STUDY DESIGN: The indications of the lumbosacral spinal fusion has been very controversial. The posterior lumbar interbody fusion has the popularity of the spinal fusion: coaption of large surface areas of cancellous bone without shear forces, anatomic restoration and maintenance of more normal dimensions of the joint space, total discectomy as preparation for the fusion, and the accomplishment of better neural decompression without creating instability of the spine. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the long-term results of the surgical management of degenerative lumbar disease by the modified transdiscal posterior lumbar interbody fusion technique using cancellous chip graft were analyzed. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: The disadvantages of classical posterior lumbar interbody fusion has a injury of nerve root by extensive retraction with the insertion of peg grafts into the disc space, compression of root by graft retropulsion, inadeguate removal of annulus fibrosus and end plates from excessive bleeding from venous plexus of spinal canal and from vertebral cancellous bone. MATERIALS & METHOD: Author's 43 cases who had transpedicular instrumentation and modified transdiscal PLIF using cancellous chip graft since 1989 in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Korea University Hospital were analyzed, retrospectively. After preparation of the interspace has been complete by total discectomy, removal of the cartilaginous end plates and perforation of the cortical plates using the ring curette, cancellous chip grafts are inserted into the interspace with the Funnel technique. The structural success of each fusion was documented by sequencial radiographs. The criteria for fusion included: homogenous amalgamation of the fusion mass and vertebral bodies, trabeculation, mass configuration, and no motion demonstrable by hyperflexion studies. The results obtained were as follows: 1. Stable fusion was obtained in 39 patients(91%) at post-operative 6 months. 2. Clinically no patient developed neurologic deficit after fusion and 41 patients (95.3%) had good results by Gill's criteria. 3. No significant complications influencing operative result were observed except minor complications such as paralytic ileus, transient dysuria and superficial infection. 4. In conclusion, modified transdiscal PLIF procedure using cancellous chip graft showed excellent clinical and radiological results to achieve spinal fusion and the procedure is technically feasible and should be considered more widely employed.
Decompression ; Diskectomy ; Dysuria ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction ; Joints ; Korea ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Orthopedics ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Canal ; Spinal Fusion ; Spine ; Transplants*

It is well-known that the infection of bone and joints could produce the shortening by destroying the articuiar cartilage and growth plate, or the lengthening hy increased hlood circulation to the epiphyseal and metaphyseal regions of long bone. Since 1985, we have treated total l7 cases of children s pyogenic or tuberculous children s knee with early arthrotomy and continuous irrigation etc. and followed their long hone growth for average 53 months after surgical intervention. Five patients (group I ) were early treated within 2 weeks and twelve patients(group 3 ) were delayed to treat their knees for more than 2 weeks of symptom development. Total 11 patients out of 17 cases(64.7%) (2 cases of group 1 pyogenic arthritis, and 1 case of group l and 8 cases of group II tuberculous arthritis) revealed growth acceleration. Femoral lengthening was much more greater than that of tibial growth, and the size of patella, distal femoral and proximal tibial epiphysis which were measured by computerized digitizer were also significantly larger than that of opposite knee. The total limb length was increased hy average 7mm in 6 months, l4mm in 1 year and 3mm in 2 years after operation. These results suggest the pyogenic and tuberculous arthritis in children s knee should he treated as early as possible after symptoms developed, and followed them to trace their limh inequality for at least 2 years after surgery. That means the early arthrotomy for tuberculous knee or even in pyogenic arthritis can preserve normal articular cartilage and can also prevent the early epiphyseal closure hy infection. and can get the limh lengthening by increased blood circulation around the knee joint.
Acceleration ; Arthritis ; Blood Circulation ; Cartilage ; Cartilage, Articular ; Child* ; Epiphyses ; Extremities ; Growth Plate ; Humans ; Joints ; Knee Joint* ; Knee* ; Lower Extremity* ; Patella ; Socioeconomic Factors

No abstract available.
Osteogenesis Imperfecta* ; Osteogenesis*

No abstract available.
Intestinal Atresia*

A number of noninvasive technics have been advocated as reflecting left ventricular performance. These methods include systolic time intervals, echocardiography and imaging of the left ventricular chamber with radionuclides during systole and diastole. Radionuclide evaluation of left ventricular function by means of the gamma camera and gating currently appears to be the most reliable noninvasive method for approximating angiographic evaluation of left ventricular performance. Utilizing the radionuclide angiography, we measured the left ventricular function in 19 normal healthy control, 60 patients with coronary artery diseases 7 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, 5 patients with hypertension. 1) Left ventricular ejection fraction decreased in 12 patients with anterior myocardial infarction (39.9+/-11.6%), 17 patients with inferior myocardial infarction (49.9+/-8.4%) and 7 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (19.0+/-5.8%), and there was a statistically significant difference compared with 19 normal control group (63.5+/-8.2%)(p<0.005). However there were no statistically significant difference between normal control group, patients with hypertension (58.8+/-7.6%) and patients with angina pectoris (60.1+/-6.5%). 2) Left ventricular ejection fraction decreased in both anterior and inferior myocardial infarction, and there was a statisically significant difference between both groups (p<0.01). All 13 patients with acute myocardial infarction had abnormal LVEF (40.5+/-9.1%) whcih was significantly lower than that of 16 patients with old myolardial infarction (50.1+/-10.5%)(p<0.01).
Angina Pectoris ; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated ; Coronary Artery Disease* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Diastole ; Echocardiography ; Gamma Cameras ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Infarction ; Inferior Wall Myocardial Infarction ; Myocardial Infarction ; Radioisotopes ; Radionuclide Angiography* ; Stroke Volume ; Systole ; Ventricular Function, Left*

No abstract available.
Hematuria* ; Humans ; Mass Screening* ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms* ; Urinary Bladder*

No abstract available.

PURPOSE: To describe our initial experience of laparoscopic pyeloplasty, with retrograde stenting, using flexible cystoscopes, in 9 cases of ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between September, 2004 and January, 2006, 9 cases of UPJO were treated by laparoscopic pyeloplasty. All of the medical records were reviewed retrospectively. The cases comprised of 5 males and 4 females, with a mean age of 37 years (13-58). All patients showed a preoperative grade 4 hydronephrosis. RESULTS: Two laparoscopic pyeloplasty approaches were performed; a transperitoneal approach in 5 cases and a retroperitoneal approach in the other 4. All cases were treated with dismembered Anderson-Hynes pyeloplasty. The mean operating time was 249 minutes (170-324), including a mean of 7.1 minutes (6.5-8) for ureteral stenting. The patients were found to have aberrant vessels and renal stones in 1 and 3 cases, respectively. There were no intra-operative complications or open conversion. Of the 9 cases, 8 (89%) showed a decrease in their hydronephrosis grade on the excretory urographs taken 12 weeks postoperatively. The remaining case showed a marked improvement in the hydronephrosis, despite having no change in the hydronephrosis grade. No case experienced postoperative flank pain or recurrence of acute pyelonephritis. Therefore, symptomatic improvements were observed in all our cases (100%). CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic pyeloplasty, with retrograde stenting, using flexible cystoscopes, can be considered an effective and convenient method for the treatment of UPJO.
Cystoscopes* ; Cystoscopy ; Female ; Flank Pain ; Humans ; Hydronephrosis ; Laparoscopy ; Male ; Medical Records ; Pyelonephritis ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Stents* ; Ureter ; Ureteral Obstruction

PURPOSE: We evaluated the contralateral patent processus vaginalis(CPPV) by transinguinal laparoscopy in boys with unilateral inguinal hernia, to determine its incidence and the association with various clinical parameters. We also investigated the factors responsible for the development of a metachronous inguinal hernia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred sixty seven boys with unilateral inguinal hernia were analyzed. The morphology of the ring was classified into four patterns(type 1, 2a, 2b, and 3). We analyzed the morphology of the internal ring and the variables related to a CPPV by age, laterality and the size of the ipsilateral and/or bilateral hernia sac. RESULTS: The incidence of a CPPV was 33.9%. The positive predictive value was 94.9%(56/59). There was no statistical difference in the incidence of a CPPV by laterality. The incidence of a CPPV was significantly higher in the group with a larger size(>or=1cm) compared to the smaller abnormalities(<1cm). The incidence of the type 3 pattern was higher than the type 2b pattern in the group with larger abnormalities. With increasing age, type 1 and 2a patterns increased in frequency, but type 2b decreased and the type 3 pattern was stable. The size of the contralateral hernia sac was significantly larger with the type 3 pattern than the type 2b. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study showed that the size of the hernia sac and patient age were related to the presence of a CPPV. A type 3 pattern was associated with a more primitive morphology, a wider hernia sac and no change in the incidence with advancing age. Therefore, the findings of this study suggest that a metachronous inguinal hernia develops more commonly in patients with a type 3 pattern internal ring.
Diagnosis ; Hernia* ; Hernia, Inguinal* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Laparoscopy* ; Risk Factors*

The frequency of stab wounds is gradually increasing and patients with stab wounds visit the hospital through the emergency room. Management options for patients with stab wound include mandatory exploration and selective observation, but recently many authors have emphasized the importance of selective conservation with development of diagnostic procedure and controversy still exists concerning the management of patients with stab wounds. We retrospectively analysed the clinical data of 78 patients with stab wounds who visited the emergency room of St. Paul's Hospital over 5 years from January 1 1992 to December 31 1996. The following results were obtained. 1) The most prevalent age group were the twenties & the thirties(58.9% of patient) and then most patients were of young age. The male to female ratio was 2.9: 1. 2) Most injuries occurred at night between 8p.m. and 4a.m.(61.5%) and during September injuries were most frequent. 3) The most common causes of stab wound were fighting(55.1%) followed by suicide (21.8%), then accidents including traffic accidents(16.7%) and robbery(6.4%). 4) The instruments most commonly used were knives(53.8%) and broken glass(28.2%). 5) Half of patients were drunk from alcohol and in 3 cases from an antipsychotic drug. 6) In 11 cases(14.1%), there were multiple wound sites and in 8 cases(10.3%) superficial wounds into subcutaneous fatty tissue. 7) According to stab wound sites, the extremities were wounded in 36 cases(46.2%), chest in 21 cases(26.9%), abdomen in 15 cases(19.2%) and neck in 7 cases(9.0%). 8) Emergency explorations were performed in 43 cases(55.1%) under general or regional anesthesia, which included neck in 4 cases(9.3%), chest in 3 cases(7.0%), abdomen in 11 cases(25.6%) and extremity in 25 cases(58.1%). In exploratory laparotomy, negative exploration rate was 18.2%. 9) Death occurred in 2 cases(2.6%). One died due to sepsis with multiple colon perforation and the other due to hypovolemic shock with Superior Vena Cava injury.
Abdomen ; Adipose Tissue ; Anesthesia, Conduction ; Colon ; Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Extremities ; Female ; Humans ; Laparotomy ; Male ; Multiple Trauma ; Neck ; Retrospective Studies ; Sepsis ; Shock ; Suicide ; Thorax ; Vena Cava, Superior ; Wounds and Injuries ; Wounds, Stab*