Splenic preservation and conservative management are now accepted norms when dealing with splenic pathologic conditions. Recently, we managed one case of splenic pseudocyst by successfully performing partial splenectomy via a laparoscopic approach. This case report possibly the first case report of its kind in Korea, describes laparoscopic partial splenectomy for an undiagnosed and suspected benign splenic lesion. A thorough understanding of splenic anatomy permits laparoscopic partial splenectomy with the resultant benefits, including a decreased risk of postsplenectomy sepsis by preserving splenic function, short hospital stay, smooth convalescence, superior cosmesis, and non-recurrence. The success and relative ease of performing this procedure will pave the way for its future use in other selective cases involving splenic pathology.
Convalescence ; Korea ; Length of Stay ; Pathology ; Sepsis ; Splenectomy*

Endothelial Cells ; metabolism ; pathology ; Humans ; Sepsis ; metabolism ; physiopathology

Perianal abscess and fistula are 2 distinct entities that share a common pathology. A horseshoe fistulous abscess, a complex type of these conditions, occurs when the suppurative inflammation spreads through the deep anal space to the bilateral ischiorectal fossae. Following the intersphincteric plane, this infection may extend to the pararectal space, forming a supralevator abscess. We present a very rare case involving a 52-year-old male patient who was admitted to our surgical department with an extraperitoneal purulent inflammation as a complication following multiple drainage procedures for a posterior horseshoe abscess. Emphasis is given to the anatomical and technical considerations of eradication of anorectal sepsis and the management of complex fistula-in-ano along with a concise review of the literature.
Abscess ; Drainage ; Fistula ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pathology ; Sepsis

Sepsis is an organ dysfunction caused by dysregulation of the body's response to infection, with high morbidity and mortality. The pathogenesis of sepsis is still unclear, and there are no specific treatment drugs. As a cell energy supply unit, the dynamic changes of mitochondria are closely related to various diseases. Studies have shown that structure and function of mitochondria are changed in different organs during sepsis. The energy shortage, oxidative stress change, imbalance of fusion and fission, autophagy reduce, biological functions of mitochondria play important roles in sepsis progress, which can provide a research target for the treatment of sepsis.
Humans ; Mitochondria/pathology* ; Sepsis/drug therapy* ; Oxidative Stress ; Autophagy

Humans ; Neutrophils/pathology* ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; Sepsis ; Retrospective Studies ; Bacteremia

A 7-year-old Thoroughbred gelding was admitted to Equine Hospital, Korea Racing Association for evaluation and treatment of colic. Based on the size and duration of the large colonic and cecal impaction, a routine ventral midline celiotomy and large colon enterotomy were performed to relieve the impaction. Six days following surgery the gelding exhibited signs of lethargy, fever, inappetence and diarrhea. Eleven days following surgery, the jugular veins showed a marked thrombophlebitis. On the sixteenth day of hospitalization the gelding died suddenly. Upon physical examination, the horse was febrile, tachycardic and tachypnoeic. Thoracic excursion appeared to be increased; however, no abnormal lung sounds were detected. No cough or nasal discharge was present. Hematology revealed neutrophilic leukocytosis. Serum biochemistry was normal but plasma fibrinogen increased. In necropsy, fibrinopurulent fluid was present in the thoracic cavity. There were firm adhesions between visceral pleura and thoracic wall. White, mixed and red thrombi were formed in both jugular veins from the insertion point of IV catheter. Histopathological examination showed fibrinopurulent inflammation and vascular thrombosis in the lung. The pleura showed edematous thickening and severe congestion. The clinicopathological and pathological findings suggest that septic thrombi associated with septic thrombophlebitis metastasized into the pulmonary circulation and were entrapped in the pulmonary parenchyma and provoked pleuropneumonia.
Animals ; Colic/*surgery ; Fatal Outcome ; Histocytochemistry ; Horse Diseases/*pathology ; Horses ; Male ; Pleuropneumonia/complications/pathology/*veterinary ; Postoperative Complications/pathology/*veterinary ; Sepsis/complications/pathology/veterinary ; Thrombophlebitis/complications/pathology/*veterinary

PURPOSE: Concerns about patients experiencing overwhelming postsplenectomy sepsis have led to the development of splenic preservation procedures, and the advanced understanding of splenic vascular anatomy has permitted splenic preserving operations and conservative medical management. These are now accepted alternative procedure when dealing with pathologically benign splenic conditions and traumatic splenic injuries. The aim of the present paper was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety to this new spleen conserving procedure compare to open splenectomy. METHODS: From December 1999 through April 2004, five patients with splenic cysts who were treated by splenectomy and laparoscopic function preserving surgery (LFPS) were enrolled in this study. We analyzed the operation time, the amount of blood loss, the time to restart a regular diet, the hospital stay and the postoperative CT to retrospectively confirm the results of the operations. RESULTS: In four cases, the pathologic findings were splenic pseudocysts, and the other case was a cystic lymphangioma. The operative times were 138 minutes (range: 120~156 minutes) for LFPS and 130 minutes (range: 100~170 minutes) for total splenectomy. The amounts of blood loss were 20~30 cc for LFPS, and 20~800 cc for open splenectomy. For LFPS, the patients started their diet at postoperative day 1st and they were discharged at 4th (range: 3~5) day without complication. But for total splenectomy, normal diet was started at the 3rd day (range: 2~4) and they were discharged at the 11th day (range: 3~22) and one patient had complications. For LFPS, on the CT that was done 3 month after operation, we confirmed the complete excision of cysts without any operation related complication, there was no evidence of recurrence and the splenic parenchyme was preserved in a normal fashion in all cases. CONCLUSION: The success and relative ease of performing this laparoscopic function preserving procedure will pave the way for its future use in other selective cases involving splenic pathology.
Diet ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Lymphangioma, Cystic ; Operative Time ; Pathology ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Sepsis ; Spleen ; Splenectomy

OBJECT: It is well known that infratentorial surgery is more difficult to approach to the lesion and may result in poorer outcome than supratentorial surgery. The prognostic factors and outcome were analyzed for one hundred forty-five consecutive patients who underwent surgical treatment for infratentorial tumor between 1989 and 1997. METHODS: Neurilemmoma was the most common tumor(41 cases), followed by astrocytoma(19 cases), hemangioblastoma(19 cases), medulloblastoma(18 cases), meningioma(17 cases) respectively. We studied the relationship between postoperative outcome known various factors retrospectively: age at surgery, pathology, duration of symptoms, tumor size, location of tumor, presence of hydrocephalus, and extent of resection. A statistical analysis of clinical characteristics was conducted to evaluate the significance of associations by student t-test. Surgical results were evaluated by Ojemann's method. RESULTS: Of 145 cases, excellent were in 25 patients, good in 60 patients, fair in 41 patients, poor in 9 patients, and dead in 10 patients. Large size of tumor(p<0.01) and presence of hydrocephalus(p<0.05) were factors that indicate poor outcome. Surgical results of tumors in the cerebellopontine angle(CPA) or clival area were poorer than those in cerebellum(p<0.05). Age, duration of symptom, pathology, and extent of resection did not influence postoperative outcome significantly. The most common postoperative complication was facial palsy(21 cases). The operative mortality was 6.9% and sepsis was the leading cause of death. CONCLUSION:Large size(p<0.01), presence of hydrocephalus(p<0.05), and location in CPA and clival region(p<0.05) were factors that indicate poor outcome after infratentorial tumor surgery.
Cause of Death ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus ; Infratentorial Neoplasms* ; Mortality ; Neurilemmoma ; Pathology ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Sepsis

Transplant glomerulopathy (TG) is a special form of glomerular injury in renal allografts. It affects varying proportions of glomeruli, which may have an influence on the amount of proteinuria or graft survival. We reviewed 32 cases of TG to evaluate histologic changes and graft outcome. The severity of TG as well as acute and chronic changes of the glomerular, tubulointerstitial and vascular compartment were scored according to Banff classification. There were 17 cases of cg1, 3 cases of cg2 and 12 cases of cg3. There was no significant difference in age, duration of transplant at time of biopsy and duration of follow-up between groups. Serum creatinine level and the degree of proteinuria were higher in cg3 and statistically significant. However, there was no difference in the degree of glomerulosclerosis, interstitial inflammation, fibrosis, tubular atrophy or vascular wall thickening between groups. Graft failure was present in 13 cases, mostly due to chronic rejection including sepsis and CMV infection in one case each. Five-year graft survival was 84.1% and was not significantly different from cases without TG. In conclusion, the severity of TG indicates profuse proteinuria, but does not affect graft outcome, which indicates tubulointerstitial and vascular pathology as being a more important prognosticator.
Allografts ; Atrophy ; Biopsy ; Classification ; Creatinine ; Fibrosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Graft Survival* ; Inflammation ; Pathology ; Proteinuria* ; Sepsis ; Transplants*

Meckel's diverticulum is generally acknowledged to be the most prevalent congenital anomaly of the gastrointestinal tract. The preoperative diagnosis of Meckel's diverticulum is difficult, especially in neonates, because of the lesions ability to masquerade as one of a variety of much more common abdominal pathologies. Recently we experienced a case of perforated Meckel's diverticulum with mild inflammatory reaction, intestinal adhesion, and small bowel obstruction in a previous healthy 9-day-old neonate. The spontaneous perforation of Meckel's diverticulum in neonate is very rare but serious entity. The course was rapid and progressed to sepsis. So despite its varied presentation, Meckel's diverticulum should be kept in mind as a cause of acute abdomen in neonates.
Abdomen, Acute* ; Diagnosis ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn* ; Intestinal Obstruction ; Meckel Diverticulum* ; Pathology ; Sepsis