MR imaging was performed in 40 patients of aortic disease from March 1988 to February 1990. Transverse, coronal and oblique sagital views were obtained with ECG gating and even echo technique using 0.5 T and 2.0 T MR systems. In 12 patients of aortic aneurysm, the location, the size and the extent of aneurysm could be assessed in all cases. In the cases of six abdominal aortic aneurysm, the relation of aneurysm to renal arteries was evaluated. In 18 cases of aortic dissection, the extent of involvement as well as associated abnormalities was well evaluated in all cases. In the 8 cases of congenital aortic anomalies, the vascular anatomy was well demonstrated. However, the abnormalities of major branches could not be assessed with MR imaging especially in 2 cases of Takayasu's arteritis. With our experiences, MR imaging is regarded as a primary diagnostic modality for aortic disease and expected to be developed as the alternative measure to the angiography in the future.
Aneurysm ; Angiography ; Aorta ; Aortic Aneurysm ; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal ; Aortic Diseases* ; Electrocardiography ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Renal Artery ; Takayasu Arteritis

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed malignant skin tumors and develops characteristically on sun-exposed areas, such as the head and neck. Ultraviolet light exposure is an important etiologic factor in BCCs, and BCCs arising from non-sun- exposed areas are, therefore, very rare. In particular, the axilla, nipple, the genital and perianal areas are not likely to be exposed to ultraviolet light; thus, if BCC develops in these areas, other predisposing factors should be considered. Herein, we report a case of BCC arising on the pubic area in a 70-year-old man. We also performed a survey of the literature and discussed the 19 cases of BCC from non-sun-exposed areas reported to date in Korea.
Aged ; Axilla ; Carcinoma, Basal Cell ; Head ; Humans ; Korea ; Neck ; Nipples ; Skin ; Ultraviolet Rays

Halo nevus is a pigmented nevus surrounded by a round or oval depigmentation. Of patients with halo nevus, 18 to 26% patients have vitiligo, either involving the nevus or at a distant site. While the exact etiology of halo formation and vitiligo is unknown, several theories suggest that common immunologic mechanisms are involved in the destruction of melanocytes of both phenomena. Unlike common melanocytic nevus, congenital nevus associated with both halo formation and concurrent extralesional vitiligo is very uncommon and only one case has been reported in the Korean dermatological literature. A 19-year-old female presented with surrounding depigmentation around a congenital hairy nevus on the left forearm. Simultaneously, vitiligo appeared on the lowerabdomen and surrounding regions of both areola. The halo depigmented lesion around congenital nevus and the periareolar vitiliginous lesion shared some histological and immunohistochemical features. These findings further support common immunological mechanisms of pigment destruction in both phenomena.
Female ; Forearm ; Humans ; Melanocytes ; Nevus ; Nevus, Halo ; Nevus, Pigmented ; Vitiligo ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: There are various methods of reconstruction of cutaneous surgical defect after removal of skin tumor, and skin graft is frequently used. Classically, in full-thickness skin graft (FTSG), nylon basting sutures with a tie-over bolster dressing are used in securing skin graft to the recipient wound bed, but this method is complicated, time-consuming, and may cause complications. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of an adhesive skin tape (Steri-strip(R)) for securing a graft without suture when performing a Burow's skin graft, one of the types of FTSG. METHODS: We conducted a case-controlled retrospective study. A total of 45 patients (total 46 cases) treated with Burow's skin graft after removal of skin tumor between May 2006 and August 2010 were enrolled in this study, and grafts were secured with Steri-strip(R) (case, n=26) or conventional tie-over bolster dressings (control, n=20). The cosmetic results were scored at 1, 3, and 6 months after the operation. Also, the size and depth of the defect were measured and the run-time of the operation for the skin graft was checked. RESULTS: The operation time for the Steri-strip(R) group was significantly less than for the conventional tie-over bolster dressing group (p<0.001). No significant differences were observed between the groups with regards to age, sex, location, size, depth of the defect, prevalence of complications, and scored cosmetic results at 6 months after operation (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Sutureless Burow's graft with skin tape required less time than the conventional method with a similar cosmetic result. Thus we suggest that sutureless Burow's graft with skin tape may be an easy and useful method to reconstruct the defect after skin surgery.
Adhesives ; Bandages ; Case-Control Studies ; Cosmetics ; Dermatologic Surgical Procedures ; Humans ; Nylons ; Prevalence ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; Retrospective Studies ; Skin ; Surgical Tape ; Sutures ; Transplants

Wernicke encephalopathy is usually accompanied with peripheral neuropathy, known as dry beriberi. In contrast, wet beriberi presenting as cardiovascular symptoms rarely occurs. The acute type of wet beriberi can be fatal, if untreated quickly. It is reported that the cerebellar vermis has a role of the coordination and control of cardiovascular and autonomic reflex activities. We report a 58-year-old man showing acute wet beriberi in Wernicke encephalopathy with cerebellar vermis lesion.
Beriberi* ; Cerebellar Vermis ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; Reflex ; Wernicke Encephalopathy*

BACKGROUND: Solid tumors require neovasculization for growth and metastasis. Recently, several angiogenic factors have been identified. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is thought to be one such angiogenic factor and is also thought to be a selective mitogen for endothelial cells. In this study, we examined the expression of VEGF and its relationship with microvessel density, and we also determined its prognostic significance in gastric cancer patients. METHODS: One hundred one specimens resected from patients with gastric carcinomas were investigated by staining with a polyclonal antibody against VEGF. Correlations between the expression of VEGF, the microvessel density, various clinicopathologic factors, and the patient's survival were studied. RESULTS: The normal gastric mucosa was not immunoreactive with an anti-VEGF antibody. VEGF was mainly localized to the cytoplasm or the membrane of the carcinoma cell. Of the 101 tumors, strong VEGF expression was detected in 48 (47.5%) tumors. VEGF expression was correlated with depth of tumor invasion, lymph-node metastasis, and stage. Microvessel density, determined by immunohistochemical staining for CD31, was significantly higher in VEGF-strong tumors than in VEGF-weak tumors. Also, patients with VEGF-strong tumors had a significantly poorer prognosis than those with VEGF-weak tumors. However, multivariate analysis indicated that the expression of VEGF was not an independent prognostic factor in patients with gastric cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The fact that VEGF expression in gastric carcinomas was more prevalent in more advanced tumors means that VEGF may contribute to the progression of the tumor. Further study is needed to evaluate the significance of VEGF as a prognostic factor.
Angiogenesis Inducing Agents ; Cytoplasm ; Endothelial Cells ; Gastric Mucosa ; Humans ; Membranes ; Microvessels ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis* ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A*

OBJECTIVE: To assess head posture using cervical spine X-rays to find out whether forward head posture is related to myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) in neck and shoulder. METHODS: Eighty-eight participants who were diagnosed with MPS in neck and shoulder were evaluated in this study. Four parameters (distance among head, cervical spines, and shoulder, and cervical angle) were measured from lateral view of cervical spine X-ray. The location and number of trigger points in the neck and shoulder and symptom duration were evaluated for each patient. RESULTS: Both horizontal distances between C1 vertebral body and C7 spinous process and between the earhole and C7 vertebral body were negatively correlated with cervical angle reflecting cervical lordosis (p<0.05). Younger patients had significantly (p<0.05) less cervical angle with more forward head posture. There was no relationship between MPS (presence, location, and number of trigger points) and radiologic assessments (distance parameters and the cervical angle). CONCLUSION: Forward head posture and reduced cervical lordosis were seen more in younger patients with spontaneous neck pain. However, these abnormalities did not correlate with the location or the number of MPS. Further studies are needed to delineate the mechanism of neck pain in patients with forward head posture.
Animals ; Cervical Vertebrae ; Female ; Head* ; Humans ; Lordosis ; Myofascial Pain Syndromes* ; Neck ; Neck Pain ; Posture* ; Shoulder ; Spine ; Trigger Points

Malignant skin tumors, including squamous cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma, have occurred in tattoos. Seven documented cases of basal cell carcinoma associated with tattoos have also been reported in the medical literature. We encountered a patient with basal cell carcinoma in a tattooed eyebrow. We report on this case as the eighth reported case of a patient with basal cell carcinoma arising in a tattooed area.
Carcinoma, Basal Cell ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Eyebrows ; Humans ; Melanoma ; Skin

Primary cutaneous cryptococcosis is isolated cutaneous cryptococcosis without evidence of systemic involvement. It usually presents as a solitary nodule in an exposed area, such as head and neck or extremities, and the occurrence of primary cutaneous cryptococcosis in the covered area has been rarely reported in the literature. A healthy 81-year-old immunocompetent woman presented with a solitary reddish scaly plaque on her abdomen without clinical evidence of systemic cryptococcal infection. Histopathologic examination showed numerous encapsulated spores, and the organism was identified as Cryptococcus neoformans in a series of fungal studies. We diagnosed this case as a primary cutaneous cryptococcosis by the findings mentioned above. The patient was successfully treated with surgical excision and oral fluconazole without any side effects.
Abdomen* ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cryptococcosis* ; Cryptococcus neoformans ; Extremities ; Female ; Fluconazole ; Head ; Humans ; Neck ; Spores

PURPOSE: Peritoneal recurrence has been reported to be the most common form of recurrence of gastric cancer. Peritoneal recurrence can generally be suggested by several types of image studies and also if there is evidence of ascites or Bloomer's rectal shelf. It can be confirmed by explorative laparotomy, but diagnostic laparoscopy is a good alternative method and laparoscopic surgery has also been widely used. We reviewed and analyzed the ability of diagnostic laparoscopy to detect peritoneal recurrence or carcinomatosis, and especially for gastric cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective review the 45 gastric cancer patients who were operated via diagnostic laparoscopy between 2004. 2. and 2009. 3. We analyzed the perioperative clinical characteristics and the accuracy of the diagnostic methods. RESULTS: The study groups included 14 patients who had confirmed gastric cancer, but they suspected to have carcinomatosis, and 31 patients who had previously underwent gastric resection, but they suspected to have recurrence. The mean operation time was 44.1+/-6.9 minutes and the mean postoperative hospital stay was 2.7+/-.8 days. There was one case of operation-related complication and no postoperative mortality occurred. The sensitivities for detecting peritoneal recurrence or carcinomatosis were 92.1% for diagnostic laparoscopy, 29.7% for detecting ascites and rectal shelf on the physical examination, 86.5% for abdominal computed tomography, 69.2% for PET CT and 18.8% for CEA. CONCLUSION: Diagnostic laparoscopy does not require a long operation time or a long hospital stay, and it showed a low complication rate in our study. It has high sensitivity for detecting peritoneal recurrence of gastric cancer. It can be an alternative diagnostic confirmative method and it is useful for deciding on further treatment.
Ascites ; Carcinoma ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Laparotomy ; Length of Stay ; Physical Examination ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms