Adhesive forces between the retina and the retinal pigment epithelium, which is mainta ined by active mechanisms unique for living animals, deteriorates rapidly after death and leads to spontaneous retinal detachment. Change of retinal adhesiveness in rabbits after death was investigated using a new method. Retinal detachment was induced by applying various levels of aspiration power from 0 to 1OO mmHg to the vitreous cavity using a vitrectomy instrument immediately after the rabbit was killed without enucleation. And the time required for creating the retinal detachment was measured. Retinal adhesiveness deteriorated and spontaneous retinal detachment occurred 28 minutes and 35 seconds after death confirming the active adhesion between the retina and the retinal pigment epithelium before death Increase of aspiration power led to shortening of time required for creating retinal detachment. From aspiration powers of 0 to 100 mmHg, the common logarithm of time required for retinal detachment was inversely proportional to the aspiration power [IogY = 1.45215 - 0.01113X, (R2=0.99041), X: aspiration power (mmHg), Y: time required for creating retinal detachment (minutes)]. Thus, presumed time of retinal detachment could be estimated between the aspiration powers of 0 to 100 mmHg.
Adhesiveness ; Adhesives* ; Animals ; Postmortem Changes* ; Rabbits ; Retina* ; Retinal Detachment ; Retinal Pigment Epithelium* ; Retinaldehyde* ; Vitrectomy

BACKGROUND: Improvements in catheter equipments and increasing experience of the operators have brought about a broadening of the indications and applications of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty(PTCA). In particular, coronary angioplasty has been employed in total occlusions.We evaluated the initial success rate and safety of PTCA total occulsive coronary artery disease. METHODS: To assess the success rate and safety of PTCA total coronary artery occlusion, the data of 24 patients(male 19, female 5, mean age 55+/-9 years), in whom PTCA for total occlusion were performed, were examined. RESULTS: Primary success rate of procedure was 66.7%(16 out of 24 lesions).The success rate according to the duration of total occlusions was 8 out of 11(72.7%) with occlusions<4 weeks duration and 3 out of 7(42.9%) with occlusions>4 weeks duration(p=0.07). There was no difference in success rate according to vassel dilate(left anterior descending 75.0%, right coronary 44.4%) and length of occluded lesion(0.93%+/-0.47%cm, p=0.35). Eight procedural failures included inability to cross the lesion with a guide wire in 6 and inability to dilate the lesion in 2, but there was no emergency coronary bypass surgery or cardiac death. CONCLUSION: Even though the recanalization of occluded coronary arteries has a lower initial success rate than angioplasty for stenotic arteries, PTCA in total occlusion can be performed as a safe and effective therapeutic modality in selective patients.
Angioplasty ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary* ; Arteries ; Catheters ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels* ; Death ; Emergencies ; Female ; Humans

BACKGROUND: Indications and applications of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty(PTCA) have been broaden recent years. We evaluated the initial success rate and safety of PTCA in mulitiple lesions and vessels. METHODS: To assess the success rate and safety of PTCA In mulitiple lesions and vessels, the data of 60 lesions from 28 patients(male 23, female 5, mean age 56+/-12 years), in whom PTCA for multiple lesions and vessels were performed, were examined. Initial results and complications were compared in 37 lesions undergoing multivessel and 23 lesions undergoing multilesion PTCA. RESULTS: Overall primary success rate of procedure was 82%(49 out of 60 lesions). Angioplasty was attempted in mean 2.1 stenotic lesions per patient. Primary success rate per lesion was 84%(31 of 37) among those who underwent multivessel and 78%(18 of 23) among those who underwent multilesion PTCA(p>0.05). Success rate according to the combination of dilated vessels was 85.7%(12 of 14) in left anterior descending(LAD) and left circumflex(LCX), 83.3%(10 of 12) in LAD and right coronary artery(RCA), 100.0%(4 of 4) in LAD and diagonal branch, RCA and LCX in 75.0%(3 of 4), and 66.7%(2 of 3) in LAD, LCX and diagonal branch. Eleven failures(18.3%) included inability to pass the guide wire cross the lesion or inability to locate the balloon catheter in 5(8,3%), abrupt closure in 2(3,3%), coronary spasm in 1(1.7%) and major branch occlusion in 3(5.0%), but there was no emergency coronary bypass surgery or cardiac death. CONCLUSION: Coronary angioplasty in selected patients with multivessel and multilesion coronary artery disease might be useful and have relatively good initial results, but the long-term efficacies with other forms of treatment must be evaluated prospectively.
Angioplasty* ; Catheters ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Death ; Emergencies ; Female ; Humans ; Spasm

"Dual LAD" was defined as the early bifurcation of the proximal LAD into two vessels : a short LAD which remained in the anterior interventricular sulcus and does not reach the apex, and a long LAD which leaves the anterior interventricular sulcus only to return to the distal sulcus and continue to the apex. Recognition of "Dual LAD" is essential to prevent errors of interpretation of the coronary arteriogram and for planning of optimal surgical therapy. We report 2 cases of "Dual LAD" with the review of the literatures.
Coronary Vessels*

No abstract available.

Forty eight skin biopsies obtained from 24 patients were reviewed, and clinical, histological and immunohistochemical findings were analyzed. Results obtained are as follows: 1) Skin manifestation was plaque, erythroderma, scale and hyperpigmentation in mycosis fungoides, and subcutaneous nodule, mass and ulcerated patch in cutaneous lymphoma. The skin of lymphomatoid papulosis revealed hemorrhagic ulcerated and erythematous papules which healed spontaneously. 2) Histologically, mycosis fungoides showed epidermotropism in most cases. Pautrier's micro-abscesses were present in one-fourth of the cases. Malignant lymphoma was different in histology from mycosis fungoides. As compared with mycosis fungoides, it showed less frequent epidermotropism, more compact and diffuse infiltration of atypical lymphocytes, more often association with ulcer and necrosis, and more frequent mitotic figures. Lymphomatoid papulosis showed striking hemorrhage and edema of the papillary dermis. 3) Based on the results of immunohistochemical study, mycosis fungoides and lymphomatoid papulosis were considered as a T cell proliferative disorder of the skin. According to these findings, lymphoproliferative disorders of the skin occurred predominantly in the elderly and males. Clinical and histopathologic findings overlapped and were similar each other. It was difficult to make a definite diagnosis in early lesions, and a sequential follow up biopsy was required. It is concluded that strict criteria such as marked atypia and clustering of atypical cells are necessary for a histologic diagnosis of malignant lymphoproliferative disorder of the skin.
Biopsy

In the situations that intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has revolutionized the treatment of male infertility, there appeared some needs to evaluate the role of microsurgical single tubular epididymovasostomy (EV). The outcome of microsurgical single tubular EV for obstructive azoospermia patients was retrospectively reviewed in 61 patients who had been followed for more than 18 months postoperatively. The overall patency rate followed surgery was 69% (42/61 patients), and live-birth rate was 31% (19/61 patients). Of these 19 men 13 were able to impregnate their partners; 6 of the 19 live-birth were achieved with the assistance of conventional IVF. Previously known prognostic factors-etiology, preoperative testis biopsy findings and intraoperative presence of sperm or motile sperm- all did not affect the patency and pregnancy rate. The live-birth rate of ICSI has been reported about 20~40%. Our results suggest that microsurgical single tubular EV is the preferential method to treat obstructive azoospermia patients concerning the merits of natural pregnancy and high patency rate. ICSI would be applied to the patients with patent anastomoses who have failed to achieve natural pregnancy. We think that microsurgical single tubular EV in obstructive azoospermia patients should be performed more actively by well-trained urologists in more expanded indications.
Azoospermia ; Biopsy ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Rate ; Retrospective Studies ; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic* ; Spermatozoa ; Testis

No abstract available.
Retrospective Studies ; Surgery, Oral ; Tracheostomy

No abstract available.

To evaluate the diagnostic value of thallium-201 stress myocardial scintigraphic imaging and stress electrocardiography, sensitity, specificity and predicitive value of thallium-201 stress myocardial scintigraphic imaging were compared to simultaneously recorded 12 lead electrocardiography in 17 normal subjects and 30 patients with coronary artery disease who proved by coronary arteriography. The following results were obtained. 1) The mean age was 49.5+/-10.7 years(mean+/-SD)in subjects with normal coronary arteries and 53.1+/-8.8 years in patients with stenotic coronary arteries. 2) Fourteen patients had one-vessel disease, 10 two-vessel disease and 6 three-vessel disease. 3) Sensitivity of thallium myocardial scintigraphic imaging was higher than that of stress electrocardiography(86.7% vs 76.7%). 4) Specificity of both tests was same(70.6% vs 70.6%). 5) Sensitivity of thllium-201 stress myocardial scintigraphic imaging and stress electrocardigraphy in relation to the extent of coronary artery disease showed 78.6% vs 64.3% in one vessel disease, 90% vs 80% in two-vessel disease and 100% vs 100% in three-vessel disease. 6) Predictive value of thallium-201 stress myocardial scintigraphic imaging and stress electrocardiography revealed 83.9% vs 82% in the postive test and 75% vs 63.2% in the negative test. In conclusion, even though thallium-201 stress myocardial scintigraphic imaging was superior to stress electrocardiography in diagnosing coronary artery disease, scintigraphic defects were noted in 5 subjects with normal coronary arteries which could mislead to erroneous diagnosis of coronary artery disease. This point should be taken into consideration in the interpretation of thallium-201 stress myocardial scintigraphic imaging.
Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Diagnosis ; Electrocardiography* ; Humans ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thallium