The treatment of the established compartment syndrome in the forearm varies along the degree of the severity. We reviewed 17 cases of the established compartment syndrome in the forearm treated at Seoul National University Hospital from February 1979 to July 1985. Follow-up was performed more than one year in 14 cases. And the mean follow-up period was 30 months. Out of 17 cases operated on, mild involvement were found in 5 cases. Moderate and severe involvements were observed in 6 and 6 cases respectively. Tenolysis-tendon lengthening was done for 7 cases and proximal release (muscle-sliding operation) was performed in 8 cases. In two cases, living muscle and skin were transfered using microsurgical technique. In mildly to moderately affected, functional improvements can be obtained in most cases. The proximal release was superior to the tenolysis-tendon lengthening in this category of involvement. However, in severely involved group, the functional gain after the operation is slight in spite of the time consuming, difficult surgery including free muscle transfer. The neurological problems could be gradually improved without treatment in almost all cases.
Compartment Syndromes ; Follow-Up Studies ; Forearm ; Seoul ; Skin

Syndactyly is one of most common congenital anomalies of the limb. We reviewed 89 webs of 40 patient with syndactyly which had been treated at Seoul National University Hospital from 1979 to November 1984. It is the purpose of this article to compare the operative methods used in the treatment of syndactyly. In our hands, using the volar interdigital flap in the treatment of syndactyly gives the most excellent postoperative result in both function and cosmesis.
Extremities ; Hand ; Humans ; Seoul ; Syndactyly

The dynamic blood flow is regulated by the numerous complex mechanisms. Since blood flow varies directly with the radius of the vessel, blood flow is markedly affected by small changes in the caliber of the vessels. Using the hotoplethysmography, we assessed the relative changes of blood flow after topical application of the vasoactive drugs to the femoral arteries of the rabbits. It is the purpose of this study to evaluate the immediate and delayed effects of the vasoactive drugs such as epinephrine, methylergonovine, chymopapain, and lidocaine in course of time when the drugs applied topically to the vessel. 60 rabbits were divided into 6 experimental groups. In group I, the femoral artery was surgically exposed only. In Group g-A, epinephrine was applied to the femoral artery after surgical exposure. In Group Il-B, after spplication of epinephrine, the effect of epiniphrine was reversed with lidocaine. Another drugs were applied as follows methylergonovine in Group Hl-A, methylergonovine and lidocaine in Group Ill-B as in group Il-B, Chymopapain in Group lV. The relstive changes of blood flow were measured by the photoplethymograph for 3 weeks. The results are as follows ; 1. The amplitude of the photoplethysmographic wave decreased immediately after the topical application of epinephrine, methylergonovine and chymopapain. Such an effect could be observed until the 3rd week after the topical application of the drugs, 2. The delayed dffect of reducing the amplitude could be seen during the 1st week in the epinephrine and methylergonovine treated groups. However, it was seen after 1st week in the chymopapain treated group. 3. The delayed effect of epinephrine and methylergonovine could be reversed with lidocaine. 4. It seems that lidocaine can be used clinically to preyent the delayed effect of epinephrine and methylergonovine.
Blood Vessels ; Chymopapain ; Epinephrine ; Femoral Artery ; Lidocaine ; Methylergonovine ; Photoplethysmography ; Rabbits ; Radius

Arthroscopic surgery of the knee is now a widely performed orthopedic technique. Of this, arthrosoopic surgery of discoid meniscus is one of the most technically demanding procedures of this field. In our experience, discoid meniscus was appeared to be frequently accompanied with villous hypertrophied synovium, which obstructed the arthroscopic view. The purpose of this study is to prove the presence of synovial hypertrophy in discoid meniscus and to develop an adequate portal of entry for successful arthroscopic surgery of discoid meniscus. 155 cases of arthroscopy of the knee were performed at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, College of Medicine, Seoul National University between January 1987 and March 1988. Of these, 25 cases were discoid menisci and they were all lateral. Operative findings were observed through arthroscopy and they were also reviewed by recorded video tapes in 25 cases of arthroscopic surgery of discoid meniscus and 57 cases of non-discoid meniscal lesions for the presence of synovial hypertrophy. Synovial biopsy was performed in selected cases with synovial hypertrophy for observation of histological findings. Hypertrophied synovium in discoid meniscus was mainly localized in anterior compartment and intercondylar area of tibia. Therefore, when conventional anterolateral or anteromedial portals were used, much difficulty was confronted because hypertrophied synovium obstructed the visual field and crowding with surgical instruments was occurred in restricted space of discoid meniscus. Much more clear visual field was obtained when the medial midpatellar portal was used instead of conventional portals. The conclusions of this study are as follows : 1. The incidence of discoid meniscus was 16.1%. 2. Synovial hypertrophy was present in all 25 cases of discoid meniscus and 21 cases among 57 non-discoid meniscal lesions(35%) on operative findings 3. Synovial biopsy of hypertrophied synovium showed irritative nonspecific inflammatory lesions but there was no histologicsl differences between discoid and non-discoid meniscus. 4. Medial midpatellar portal is considered to be better approach than conventional portals for clear visual field and less crowding with instruments in arthroscopic surgery of lateral discoid meniscus.
Arthroscopy ; Biopsy ; Crowding ; Hypertrophy ; Incidence ; Knee ; Orthopedics ; Seoul ; Surgical Instruments ; Synovial Membrane ; Tibia ; Visual Fields

Authors developed a new method of measuring spinal sagittal curve that is easy and and practical using the lower border of the vertebral body. The intersecting angle was defined as the angle formed bythe perpendicular line drawn from the lower margin of the upper vertebral body with the lower margin of the lower vertebral body which is nearer to the vertebral body. The segmental angle was defined as the intersecting angle minus 90 degrees. A positive segmental angle meant lordosis and negative segmental angle, kyphosis. Authors studied standing lateral thoracolumbosacral films of 80 back pain and deformity free Korean adults who visited Seoul National Universty Hospital during the period of Jan. 1988 to Jun. 1988 using this method to determine the normal segmental sagittal angle and the kypholordotic junction. With statistical analysis of the results, we came to following conclusions. l. Indivdual segments showed its typical sagittal angle. There was no age and sex difference in segments T10 to L5. 2. The gross lordosis of the lumbosacral spine from Ll to Sl showed no age and sex difference. But the Sl segment was more lordotic in males with no age difference. 3. The Ll segment was the kypholordotic junction which was in slight kyphosis 4. The normal ranges of sagittai ourve obtained in this experiment can be used as a guideline to contouring spinal internal fixation device in the sagittal plane.
Adult ; Animals ; Back Pain ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Humans ; Internal Fixators ; Kyphosis ; Lordosis ; Male ; Methods ; Reference Values ; Seoul ; Sex Characteristics ; Spine

Homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) is a rare inherited disorder that presents as abnormally elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and premature heart disease, requiring frequent intervention through lipid apheresis for management. The risk of perioperative cardiac events is higher in patients with HoFH because of its pathophysiological manifestations in the vascular system. Careful cardiac precautions and anesthetic assessments are necessary to ensure patient safety. In the following case report, we discuss the clinical course and anesthetic considerations for a 14-year-old girl with HoFH undergoing sedation for dental extractions and mandibular molar uprighting in an outpatient oral surgery clinic. Considerations included the use of heparin in the patient's weekly plasma lipid apheresis treatment. In order to reduce the risks of peri- and postoperative bleeding and perioperative cardiac events, the operation was scheduled for 4 days after apheresis. This allowed for adequate heparin clearance, while also reducing the likelihood of possible cardiac events. A literature review revealed no results for the outpatient management of patients with HoFH undergoing sedation for noncardiac procedures. Our reported case serves as a clinical example for physicians to be utilized in the future.

We report a case of infantile fibrosarcoma in an 8-month-old boy manifested as a right-sided lower leg mass. Repeated local recurrence and distant metastasis were noted during the following three-year period. Whole body fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography scan revealed an asymptomatic metastasis involving the fourth lumbar vertebrae. The patient received chemotherapy (VAC regimen) with Cyberknife(R) stereotactic hypofractionated radiotherapy (26 Gy; 4 fractions). This treatment reduced tumor size by 23% without acute radiation toxicity even after 33 months. This case suggests that combining chemotherapy and this form of radiotherapy may be safe and effective against childhood spinal metastasis.
Drug Therapy* ; Fibrosarcoma* ; Humans ; Infant ; Leg ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Male ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Radiotherapy* ; Recurrence

OBJECTIVECleidocranial dysplasia (CCD) is a rare skeletal disease with autosomal dominant inheritance associated with mutation in RUNX 2. The authors report a Chinese girl with CCD in whom the mutation in RUNX 2 was identified.

METHODSClinical diagnosis was based on physical examination, radiological findings, and biochemical tests. For mutation detection, genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood using standard method. All 7 coding exons of RUNX 2 and their flanking intronic sequences were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the PCR products were then subjected to automatic DNA sequencing.

RESULTSThe affected girl showed typical clinical manifestations of CCD, including patent fontanelles, absent clavicles, short stature and dental anomalies. Direct sequencing of PCR-amplified fragments revealed a recurrent missense mutation, R190W (568 C > T), in RUNX 2. The mutation was further confirmed by Hae III restriction analysis.

CONCLUSIONA Chinese case of CCD was confirmed and the disease-causing mutation was linked to a recurrent point mutation in RUNX 2.

BACKGROUND: In Shenzhen, the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) system has been in service since 1997. This study aims to examine the operation of Shenzhen 120 EMS center and to identify the reasons of calling EMS. METHODS: In this retrospective quantitative descriptive study, the data from the Shenzhen 120 EMS registry in 2011 were analyzed. RESULTS: Shenzhen 120 EMS center is a communication command center. When the number of 120 are dialed, it is forwarded to the closest appropriate hospital for ambulance dispatch. In 2011, the Shenzhen 120 EMS center received 153160 ambulance calls, with an average of 420 calls per day. Calling emergency services was mainly due to traffic accidents. Trauma and other acute diseases constituted a majority of ambulance transports. The adult patients aged 15–60 years are the principal users of EMS. There are no recognized 'paramedic' doctors and nurses. The pre-hospital emergency service is under the operation of emergency departments of hospitals. Shenzhen at present does not have specialized pre-hospital training for doctors and nurses in post-trauma management. Moreover, specialized pre-hospital training, financial support, and public health education on proper use of EMS should be emphasized. CONCLUSION: The Shenzhen 120 EMS center has its own epidemiology characteristics. Traumatic injury and traffic accident are the main reasons for calling ambulance service. In-depth study emphasizing the distribution and characteristics of trauma patients is crucial to the future development of EMS.

OBJECTS:We investigated a possible association between the polymorphic trinucleotide repeat(TNR) expansion in neuronal potassium channel gene KCNN3 and schizophrenia. METHODS: CAG/CTG repeat distribution in KCNN3, CTG18.1 and ERDA1 was examined and the copy number of ligation product in repeat expansion detection(RED) was measured in Korean patients with schizophrenia(n=245) and ethnically matched healthy controls(n=116). RESULTS: Longer alleles in the KCNN3 gene were over-represented in patients. The frequency of alleles with CAG repeats longer than 19 copy in the KCNN3 gene was higher in the patients with schizophrenia as compared to controls(73.3% vs. 65.1%;p=0.029, Fisher's exact test). And this difference was more prominent in schizophrenic patients with familial background(p=0.03, Fisher's exact test). We found no difference in the frequency of longer alleles between negative and positive subtypes of schizophrenia. Ligation product size in RED and alleles with CAG repeat number in the CTG18.1 gene was not increased in the patients. The copy number of ligation product in RED was highly correlated with CAG/CTG copies of ERDA1 in the patient group(r=0.45, p<0.001) as well as in the control group(r=0.44, p<0.001). However, CAG repeat length in the KCNN3 gene was not correlated with ERDA1 score. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the hypothesis that the longer allele of KCNN3 may be considered as a candidate gene for schizophrenia, especially in the case with familial background. And the RED assay results was affected by the CAG copy number of ERDA1.
Alleles ; Humans ; Ligation ; Neurons ; Potassium Channels ; Schizophrenia*