LDLC (eight out of 18 pools). The manufacturer-specific bias estimation report seemed useful for traceability. Although the average percent bias of participating laboratories for TC, HDLC, LDLC, total glycerides, and triglycerides was mostly within the bias limit provided by NCEP, cases of bias limit exceeding the NCEP bias limit occurred occasionally, especially for LDLC during the 3 years of the ABL PT program in Korea, suggesting that ABL PT can be used to keep maintaining traceability.
Bias (Epidemiology) ; Cholesterol ; Education ; Glycerides ; Korea ; Laboratory Proficiency Testing ; Lipoproteins ; Reference Values ; Triglycerides

OBJECTIVE: To illustrate the technique of single-stage posterior subtotal corpectomy and circumferential reconstruction for the treatment of unstable thoracolumbar burst fractures and to evaluate the radiographical and clinical outcomes of patients treated using this technique. METHODS: 16 consecutive patients with unstable thoracolumbar burst fractures were treated with single-stage posterior subtotal corpectomy and circumferential reconstruction. The mean patient age was 54.8 years. The mean follower up period was 25 months. Five patients suffered from T12 fractures, 10 from L1, 1 from L2. The segmental kyphosis, neurologic status, visual analogue scale for back pain was evaluated before surgery and at follow up. RESULTS: The segmental kyphotic angle improved from 18.5 degrees before surgery to -9.2 degrees at the last follow up. The mean correction angle was 28.9 degrees. The mean surgical time was 255 minutes, and a mean intraoperative blood loss was 1073 mL. Intraoperative complications included two dural tears, and a superficial wound infection. There were no other severe complications. The mean visual analog scale of back pain decreased from a mean value of 6.6 to 2 at the last follow up. CONCLUSION: The single-stage posterior subtotal corpectomy and circumferential reconstruction achieved satisfactory kyphosis correction with direct visualization of the circumferentially decompressed spinal cord, as well as good fusion with less blood loss and complications. It is a safe and reliable surgical treatment option for unstable thoracolumbar burst fractures.
Back Pain ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Intraoperative Complications ; Kyphosis ; Operative Time ; Spinal Cord ; Tears ; Visual Analog Scale ; Wound Infection

No Abstract Available.
Korea* ; Mumps virus* ; Mumps*

BACKGROUND: We wanted to evaluate whether a minimal extrathyroid extension (METE) is associated with the clinicopathological parameters that are indicative of a poor prognosis, including lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis at the time of the initial diagnosis and tumor recurrence, in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), and especially in the patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC). METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated the medical records of patients with PTC and who had undergone total thyroidectomy with/without subsequent 131I remnant ablation at the Korea Cancer Center Hospital from January 1998 through December 2005. A total of 557 patients with PTC were enrolled in the study. We excluded 13 patients with an unknown status of extension and 29 patients with massive ETE. RESULTS: Of the 515 patients, 401 were found to have a METE. We analyzed the 464 patients who were without distant metastasis at the time of the initial diagnosis and who had a follow-up duration of more than 6 months. METE was not significantly associated with tumor recurrence during the follow-up period (median follow-up period: 122 months, range: 6-142 months): 8% vs. 15% of the patients with and without METE had tumor recurrence, respectively (P = 0.069 by the log-rank test). We analyzed the effect of tumor size in the patients with METE. Size was not significantly associated with tumor recurrence (P = 0.374 by the log-rank test). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that METE might not be a prognostic factor to predict tumor recurrence in patients with PTC, including PTMC.
Carcinoma ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; Factor IX ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Lymph Nodes ; Medical Records ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroidectomy

In the present report, we describe an unusual case of an intramural gastric abscess caused by a foreign body, detected in the form of a subepithelial tumor. A 64-year-old woman was referred to our gastroenterology clinic for further evaluation of a gastric subepithelial tumor. The patient presented with a 1-month history of sustained dull epigastric pain. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed an ill-demarcated, round, smooth, protruding lesion with a small central erosion on the great curvature of the proximal antrum. Endoscopic ultrasonography indicated the presence of an ovoid, heterogeneous, hypoechoic lesion with small echogenic foci located in the submucosa and muscularis propria layers. An abdominal computed tomography scan showed focal gastric wall thickening and regional lymph node enlargement. Endoscopic submucosal dissection was performed for definite diagnosis and management. Thus, we detected a toothpick and removed it using grasping forceps. The final diagnosis was an intramural gastric abscess caused by a toothpick.
Abscess* ; Diagnosis ; Endoscopy, Digestive System ; Endosonography ; Female ; Foreign Bodies ; Gastroenterology ; Hand Strength ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Middle Aged ; Surgical Instruments

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to determine whether the progressive increase of metabolic syndrome (MetS) score, the number of components of MetS, is correlated significantly with increasing pulse pressure (PP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: 4,034 subjects were enrolled from the Cardiovascular Genome Center of Yonsei University (M:F=2344:1690, 55.2 +/- 10.5). Most of the study population were recruited from hypertension clinics, controlled with medications according to JNC7 guidelines. The Asian modified criteria of MetS were applied and MetS score was estimated. The HOMA index for insulin resistance, cholesterol profiles, and anthropometric measurements were assessed. RESULTS: Among 4034 participants, 1690 (41.9%) were classified as MetS. Progressive increase in PP was demonstrated for increasing components of the MetS score. Multiple linear regression analysis with PP as the dependent variable showed that age (beta=0.311, p < 0.001), MetS score (beta=0.226, p < 0.001), male gender (beta=-0.093, p < 0.001) and HOMA index IR (beta=0.033, p=0.03) are significantly associated with PP (R(2)=0.207, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The present results from this study demonstrate that increasing MetS score is an independent determinant of increasing PP. The results also demonstrate the independent role of MetS in increasing arterial stiffness and PP.
Adult ; Age Distribution ; Aged ; Blood Pressure ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome X/*epidemiology/physiopathology ; Middle Aged