Anomalous development of the odonteid precess is an uncommon clinical occurence that can seriously impair the integrity af the atlantoaxial articulation. Absence of the odontoid process may be either congenital or acquired, but clinically the etiology is of little importance as the clinical signs and symptoms and the treatment are identical in both. We experienced a case of congenital absence of the odontoid process and good result was obtained from the posterior atlantoaxial fusion with hale-cast.
Odontoid Process

Decompression sickness is a disease caused by nitrogen bubbles in the tissues of divers who move too rapidly from environments of higher to those of lower atmospheric pressures. Nitrogen breathed in air under pressure dissolves in tissue fluids. When ambient pressure is reduced too rapidly, nitrogen goes out of solution faster than it can be circulated to the lungs for expiration. Gaseous nitrogen then accumulates in the joint spaces and peripheral circulation, impairing tissue oxygenation. We report a case of patient who experiencedneurogenic bladder and erectile dysfunction after decompression sickness. To our knowledge, this is the first case of neurogenic bladder and erectile dysfunction due to decompression sickness in the Korean literature.
Atmospheric Pressure ; Decompression Sickness* ; Decompression* ; Erectile Dysfunction* ; Humans ; Joints ; Lung ; Male ; Nitrogen ; Oxygen ; Urinary Bladder ; Urinary Bladder, Neurogenic*

A 54-year-old man presented to the emergency department with a chief complaint of suprapubic pain and inability to void for 1 day after self insertion of urethral foreign bodies. These foreign bodies were two beans self inserted compulsively into the urethra by the patient. On physical examination, two materials of oval shape in the bulbous urethra were palpable. Retrograde urethrogram showed a complete obstruction in the bulbous urethra. When possible, endoscopic removal should be used for urethral foreign bodies. However the beans of our case required surgical retrieval. We present a case of foreign bodies in the urethra with brief review of literature. To our knowledge, this is the first case of acute urinary retention due to beans in Korean literature.
Emergency Service, Hospital ; Fabaceae ; Foreign Bodies* ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Physical Examination ; Urethra ; Urinary Retention*

No abstract available.
Prostate* ; Testis*

Since the first report by Berberich and Hirsch in 1923, conventional angiography had been playing essential roles in diagnosis and treatment in the field of Orthopedic Surgery. Angiography is still the most definitive method for evaluating arterial disease, and is also an invaluable aid in the diagnosis of certain abnormalities which characteristically alter the normal vascular pattern. But the clinical use of conventional angiography as a routine diagnostic study has been limited by the risk associated with arterial catheterization cost, and poor patient acceptance. With improvement of radionuclide angiography and development of the methods for the identification and amplification of signals from small quantities of intravascular administered iodinated contrast agent and their combination with image subtraction (so called digital subtraction angiography, DSA), we have partially substituted the DSA and Radionuclide angiography for conventional angiography in diagnosis and post-operative evaluation of orthopedic patients. We have analyzed and compared the 197 cases who had taken conventional angiography from August, 1981 to July, 1985, and 16 cases who had taken radionuclide angiography from January, 1983 to July, 1985, and 21 cases who had taken DSA from October, 1983 to July, 1985 in Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital. The results were as follow: 1. Conventional angiography is the most reliable and most widely used method in diagnosis of peri pheral arterial disease and evaluating the distribution of peripheral circulation of patient who need arterial reconstruction. But the clinical use of the angiography has been limited by the risk of complications. 2. DSA is simple, relatively non-invasive and can be done in out-patient basis. DSA is particulary useful and can replace the conventional angiography in post-operative assessment of peripheral vascular reconstruction, in the assessment of blunt and penetrating peripheral arterial trauma, and in the evaluation of peripheral aneurysm and vascular malformation. 3. Radionuclide angiography is also simple, and has no morbidity and useful in the patients who may be allergic to the contrast medium. Radionuclide angiography is useful in the evaluation of obstruction of major artery, deep vein thrombosis, and in repeated post-operative evaluation of arterial reconstruction.
Aneurysm ; Angiography ; Angiography, Digital Subtraction ; Arteries ; Catheterization ; Catheters ; Diagnosis ; Extremities ; Humans ; Methods ; Orthopedics ; Outpatients ; Radionuclide Angiography ; Seoul ; Vascular Malformations ; Venous Thrombosis

No abstract available.
Humans ; Stroke*

We report 2 cases of serotonin syndrome with variable symptoms after being treated with antidepressants. A 57-year-old woman developed agitation, diaphoresis, and tremor after combination therapy with fluoxetine and trazodone. The second patient, a 76-year-old female woman, became partially disoriented and developed brief, jerky myoclonus of all extremities after discontinuation of sertraline and consecutive imipramine treatment. These two patients rapidly improved with supportive care. The serotonin syndrome is not always easy to diagnose and sometimes causes a serious and fatal event. For this reason, if possible, the practice of multiple serotonergic drugs should be avoided because of the risk for potential serious pharmacodynamic drug interactions. Clinicians should not view the serotonin syndrome as an idiosyncratic reaction, but rather, as a predictable one with a variability in occurrence and severity among patients. Heightened awareness by clinicians will help to minimize pharmacodynamically mediated interactions that may occur between prescribed drugs and, ideally avoid this syndrome.
Aged ; Antidepressive Agents ; Dihydroergotamine ; Drug Interactions ; Extremities ; Female ; Fluoxetine ; Humans ; Imipramine ; Middle Aged ; Myoclonus ; Serotonin Agents ; Serotonin Syndrome* ; Serotonin* ; Sertraline ; Trazodone ; Tremor

Warfarin is widely used for the prevention of cerebral infarction, especially in patients with atrial fibrillation or artificial valve. Although hemorrhagic problems are well known, skin necrosis is a rare complication. Failures of early diagnosis or management may lead to serious results. We report a case of skin necrosis induced by warfarin therapy.
Anticoagulants ; Atrial Fibrillation ; Cerebral Infarction ; Early Diagnosis ; Humans ; Necrosis ; Skin ; Warfarin

Anesthegiologists commonly use arterial cannulation for both close blood pressure monitoring and repeated blood sampling for gas analysis. Radial artery cannulation is generally thought of as a safe and uncomplicated procedure, however, some possible complications have been reported. These include bleeding, hematoma, infection, pseudoaneurysm and thromboembolism, which do not usually result in any serious clinical problems. Although it is not common, thromboembolism could be serious because it can lead to digital ischemia and necrosis. We report here a case of finger necrosis following radial artery cannulation in a patient who underwent radical hysterectomy under general anesthesia.
Aneurysm, False ; Arteries ; Blood Pressure Monitors ; Catheterization ; Fingers ; Hematoma ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Ischemia ; Necrosis ; Radial Artery ; Thromboembolism