Seidel nail is one of locked humeral nail and Seidel himself reported excellent result in his preliminary report using his nail. But our early experience showed disappointing result with high rate of complications, So we reviewed our 16 cases of humeral shaft fracture with polytrauma treated with Seidel nail and studied anatomical fitness of the nail within the distal medullary space using CT scan. The most frequent complication was intraoperative fracture of the proximal humerus < 4 cases> and this seemed to be due to lateral placement of pilot hole. There were 3 cases of nonunion and these cases showed insufficient distal anchorage, either primarily or postoperatively. Anatomical fitness study showed insufficient spreading of nail flanges in 5 cases of distal canal width below 9mm and nonunion cases were in this group. Other problems of Seidel nail were technical difficulties due to occasionally incorrect proximal targeting device and frequent breakage of adaptor screw. Study of more cases may be needed to confirm the design problem of Seidel nail.
Humerus ; Multiple Trauma ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

No abstract available.
Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous*

To evaluate characteristic CT findings of orbital pseudotumor and to define differentialpoints from other pathology, the authors retrospectively reviewed CT of 19 patients who were prooen to have orbital pseudotumor by clinical course and, in some cases, biopsy. A variety of CT findings including extraocular muscle thickening(11 cases), streaky infiltration of retroorbital fat(11 cases), mass formation(10 cases), optic nerve thickening (6 cases), conjunctival thickening (5 cases), scleral thickening(4cases), enlarged lacrimal gland(4 cases) and destruction of orbital bone (2 cases) were observed. Thickening of the anterior portion and irregular margin were characteristic findings of extraocular muscle and optic nerve lesions. Mass formation predominantly occurs in the anterior portion of the orbit. In most cases more than two orbital structures are involved by lesion.
Biopsy ; Humans ; Optic Nerve ; Orbit* ; Orbital Pseudotumor* ; Pathology ; Retrospective Studies

Access to the craniofacial skeleton and skull base requires osteotomies. An adequate exposure of neoplasms occupying the skull base and the oral cavity and oropharynx, especially retromolar trigone, is very important for precise tumor ablation. The demonstration by Tessier of the capacity for large segments of bone to survive removal and replacement has enabled skull base tumor surgery to grow into a subspeciality. Through the refined craniofacial exposure osteotomies, the surgery is safer, the operation shorter, and the result better both oncologically and reconstructively. We experienced 24 cases of exposure osteotomies consisting of 12 cases transzygomatic approaches, 1 case tranglabellar osteotomy, 1 case lateral transmaxillary approach, 1 case Le Fort II & midline splitting, and 9 cases mandibulotomy. There was no significant complication except a local wound infection in transzygomatic approach and one case of minimal malocclusion after parasymphyseal mandibulotomy. The orthotopic bone graft and the rigid fixation enables the postoperative morbidity to decrease. It seems that the previously inaccessible craniofacial tumors can be treated through the various exposure osteotomies.
Malocclusion ; Mouth ; Oropharynx ; Osteotomy* ; Skeleton ; Skull Base ; Transplants ; Wound Infection

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of vigabatrin and valproic acid add-on therapy in the treatment of uncontrolled partial-onset seizures through randomized active controlled parallel-group trial. METHODS: Criteria for entry included a requirement for three or more partial seizures per month despite the blood level of carbamazepine was within therapeutic range. During the 56-day baseline period, patients had at least 6 partial onset seizures. Vigabatrin or valproic acid were administered as the second drug in a randomized fashion. RESULTS: Forty one patients completed the trial(21 for vigabatrin, 20 for valproic acid). There is no statistically significant difference in age, age at onset, baseline seizure frequency, dose of carbamazepine, and serum level of carbamazepine between two groups. Two patients of vigabatrin-treated group and three patients of valproic acid treated group were dropped out because of side effects. The mean vigabatrin and valproic acid does were 2809 and 1490 mg, respectively. The percentage of patients achieving at least a 50% reduction in seizure frequency at the end of 8-week of add-on trial was 62% among vigabatrin-treated patients and was 50% for patients who received valproic acid(not statistically different). There was no significant difference in seizure reduction, percent seizure reduction, and truncated percent seizure reduction between two groups. The side effects were mild and transient neurotoxic symptoms in the patients who completed the trial(5 patients for vigabatrin, 10 patients for valproic acid). CONCLUSIONS: This trial indicates that vigabatrin and valproic acid are safe and effective in the treatment of intractable partial-onset seizures. The efficacy of vigabatrin as a new add-on antiepileptic drug is comparable to the previous valproic acid carbamazepine combination in the sense of seizure reduction and maybe even superior to that in the consideration of side effects
Carbamazepine* ; Humans ; Seizures* ; Valproic Acid* ; Vigabatrin*

The apoptosis, a distinctive type of individual cell necrosis, has been considered to play a complementary but opposite role to mitosis in the regulation of animal cell populations. It can be initiated or inhibited by a variety of environmental stimuli, physiologically and pathologically. Apoptosis seems to appear in either non-neoplastic or neoplastic tissues, even malignant tumors in the state of untreatment or irradiation. This study was carried out to investigate the spontaneous occurrence of apoptosis in squamous carcinomas of the uterine cervix and its mechanisms. Light microscopically, noted were the condensation and fragmentation of individual tumor cells with formation of apoptotic bodies that were frequently phagocytosed by nearby intact tumor cells. They were commonly seen in the neighbourhood of coagulative necrosis. Electron microscopically (TEM and SEM), noted were nuclear condensation, margination toward the nuclear membrane and fragmentation of membrane-bounded apoptotic bodies that were well preserved. The intracellular apoptotic bodies were phagosomes and reduced to electron-dense lysosomal residual bodies. The conclusion obtained was as follow: Apoptosis was found in all cases of squamous carcinoma of the uterine cervix, of which the frequency was higher in tumors of poor differentiation than those of well to moderate differentiation. The process of the apoptosis is considered to pass through the step of formation of the apoptotic bodies, phagocytosis by adjoining tumor cells or histiocytes, and then degradation as lysosmal residual bodies.
Animals

The pulmonary microvasculatures of rats were studied by injection replicas prepared from Mercox. This medium enabled us to easily obtain consistent, stable, and complete injected replicas of the pulmonary vasculature. In order to investigate the three dimensional structures of the tributaries of the bronchial artery, such as the capillary plexus and vasa vasorum, we performed a scanning electron microscopic(SEM) study of the vascular casts, using Mercox CL-2B as a media. The alveolar capillaries revealed hexagonal or pentagonal rings of vascular networks. In some areas, the vascular rings composed a square network, The bronchial tree was supplied by the bronchial arteries which form a coarse capillary extending as far as the terminal bronchioles. Occasionally the capillary plexus was connected with adjacent capillary networks in and around the alveolar walls. The walls of the pulmonary artery revealed only a single layer of the vasa vasorum, but those of the pulmonary vein were surrounded by more complicated and well developed vasa vasorum than the pulmonary arterial side. The mean diameters of the venous vasa vasorum are greater than the arterial vasa vasorum.
Rats ; Animals

This study was carried out to investigate the morphologic characteristics and localization of antigenic molecules of Pneumocystis carinii in experimentally induced P. carinii pneumonia in rats. After six weeks of administration of low protein diet and dexamethasone, Sprague-Dawley rats were sacrificed to submit lungs or bronchoalveolar lavage for the study. Monoclonal (092, 900, 902, and 904) and polyclonal (SP-D) antibodies were used for immunohistochemistry and immunoelectron microscopy (ITEM and ISEM). Immunohistochemically P. carinii organisms were well identified as clusters or separated forms in the alveolar spaces being frequently attached to the alveolar walls. Immunoelectron microscopically the adherences of gold particles were observed on the surface of all stages of the P. carinii. Occasionally positive immunogold labeling was observed in the cytoplasm of the trophozoites and on the pellicle of the intracystic bodies within the cysts. The monoclonal antibodies 092, 900, 902, and 904 reacted mainly with pellicles of P. carinii, whereas SP-D labeled on the pellicles, intracystic bodies, cytoplasms of the alveolar macrophages, and free floated surfactant material in the alveolar spaces. The immunogold particles were observed more diffusely and intensely in the cysts than in the trophozoites. These results indicate that antigen is mainly localized on the pellicles, and accumulated during development from the trophozoite to the cyst stages.
Animals ; Antibodies ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage ; Cytoplasm ; Dexamethasone ; Diet, Protein-Restricted ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lung ; Macrophages, Alveolar ; Microscopy, Electron ; Microscopy, Immunoelectron ; Pneumocystis carinii* ; Pneumocystis* ; Pneumonia ; Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein D ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Trophozoites

Increase of AST and ALT is a common biochemical finding in patients with multiple trauma. So it is difficult to make a decision for appropriate operation timing and to predict prognosis with consideration of parenchymal liver disease. We studied patients with multiple trauma who admitted to orthopedic department with increased AST & ALT and patients who had hepatitis from Jan. 1993 to Dec. 1993. The patients were checked AST & ALT on admission day and followed by the 3rd, 5th, 9th day, second and third week. We checked the relation of changed level of these enzymes and severity of injury, combined abdominal trauma, head trauma and the presence of HBs Ag/Ab. We concluded as followed: 1) Traumatized patients had high AST than ALT during first 3 days but hepatitis patients had higher ALT than AST during throughout admission days. High ALT in hepatitis patients had statistically significance compare to traumatized patients. 2) Traumatized patients with high AST were decreased more rapidly than ALT and showed normalized enzymatic level by 3rd week. 3) The AST level was higher in severely injured patients and it was statistically significant within first 3 days. But ALT was not correlated with the severity of injury. 4) In patients with abdominal injury, AST was higher than ALT and AST had significance but ALT had none. 5) There is no specific correlation between these enzyme level in neurosurgical problem and the presence of HBsAg/Ab.
Abdominal Injuries ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Hepatitis ; Humans ; Liver Diseases ; Multiple Trauma ; Orthopedics ; Prognosis

We measured normal range and mean value of the posterior laxity of normal knee which might be reference for objective and accurate diagnosis, decision of operative indication and position of knee during fixation of ligament, and role of quadriceps building in posterior cruciate ligament injury patients. These results were obtained by measurement and analysis of posterior laxity of normal knee by means of KT-2000 Knee Ligament Arthrometer. We measured 184 Korean adults (100 males, 84 females), and their average age, height, weight, and thigh circumference were 29.8 years, 165.8cm, 59.8kg, 41.2cm, respectively. At 25 degrees of knee flexion, mean posterior displacement of normal knee was 21.2mm with 15lb posterior tibial loading, 2.41mm with 20lb posterior tibial loading. And when quadriceps were tense, laxity was 0.79mm and 0.95mm at the same degree of knee flexion. At 75 degrees of knee flexion, the results were 0.57mm, 0.58mm, 0.26mm, and 0.28mm respectively. Right to left difference of posterior displacement with 20lb posterior tibial loading was 0.07mm at 25 degrees of knee flexion and 0.06mm at 75 degrees of knee flexion. We thought that above 75 degrees of knee flexion is suitable for knee position at the time of graft fixation because 75 degrees of knee flexion markedly decreased(75%) posterior displacement compare to 25 degrees of knee flexion. When quadriceps were tense, remarkable decrease of posterior laxity of normal knee was checked(58%), so we noticed quadriceps building is important to management of posterior cruciate ligament injury patients.
Adult ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Knee ; Ligaments ; Male ; Posterior Cruciate Ligament ; Reference Values ; Thigh ; Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation ; Transplants