No abstract available.
Teratoma* ; Uterus*

PURPOSE: Hydroxychloroquine has been used as the antimalarial agent and drug of the treatment for autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis. Hydroxychloroquine retinopathy can cause serious visual disturbance although the incidence is low. This report is to describe a case of Hydroxycholoroquine retinopathy on 73 year old female. CASE SUMMARY: A 73 year old female patient presented our clinic with complaints of visual disturbance for several months. She had taking 400 mg/day (8.8 mg/kg of lean body weight/day) of hydroxychloroquine for 2 years. The best corrected visual acuity was 20/30 in both eyes. Bull's eye maculopathy was observed on her fundus examination and Humphrey Automated Visual Field 24-2 showed central scotoma in both eyes. Parafoveal thinning of photoreceptor layers, loss of the inner and outer segment junction and external limiting membrane was observed on spectral domain Optical Coherence Tomography. Window defect was visible at the parafoveal area on fluorescein angiography. Electroretinogram revealed subtle dysfunction of cone cell and multifocal ERG trace array showed decreased amplitudes at the parafoveal area. Electrooculogram showed decreased Arden ratio. CONCLUSIONS: We strongly advise that all patients taking Hydorxycholoroquine therapy have a regular examination to find hydroxychloroquine retinopathy in early stage especially in the patients having high risk factors.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Electrooculography ; Eye ; Female ; Fluorescein Angiography ; Humans ; Hydroxychloroquine ; Incidence ; Membranes ; Risk Factors ; Scotoma ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Visual Acuity ; Visual Fields

No abstract available.
Endocardial Cushion Defects* ; Endocardial Cushions* ; Ultrasonics*

PURPOSE: To compare the postoperative results between the patient group which used bioabsorbable interference screw and metallic interference screw during ACL reconstruction surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Out of 105 patients for whom the postoperative follow-up was possible for one year, authors took 80 patients who underwent arthroscopic ACL recostruction with bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft between December of 1996 and December of 2000. 60 patients fell into group 1 where the patients received bioabsorbable interference screw for fixation at femur and tibia, and 20 patients were classified as group 2 where the patients received metallic interference screw on both the femur and tibia. KT 2000 arthrometer was performed and Lysholm knee score was taken before and after the operation, and the patients underwent the same examination at 6 weeks. 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after the operation, and the results were compared. RESULT: The average Lysholm knee score of group 1 was 59, and 57 for group 2. During the final follow up examination, the average score improved to 90 for group 1, and group 2. Compared to the healthy side, KT 2000 arthrometer showed the average in group 1 was 6.9 mm and 7.2 mm in group 2 preoperatively, at the final follow up visit after the operation, the value improved to 3.0 mm for both group 1 and 2. Unlike group 2, there were statistically significant relaxation symptoms in group 1 when the exams were performed up until 6 weeks after the operation(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The usage of bioabsorbable interference screw has many advantages. However, unlike metallic interference screw, it shows laxity within 3 months after the operation. Therefore, when using bioabsorbable interference screw, one has to consider the patients'activity, occupation, or life-style.

PURPOSE: Laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (LRN) is more challenging with increases in body mass index (BMI). Several recent studies have shown, however, that LRN can be safely performed even in obese patients. The influence of obesity on the perioperative outcomes of LRN has not been well elucidated for large renal tumors (>7 cm), however. We estimated the impact of obesity on LRN for stage T1 and T2 renal cell carcinoma (RCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2004 to March 2011, 266 patients underwent LRN (T1: 195, T2: 71). These patients were subdivided into the following two groups according to BMI: the nonobese group (BMI less than 25 kg/m2) and the obese group (BMI greater than 25 kg/m2). Perioperative outcomes were retrospectively compared between these two groups in T1 and T2 RCC patients. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in perioperative outcomes between the obese and nonobese groups of T1 RCC patients. However, in T2 RCC patients, operative time and complication rate were significantly increased in the obese group. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that LRN can be safely performed in Korean patients with T1 RCC regardless of obesity. In T2 RCC patients, however, LRN may become more difficult with increasing BMI considering a longer operation time as well as a higher complication rate. We suggest that LRN for obese patients with T2 RCC be carefully considered.
Body Mass Index ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Humans ; Nephrectomy ; Obesity ; Operative Time ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: To evaluate patients' self-recognition of reduced visual acuity due to recurring macular edema in retinal vein occlusion. METHODS: A retrospective review of medical records of patients who were diagnosed with recurring macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion was performed. The proportion of patients who recognized reduced visual acuity due to the recurrence of macular edema and who visited the hospital before the scheduled follow-up date was determined. Parameters including age, sex, diagnosis, visual acuity before recurrence of macular edema, and extent of visual acuity reduction due to recurrence of macular edema were compared in patients who recognized a reduction in visual acuity and those who did not. The proportion of patients who visited the hospital promptly was also determined. RESULTS: Forty eyes of 40 patients were included in the analysis. Sixteen and 24 patients were diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion and branch retinal vein occlusion, respectively. Twenty-one patients (52.5%) recognized reduced visual acuity due to recurring macular edema. These patients were younger (59.2 +/- 7.6 vs. 64.8 +/- 9.4 years, p = 0.046), had better visual acuity before recurrence of macular edema (0.52 +/- 0.48 vs. 1.02 +/- 0.46, p = 0.002), and exhibited a greater reduction in visual acuity after recurrence of macular edema (0.34 +/- 0.24 vs. 0.14 +/- 0.13, p = 0.003). Only four patients visited the hospital before the scheduled follow-up date, and all of these patients lived relatively close to the hospital. CONCLUSIONS: For prompt treatment of recurring macular edema, more intensive education about the self-estimation of visual acuity is necessary, particularly for elderly patients who have relatively poor visual acuity. In addition, a simple and easy way to identify the recurrence of macular edema at the local clinic should be established for patients who live relatively far from the hospital.
Female ; Fluorescein Angiography ; Follow-Up Studies ; Fundus Oculi ; Humans ; Macular Edema/*diagnosis/etiology/physiopathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Patient Readmission ; Recurrence ; Retinal Vein Occlusion/*complications/diagnosis/physiopathology ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; *Visual Acuity

We describe a case of secondary hypertension caused by renal arteriovenous fistula. An 8-year old girl was hospitalized with a severe headache, vomiting, and seizure. Renal angiography demonstrated multiple renal arteriovenous fistula and increased blood renin concentration in the left renal vein. Thus, left renal arteriovenous fistula and renin induced secondary hypertension were diagnosed. Her blood pressure was well controlled by medication with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor.
Angiography ; Arteriovenous Fistula ; Blood Pressure ; Headache ; Hypertension ; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A ; Renal Veins ; Renin ; Seizures ; Vomiting

PURPOSE: Previous studies examining the relationship between time to treatment and survival outcome in breast cancer have shown inconsistent results. The aim of this study was to analyze the overall impact of delay of treatment initiation on patient survival and to determine whether certain subgroups require more prompt initiation of treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study is a retrospective analysis of stage I-III patients who were treated in a single tertiary institution between 2005 and 2008. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression model were used to evaluate the impact of interval between diagnosis and treatment initiation in breast cancer and various subgroups. RESULTS: A total of 1,702 patients were included. Factors associated with longer delay of treatment initiation were diagnosis at another hospital, medical comorbidities, and procedures performed before admission for surgery. An interval between diagnosis and treatment initiation as a continuous variable or with a cutoff value of 15, 30, 45, and 60 days had no impact on disease-free survival (DFS). Subgroup analyses for hormone-responsiveness, triple-negative breast cancer, young age, clinical stage, and type of initial treatment showed no significant association between longer delay of treatment initiation and DFS. CONCLUSION: Our results show that an interval between diagnosis and treatment initiation of 60 days or shorter does not appear to adversely affect DFS in breast cancer.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Comorbidity ; Diagnosis ; Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Time-to-Treatment ; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms

BACKGROUND/AIMS: A number of studies have reported wide variability in the colonoscope insertion time among patients who had prior abdominal surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of abdominal surgery on colonoscope insertion time. METHODS: The subjects were 192 patients with prior abdominal surgery, among 3,600 patients who underwent a colonoscopy at Samsung Changwon Hospital from May 2008 to May 2010. We collected the following data: insertion time, age, gender, height, weight, BMI, waist circumference, method of abdominal surgery, and the degree of bowel cleanliness. Previous abdominal operations were divided into colectomy, non-colectomy abdominal surgery, pelvic surgery, and laparoscopic surgery groups. RESULTS: The average colonoscope insertion time in patients with prior abdominal surgery (7.73+/-5.95 min) was longer than that of the non-surgery group (6.4+/-3.88 min). Patients in the colectomy groups were older and had a shorter insertion time (5.11+/-3.32 min) than patients in the other groups. CONCLUSIONS: Insertion of a colonoscope in patients with previous abdominal surgery was more difficult than that in the control group, except the colectomy group.
Colectomy ; Colonoscopes ; Colonoscopy ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Waist Circumference

The objectives of this study were to characterize the alterations of 3p and 9p in sporadic renal cell carcinomas (RCC) and to assess the relationship between the clinical stages or tumor size and the alteration of these chromosomes. Thirty eight archival, paraffin embedded tissue sections from 38 patients with RCC were analyzed for loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 3p and 9p with 11 microsatellite markers. LOH was detected in 81.6% (31/38) and 37.8% (14/37) at 3p and 9p, respectively. The frequencies of LOH at VHL and FHIT locus were 75.6% and 72.2%, respectively. Twelve cases out of 38 showed LOH at both 9p21 and 3p. The loss of 3p in the samples tested was not related to clinical stages and tumor size, but that of 9p21 was significantly associated with advanced stage and larger tumor size. These results support that 3p deletion, including VHL and FHIT gene, play a critical role in the tumorigenesis of sporadic RCC, especially at early stage, and that 9p21 may contribute to the progression of sporadic RCC.
Carcinogenesis ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell* ; Humans ; Loss of Heterozygosity* ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Paraffin