In Asian double eyelid surgery, there have been two approaches to form a suprapalpebral fold: the buried suture (nonincision) method and the full external incision method. Usually excessive fat tissue in upper eyelid has been removed by using a full external incision method, or 2 to 3 partial incisions with buried suture method. The full external incision method is more invasive than the buried suture method, which is not suitable for patients with excessive orbital fat. From March 1999 to January 2002, we have introduced the single 5 mm-partial incision method to 216 patients. This method is applied to patients who have excessive amount of orbital fat or those who do not have excessive orbital fat but which must be removed for better result. These patients have bulging supra-crease areas when we form suprapalpebral folds with a curved wire loop preoperatively. Excessive orbital fat was removed through a single 5 mm incision in the middle of designed eyelid crease and tarso-dermal suture was performed. At another 2 to 3 points, through skin stab punctures by using 18 gauge needle, full-thickness eyelid tarso-dermal sutures were done. Pretarsal and preseptal orbicularis muscles were preserved. If muscles were removed, that could result in thinning of the overlying skin and could make suprapalpebral fold unnatural. This method has several advantages. First, we could perform the operations safely in patients who have excessive fat tissue, without a full external incision. Second,fat tissue can be removed almost totally by a single 5 mm-partial incision. Third, we can minimize the scar formation, and the possibility of complications, and make healing process and operation time shorter compared to the full incision technique. However a very delicate technique is required in this method. In patients who have a thick orbital septum, a superiorly located fat pad, and a bleeding tendency, exposure of fat tissue could be difficult and injury of levator muscle aponeurosis is possible. The complications of this method are the possibility of disappearing of the crease with the lapse of time(3 percents), and suture granuloma formation(less than 1 percent). In conclusion, patients who have excessive fat tissue in upper eyelid don't have to proceed a full incision, and can have more excellent results with this single 5 mm-partial incision method.
Adipose Tissue ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Cicatrix ; Eyelids* ; Granuloma ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Muscles ; Needles ; Orbit ; Punctures ; Skin ; Sutures

BACKGROUND: Reports on serum thyroglobulin(Tg) levels being used to predict recurrence or distant metastasis during the follow-up of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer(DTC) has been inconsistent. In addition, there have been few reports that attempt to define the cut-off value of Tg for recurrence or distant metastasis obtained by a receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve. As well, there are differences in opinions on what the value should be on the first serum Tg level measured just before radioactive iodine(RAI) ablation(Tg-RAI), during thyroxine administration (Tg-on), and after thyroxine withdrawal(Tg-off) during the follow-up. Reports on the positive predictive values(PPVs) and negative predictive values(NPVs) of these Tg values are rare. METHODS: A total of 205 patients(42 males, 163 females) with DTC were studied. All patients had undergone total or near-total thyroidectomy. After surgery and RAI ablation, annual thyroxine withdrawal 131I-whole body scan(WBS) with Tg measurements was performed. The mean duration of follow-up was 5.0 (1.4~7.4) years. The most sensitive and specific Tg values(cut-off values) for tumor recurrence and/or distant metastasis were selected by using ROC curves. We also calculated the PPVs and NPVs for recurrence and/or distant metastasis using two-by-two tables. RESULTS: Cut-off values of Tg-RAI, Tg-on, and Tg-off for recurrence were 11.8, 1.4, and 3.3ng/mL, respectively. For these values, the sensitivities were 85.4, 82.2, and 93.3%, with the specificitiesat 89.2, 92.4, and 88.0%. PPVs were 71.9, 77.1, and 77.0% while NPVs were 95.0, 94,4, and 97.8%. The cut-off values for distant metastasis were 27.4, 2.5, and 7.9ng/mL, respectively. For these cut-off values, the sensitivities were 86.7, 87.5, and 92.3%, with the specificities being 86.2, 90.8, and 80.2%. PPVs were 34.2, 46.7, and 25.0% and NPVs were 98.7, 98.8, and 99.3%. CONCLUSION: All three serum Tg levels were sensitive and specific markers for recurrence and distant metastasis. Their PPVs were low in contrast to the high NPVs. In comparison with Tg-on, Tg-off showed higher sensitivity and NPV as well as lower specificity and PPV. Therefore, in the case of higher Tg-on during the follow-up period, efforts to find recurrence and distant metastasis,such as 131I-WBS, should be done. In addition, regular measurement of Tg-off or Tg after stimulation with recombinant human TSH is recommended as a screening test.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Recurrence* ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thyroglobulin* ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms* ; Thyroidectomy ; Thyrotropin Alfa ; Thyroxine

No abstract available.
Closing Volume* ; Humans ; Posture* ; Pulmonary Ventilation*

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the psychosocial characteristics among patients with functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID), adults with functional gastrointestinal symptoms, and normal control group and investigate factors related to quality of life (QoL) of FGID patients. METHODS: 65 patients diagnosed with FGID were selected. 79 adults were selected as normal control group based on the Rome III diagnostic criteria, and 88 adults who showed functional gastrointestinal symptoms were selected as “FGID positive group”. Demographic factors were investigated. Psychosocial factors were evaluated using the Korean-Beck Depression Inventory-II, Korean-Beck Anxiety Inventory, Korean-Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Multi-dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and WHO Quality of Life Assessment Instrument Brief Form. A one-way ANOVA was used to compare differences among groups. Pearson correlation test was used to analyze correlations between QoL and psychosocial factors in patients with FGID. RESULTS: There were group differences in the education level. Depression (F=29.012, p<0.001), anxiety (F=27.954, p<0.001) and Childhood trauma (F=7.748, p<0.001) were significantly higher in FGID patient group than in both FGID-positive and normal control group. Social support (F=5,123, p<0.001), Resilience (F=9.623, p<0.001) and QoL (F=35.991, p<0.001) were significantly lower in the FGID patient group than in others. QoL of FGID patients showed a positive correlation with resilience (r=0.475, p<0.01), and showed a negative correlation with depression (r=−0.641, p<0.01), anxiety (r=−0.641, p<0.01), and childhood trauma (r=−0.278, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: FGID patients have distinctive psychosocial factors compared to the both FGID-positive and normal control group. Therefore, the active interventions for psychosocial factors are required in the treatment of patients with FGID.
Adult ; Anxiety ; Demography ; Depression ; Education ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; Humans ; Psychology ; Quality of Life

PURPOSE: We evaluate the clinical roles of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computerized tomography(18F-FDG PET/CT) for diagnosing disease in the urogenital tract, and we compared this with the other established radiologic and pathologic diagnoses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From June 2006 to June 2007, the total number of subjects who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT was 4,438. The mean patient age was 57.4+/-7.6 years and the ratio of males to females was 1.28:1. During the study period, except for 152 patients who had been given a diagnosis of urologic tumor, 614(14.3%) healthy subjects and 3,672(85.7%) patients with non-urologic tumors were enrolled. The results of detecting urologic disease by 18F-FDG PET/CT were compared with the results of detecting urologic disease by conventional imaging techniques and the postoperative histopathological diagnoses. RESULTS: With including 147 healthy subjects and 251 non-urologic tumor patients, 398 (9.3%) urologic diseases were detected on 18F-FDG PET/CT. Diseases of the kidney, adrenal and prostate were frequently found(215, 95 and 52 patients, respectively). A thorough examination was indicated for 153(3.6%) of the patients as a result of positive findings that suggested possible tumor. A total 93 urologic cancers were confirmed, and the overall positive predictive value of 18F-FDG PET/CT was 60.7%. The positive predictive value for adrenal, kidney, bladder and prostate cancer were 87.7%, 73.3%, 57.1% and 14.0%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: 18F-FDG PET/CT was not superior to conventional imaging for making the diagnosis of urologic disease. But 18F-FDG PET/CT was more predictive for adrenal and renal tumor than for bladder and prostate tumor. So, urologic tumor that is incidentally detected on 18F-FDG PET/ CT, and especially adrenal and renal tumor, should be closely evaluated.
Electrons ; Female ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 ; Humans ; Kidney ; Male ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Prostate ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Tomography, Emission-Computed ; Urinary Bladder ; Urologic Diseases ; Urologic Neoplasms

Aerophagia is a disorder caused by abnormal accumulation of air in the gastrointestinal tract as a result of repetitive and frequent inflow of air through the mouth. For the diagnosis of this condition, it is difficult to objectively measure the air swallowing. However, multichannel intraluminal impedance monitoring facilitates the differential diagnosis between normal air swallowing and pathologic aerophagia, and can aid in the determination of the frequency and amount of air swallowed. In this report, in addition to a literature review, we describe a case of 36-year-old man with abdominal distension who was diagnosed with aerophagia using esophageal impedance monitoring and was treated with clonazepam.
Adult ; Aerophagy/*diagnosis/diagnostic imaging/drug therapy ; Anticonvulsants/therapeutic use ; Clonazepam/therapeutic use ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Electric Impedance ; Humans ; Male ; Mental Disorders/complications ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

We report a case of a metachronous transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the penile urethra in an elderly male after nephroureterectomy. The patient had a history of right nephroureterectomy 18 months previously due to TCC of the upper urinary tract. A solitary urethral recurrence from a TCC of the upper urinary tract is rare. An anterior urethral recurrence of a TCC of the upper urinary tract has not been previously reported in the literature. The prognosis of a metachronous anterior urethral recurrence of an upper-tract TCC is poor.
Aged ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell ; Humans ; Male ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Urethra ; Urinary Tract

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery bypass grafting(CABG) has been established as an effective treatment modality in improving the symptoms of ischemic heart disease as well as in preventing sudden death. Since the relatively wide use of arterial grafting in the 80's, an improvement in long term patency rates compared with saphenous vein grafting has been suggested. We have been using multiple arterial grafts since 1998, and we attempted to compare our early results with those of saphenous vein grafting. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Out of the 355 patients that received CABG at our center between June,1998 and May,1999, 153 patients that used cardioplegia were reviewed. 76 had received single arterial graft(Group I) and 77 had received more than 2 arterial grafts(Group II). Preoperative clinical data, ecohocardiography, and angiographic studies were analyzed retrospectively. RESULT: Preoperatively, there were statistically significant differences between Group I and Group II with respect to age and smoking history. There was one early postoperative mortality in each group. The number of anastomoses constructed per patient showed a statistical difference. There were no other differences in operative and postoperative results. CONCLUSION: Even in our learning period, there was no difference in our early results between arterial grafting and saphenous vein grafting. These early results suggest that arterial grafting may afford patients as improving in late survival. Futhermore, these results suggest that complete arterial revasularization may serve to prolong life expectancy.
Coronary Artery Bypass* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Death, Sudden ; Heart Arrest, Induced ; Humans ; Learning ; Life Expectancy ; Mortality ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Retrospective Studies ; Saphenous Vein ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Transplants*

Human embryonic stem (ES) cells can be induced to differentiate into hematopoietic precursor cells via two methods: the formation of embryoid bodies (EBs) and co-culture with mouse bone marrow (BM) stromal cells. In this study, the above two methods have been combined by co-culture of human ES-cell-derived EBs with human BM stromal cells. The efficacy of this method was compared with that using EB formation alone. The undifferentiated human ES cell line SNUhES3 was allowed to form EBs for two days, then EBs were induced to differentiate in the presence of a different serum concentration (EB and EB/high FBS group), or co- cultured with human BM stromal cells (EB/BM co-culture group). Flow cytometry and hematopoietic colony-forming assays were used to assess hematopoietic differentiation in the three groups. While no significant increase of CD34+/CD45- or CD34+/CD38- cells was noted in the three groups on days 3 and 5, the percentage of CD34+/CD45- cells and CD34+/ CD38- cells was significantly higher in the EB/BM co-culture group than in the EB and EB/high FBS groups on day 10. The number of colony-forming cells (CFCs) was increased in the EB/BM co-culture group on days 7 and 10, implying a possible role for human BM stromal cells in supporting hematopoietic differentiation from human ES cell-derived EBs. These results demonstrate that co-culture of human ES-cell-derived EBs with human BM stromal cells might lead to more efficient hematopoietic differentiation from human ES cells cultured alone. Further study is warranted to evaluate the underlying mechanism.
Stromal Cells/physiology ; Stem Cells/*cytology ; Humans ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells/*cytology ; Embryo/*cytology ; Coculture Techniques ; Cells, Cultured ; *Cell Differentiation ; Bone Marrow Cells/*cytology ; Antigens, CD45/analysis ; Antigens, CD38/analysis ; Antigens, CD34/analysis

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to verify the effective culture condition for the differentiation of human hematopoietic stem cells from SNU-3 embryonic stem cell line. METHODS: Control group was that of which embryonic stem cells were directly cultured to LTC-IC assay. Study group was that of which an embryonic body manufactured from embryonic stem cells was cultured to LTC-IC assay. CD34+ cells were separated by MACS method at 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, 21 days of LTC-IC assay in both groups. Thereafter, CD34+ cell were cultured to semisolid methyl-cellulose media to count CFUs. CD34+CD45- cell percentage was measured with FACS method at 5 days of LTC-IC assay. This study was repeated for 14 times. RESULTS: In control group, CD34+ cells were hardly separated in any period of LTC-IC assay. In study group, the median count of CD34+ cells was 0.7 (0.4-1.2)x10(4), 1.8 (1.4-2.6)x10(4), 0.6 (0.5-0.7)x10(4) and the median count of CFUs was 0.5 (0.2-0.8)x10(2), 1.0 (0.6-1.3)x10(2), 0.2(0.1-0.4)x10(2) at 3, 5, 7 days of LTC-IC assay, respectively. Median CFUs count per CD34+ cell was 0.0071, 0.0056, 0.0033 at 3, 5, 7 days of LTC-IC assay, respectively. In study group, the count of CD34+ cells and CFUs was significantly higher at 5 days of LTC-IC assay than at any other days (P<0.01). CFUs count per CD34+ cell was significantly higher at 3 days of LTC-IC assay than at any other days (P<0.01). CD34+CD45- cells detected by FACS method of study group(1.16%(0.92-1.97) was significantly higher than that of control group (0.09% (0.00-0.23)) (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells from SNU-3 embryonic stem cell line is effective in the condition of which an embryonic body manufactured from embryonic stem cells is cultured to LTC-IC assay. The period of which embryonic stem cells differentiate to hematopoietic stem cells is between 3 to 7 days of LTC-IC assay.
Embryonic Stem Cells* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells* ; Humans