Two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiographic examination were obtained in 31 patients both immediately and 2 to 5 months(mean3.1+/-1.8) after balloon dilation. Mitral valve area by planimetry immediately after valvuloplasty measured 1.8+/-0.3cm2 and 1.7+/-0.3cm2 at 2-5 months follow-up, but the difference was satistically insignificant. More than 15% decrease of the mitral valve area at follow-up was noticed in 10 patients(32%), but the valve area at follow-up was >1.5cm2 in all patients. Left atrial size(antero-posterior diameter) and volume by 2-dimensional echocardiography decreased more remarkably from 4.4+/-0.7cm, 82+/-42cm3 immediatly after vavuloplasty to 4.2+/-0.7cm, 68+/-26cm2 at follow-up respectively but there was no statistical significance. Mitral regurgitation graded by pulsed Doppler ultrasound decreased from 1.6+/-0.7 immediatly after valvuloplasty to 1.3+/-0.5(p<0.09) at follow-up, but there was no significant change in peak E velocity, EF slope, fractional shortening and ejection fraction. Symptomatic improvement at follow-up occured in all but one patient. Thus, 2 to 5 months after balloon mitral valvuloplasty there was no significantly after valvuloplasty decreased slightly at follow-up.
Echocardiography* ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Humans ; Mitral Valve Insufficiency ; Mitral Valve* ; Ultrasonography

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Patients with a congenitally or surgically altered anatomy such as a large diverticulum in which an ampullary orifice exists or a Billroth-II gastrectomy, have an increased complication rate after endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) compared to normal anatomies. An experience involving a stent-guided sphincterotomy using an endoprosthesis is herein reported. METHODS: 10 patients with a Billroth-II gastrectomy and 9 patients with a large diverticulum received a stent-guided EST. In the diverticula cases, all the ampullary orifices were located either inside the diverticulum or in an unusual position. All patients had common bile duct stones and symptoms of cholangitis. After a 0.035 inch guide wire was inserted through the side-viewing duodenoscope, a 10 Fr. endoprosthesis (MTW, Germany) was inserted and a needle-knife sphincterotome was introduced. In patients with a Billroth-II anatomy, the incision was made from the papillary orifice of the 12 o'clock position toward 6 o'clock. In patients with periampullary diverticula, the incision was made with sweeps of the needle-knife in a 6 to 12 o'clock direction. The cautery current was applied to the mucosa along the stent and the stent was retrieved by a polypectomy snare through the biopsy channel without removal of an endoscope. RESULTS: Among the 19 patients, the guide wire and stent insertion were possible in all except one patient due to the inability of selective cannulation. An EST was performed in all patients after stent insertion. There were no serious complications during and after the stent-guided EST except for two minor bleedings which were treated with a coagulation current using the needle-knife. Consequently, complete endoscopic stone removal was achieved in all patients including three patients in whom a mechanical lithotriptor was needed. CONCLUSIONS: In stent-guided EST, the stent not only guides the adequate direction of the incision but also allows a controlled incision under a favorable visual field. Therefore, blind cutting and exploration during EST can be avoided and successful EST is possible even in difficult situations such as that created by an altered anatomy.
Biopsy ; Catheterization ; Cautery ; Cholangitis ; Common Bile Duct ; Diverticulum* ; Duodenoscopes ; Endoscopes ; Gastrectomy* ; Humans ; Mucous Membrane ; SNARE Proteins ; Sphincterotomy, Endoscopic ; Stents ; Visual Fields

PURPOSE: The effective suppression of Kupffer cell function is believed to contribute to the prevention of preservation/ reperfusion injury. In this study, the effect of Gadolinium, a synthetic Kupffer cell suppressor, on the reperfusion injury was examined using a canine partial liver transplant model. METHODS: About 70% of the liver was harvested and reimplanted in a mongrel recipient dog weighing 20~25 kg. Gadolinium Chloride (10 mg/kg) was infused via the cephalic vein 24 hour before harvesting the partial liver (Gadolinium group, n=5). Serum Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and morphological grading of the graft were compared with the control group (n=5). Statistical analysis was done with an independent T-test. RESULTS: The total ischemic time was 4 hours and 27 minutes on average. One hour after reperfusion, there were no significant differences in the AST, ALP and LDH level, and the pathologic scores. At 48 hours after reperfusion, the AST (P=0.03) and LDH (P=0.05) levels were significantly lower in Gadolinium group. CONCLUSION: Kupffer cell blockage using the Gadolinium chloride might be an effective way of reducing ischemia reperfusion injury. However, this effect was not evident in the early stages of reperfusion.
Alkaline Phosphatase ; Animals ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Dogs ; Gadolinium* ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; Liver* ; Reperfusion ; Reperfusion Injury* ; Transplants ; Veins

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study evaluated the use and efficacy of chronic oral etoposide plus tamoxifen as a palliative treatment in 30 patients with far-advanced HCC in whom surgical resection, percutaneous ethanol injection or transarterial chemoembolization(TACE) was not possible. METHODS: To be eligible for the study, patients had to have objectively measurable or evaluable tumors, adequate hematologic profiles and hepatorenal functions, had to be between 20 and 75 years of age, and had to have an ECOG performance status of less than or equal to 2. The treatment included etoposide, 50 mg/m2/day, taken orally for 21 days, and tamoxifen, 40 mg/day, taken orally for 21 days. Each cycle was repeated every 5 weeks. RESULTS: Two patients(7%) achieved a partial response(PR) and 16 patients(53%) achieved a stable disease(SD) with a median time-to-progression of 5 months(range: 2-24). Median of patients survival with the response of PR or SD and those patients with the response of progressive disease(PD) was 10 months and 7 months, respectively(p=0.0004). Of the 20 patients with initial elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein(> or =500 ng/ml), 9 patients(45%) experienced a significant(> or =50%) decrease in their values after chemotherapy and all 9 patients achieved objective tumor response of more than or equal to SD. Among the 30 patients in the study, 10 patients(33%) achieved performance status improvements of grade according to the ECOG criteria and 6 patients(20%) experienced improvements of subjective symptoms, such as abdominal pain, abdominal fullness and anorexia. CONCLUSION: Based on our results, the use of chronic oral etoposide plus tamoxifen as a palliative treatment for the far-advanced hepatocellular carcinoma are beneficial. A randomized two-arm study may be warranted to validate the results of this study.
Abdominal Pain ; Anorexia ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Drug Therapy ; Ethanol ; Etoposide* ; Humans ; Palliative Care ; Tamoxifen*

Multiple lymphomatous polyposis (MLP) is a distinctive type of primary gastrointestinal lymphoma, characterized by multiple polyps involving long segments of the gastrointestinal tract. Because MLP has a high tendency toward extraintestinal involvement such as bone marrow, lymph node, spleen and liver, MLP can cause various clinical manifestations and has a poor prognosis. We report a case of gastrointestinal MLP, who had an unusual conjunctival involvement during the course of anti-cancer chemotherapy.
Bone Marrow ; Drug Therapy ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Liver ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphoma ; Polyps ; Prognosis ; Spleen

BACKGROUND: The pathogenesis of primary non function or delayed graft function after liver transplantation is not yet clearly defined. However it is presumed that these unhappy events most likely attributes to the Kupffer cell-mediated, reperfusion injury aggravating the sinusoidal endothelial cell damage following preformed ischemic insults. Prostaglandin (PG) I2 and its analogues were reported to protect the liver against ischemic injury thereby be efficacious for the use during the preservation of harvested liver. Prevention of platelet aggregation, vasodilation, stabilization of lysosomal membranes, and inhibition of thromboxane generated by platelets may be the attributable biological activities of PGI2. PURPOSES: We designed this experimental study to assess the effect of continuous PGI2 infusion during in situ liver splitting on the bile flow from liver segment during resection and after reimplantation, and to establish our unique autotransplantation model in mongrel dogs before warming-up of living donor partial liver transplantation in the clinic. METHODS: Mongrel dogs weighing 15-25 kg were used after fasting for 12 hours. After endotracheal intubation under monitoring, abdomen was opened through the Chevron incision extending to xiphoid process. Initially, the right hepatic duct was ligated and divided. The common bile duct was divided, the end being cannulated proximally and drained. Basal bile flow was measured for 1 hour as a reference value. The left partial graft including the right medial, quadrate, left medial, left lateral lobe, and the papillary process of caudate lobe was resected en bloc. After cold flushing ex vivo, the harvested segment was immediately reimplanted orthotopically. In PGI2 group, PGI2 50 microgram was slowly infused through splenic venous cannulation. After closing the abdomen, the bile flow was measured continuously. RESULTS: Eleven out of 24 dogs were alive 12 hours after surgery; 5 in PGI2 and 6 in control group. Basal mean bile flow (BF) rate were 2.9 ml/hr/100 gm of liver tissue in control vs. 2.5 ml/hr/100 gm in PGI2 group. This difference did not reach the statistical significance. However, postoperative BF increased significantly in PGI2 group; 0.45 ml/hr/100 gm in contro vs. 1.71 ml/hr/100 gm in PGI2 group (p=0.04). CONCLUSION: Continuous infusion of PGI2 through the splenic vein during the harvest of the liver could mitigate the manipulation injury. The BF reflecting the quality of resected liver segment was relatively well preserved in PGI2 group after canine autotransplantation model. This model is not complicated, and will be useful for the mastery of surgical techniques for the living donor partial liver transplantation in the clinic.
Abdomen ; Animals ; Autografts* ; Bile ; Catheterization ; Common Bile Duct ; Delayed Graft Function ; Dogs ; Endothelial Cells ; Epoprostenol* ; Fasting ; Flushing ; Hepatic Duct, Common ; Humans ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; Liver Transplantation ; Liver* ; Living Donors ; Membranes ; Platelet Aggregation ; Reference Values ; Reperfusion Injury* ; Replantation ; Splenic Vein ; Transplants ; Vasodilation