PURPOSE: We wanted to describe the practice and results of applying the day-hospital system in an interventional radiology clinic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From Oct. 2004 to Dec. 2005, the day-hospital system was applied to various interventional procedures with using a part of the recovery room of an angiography suite as a facility for hospital admission. The study included 91 cases in 73 patients. The source of the patient referral, the procedures, hospital courses and complications were analyzed and questionnaire surveys were conducted for the available 55 patients. RESULTS: Among the patients, 70% (n=64) were referred from other departments, 5% (n=5) from other hospitals, 5% (n=4) were new patients and 20% (n=18) were re-admissions. The procedures included gastrointestinal, biliary, urinary, hemodialysis related- and implantable port related interventions. 96% (n=87) of the patients were successfully discharged in a day and admission to the general ward was only 4% (n=4). Minor complications occurred after discharges in 3% (n=3). The questionnaire survey revealed that 96% (n=53) of the patients were satisfied with the service and they were not anxious after discharge. CONCLUSION: Most of common interventional procedures were safely done under the day-hospital system with the patients being highly satisfied. The day-hospital system can be a good tool for establishing admitting privileges for an interventional radiology clinic.
Angiography ; Humans ; Patients' Rooms ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Radiology, Interventional ; Recovery Room ; Referral and Consultation ; Renal Dialysis

PURPOSE: We wanted to describe the practice and results of applying the day-hospital system in an interventional radiology clinic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From Oct. 2004 to Dec. 2005, the day-hospital system was applied to various interventional procedures with using a part of the recovery room of an angiography suite as a facility for hospital admission. The study included 91 cases in 73 patients. The source of the patient referral, the procedures, hospital courses and complications were analyzed and questionnaire surveys were conducted for the available 55 patients. RESULTS: Among the patients, 70% (n=64) were referred from other departments, 5% (n=5) from other hospitals, 5% (n=4) were new patients and 20% (n=18) were re-admissions. The procedures included gastrointestinal, biliary, urinary, hemodialysis related- and implantable port related interventions. 96% (n=87) of the patients were successfully discharged in a day and admission to the general ward was only 4% (n=4). Minor complications occurred after discharges in 3% (n=3). The questionnaire survey revealed that 96% (n=53) of the patients were satisfied with the service and they were not anxious after discharge. CONCLUSION: Most of common interventional procedures were safely done under the day-hospital system with the patients being highly satisfied. The day-hospital system can be a good tool for establishing admitting privileges for an interventional radiology clinic.
Angiography ; Humans ; Patients' Rooms ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Radiology, Interventional ; Recovery Room ; Referral and Consultation ; Renal Dialysis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effective stimulating mode of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and acupuncture for pain relief. METHOD: The subjects were 40 patients with MPS. In 20 patients, TENS were applied to the trigger point. In other 20 patients, acupuncture mode electrical stimulation were applied to the acupuncture site by measuring skin impedance of affected muscle. RESULTS: The visual Analogue Scale (VAS) decreased 20.48 (19.15%) in the group applied TENS mode and 30.08 (16.97%) in the group applied acupuncture mode after 1 week. The VAS decreased 33.19 (25.76%) in the groupapplied TENS mode and 46.48(17.76%) in the group applied acupuncture mode after 2 week (p<0.05). The pressure threshold was increased 16.07 (17.45%) in the group applied TENS mode and 26.09 (22.20%) in the group applied acupuncture mode after 1 week. The pressure threshold increased 24.88 (23.25%) in the group applied TENS mode and 41.11 (27.35%) in the group applied acupuncture mode after 2 week. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture mode was more effective treatment modality in MPS for pain relief than TENS mode.
Acupuncture* ; Electric Impedance ; Electric Stimulation* ; Humans ; Myofascial Pain Syndromes* ; Skin ; Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation ; Trigger Points

OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study were to evaluate the change of temperature before and after thoracic sympathectomy in patients with palmar hyperhidrosis and to find the usefulness of infrared thermography for the assessment of effects of thoracic sympathectomy. METHOD: The skin temperature was measured before, one day and 30 days after sympathectomy in 28 patients with palmar hyperhidrosis. Temperature was recorded on forehead, cheek, neck, axilla, umbilicus and 6 sites of each hand and foot by infrared thermography and thermometer. Patient's satisfaction with operation was assessed by 10 point scale. RESULTS: All patient who had undergone sympathectomy showed significantly decreased discomfort owing to hyperhidrosis by 10 point scale (p<0.05). The temperature significantly elevated on postoperative 1 day and 30 days on both palms as compared with preoperative state, bilaterally (p<0.05). There were no significant differences of sole temperatures among preoperative, postoperative 1 day and postoperative 30 days, bilaterally. CONCLUSION: We proved significant effect of thoracic sympathectomy to the patients with palmar hyperhidrosis objectively, and we also quantified the elevation of palm temperature after sympathectomy.
Axilla ; Cheek ; Foot ; Forehead ; Hand ; Humans ; Hyperhidrosis* ; Neck ; Skin Temperature* ; Skin* ; Sympathectomy* ; Thermography ; Thermometers ; Umbilicus

Angiosarcoma is a rare primary malignancy occurring anywhere in the body, but most often in the skin, liver or breast. The radiological findings of angiosarcoma of the breast have rarely been reported. We encountered a case in which the condition involved a 32-year-old woman in whom mammography revealed a obscuved-marginated and lobular-shaped high-density lesion, and ultrasonography demonstrated an ovalshaped, microlobular-marginated, inhomogenous hypoechoic mass which metastasized to the whole body after surgery. We report the radiological findings of this case of angiosarcoma of the breast, and review the literature.
Adult ; Breast Neoplasms ; Breast* ; Female ; Hemangiosarcoma* ; Humans ; Liver ; Mammography ; Sarcoma ; Skin ; Ultrasonography

Purpose To analyze the sources of errors and discuss the techniques to eliminate pitfalls in detecting deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of the proximal lower extremities with color duplex ultrasonography (CDUS). Methods Sixty-eight cases with initial and repeat venous CDUS of the proximal lower extremities were retrospectively reviewed. The repeat was done within 24 hours after initial CDUS scanning. Comparing repeated images to initial ones, the pitfalls and sources of error in CDUS of the proximal lower extremities were discussed. Results In total 68 repeat studies, there were 62 results as same as initials and 4 cases of false negative DVT and 2 cases of false positive DVT. Conclusion Venous CDUS in detecting DVT is observer dependent. Some pitfalls and errors can be eliminated and corrected with proper scan techniques. CDUS is the most valuable imaging modality for assessing suspected DVT in the proximal lower extremities.

A localized fibrous tumor of the pleura (LFTP) is a slow growing, rare primary pleural neoplasm. Typically, it takes the form of a well-delineated large mass lesion based on the pleura. Several radiologic descriptions of benign LFTP have been published, but the radiologic findings of malignant LFTP involving invasion of the chest wall have not been reported. We describe a case of malignant LFTP with chest wall invasion, confirmed pathologically, and review the literature.
Pleura* ; Pleural Neoplasms ; Thoracic Wall* ; Thorax*

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the usefulness of MR imaging for diseases of the small intestine, emphasizing a comparison with CT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-four patients who underwent both CT and MR imaging using FLASH 2D and HASTE sequences were analyzed. All patients had various small bowel diseases with variable association of peritoneal lesions. We compared the detectabilities of CT and MR imaging using different MR pulse sequences. The capability for analyzing the characteristics of small intestinal disease was also compared. RESULTS: MR imaging was nearly equal to CT for detecting intraluminal or peritoneal masses, lesions in the bowel and mesentery, and small bowel obstruction, but was definitely inferior for detecting omental lesions. The most successful MR imaging sequence was HASTE for demonstrating bowel wall thickening, coronal FLASH 2D for mesenteric lesions, and axial FLASH 2D for omental lesions. MR imaging yielded greater information than CT in six of 12 inflammatory bowel diseases, while it was equal to CT in six of seven neoplasms and inferior in five of seven mesenteric ischemia. In determining the primary causes of 15 intestinal obstructions, MR imaging was correct in 11 (73%) and CT in nine (60%) patients. CONCLUSION: MR imaging can serve as an alternative diagnostic tool for patients with suspected inflammatory bowel disease, small intestinal neoplasm or obstruction. is a high-speed, heavily T2-weighted sequence with a great sensitivity for fluid (11). This advance may make it possible to use breath-hold turbo spin-echo MR.
Comparative Study ; Female ; Human ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/*diagnosis ; Intestinal Neoplasms/*diagnosis ; Intestinal Obstruction/*diagnosis ; Intestine, Small/*pathology ; *Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Age ; *Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Cavernous hemangioma is the most common benign hepatic tumor. Typically, the most common features revealed by ultrasound(US) include its small size(4cm or less in diameter), uniform hyperechogenicity, welldefined margins, position in the subcapsular region of the right lobe of the liver, and some posterior echo enhancement. In addition, follow-up scanning may reveal changes in size, though this is rare. The US findings of hepatic hemangiomas may vary, however, especially when lesions are large and/or multiple. For that reason, differential diagnosis between this condition and hepatocellular carcinomas, metastatic lesions, lymphomas and other tumors is difficult. An understanding of the various sonographic findings of hepatic hemangioma can facilitate the early detection of the condition.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Classification* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemangioma* ; Hemangioma, Cavernous ; Liver ; Lymphoma ; Ultrasonography

Vascular complications after liver transplantation may involve the hepatic artery, and hepatic and portal veins. Arterial complications are common and significant vascular complications include thrombosis or stenosis, as well as pseudoaneurysms. Venous complications include thrombisis or stenosis of the inferior vena cana, or hepatic or portal vein. Since recent evidence has shown that emergent revascularization leads to improved graft salvage and patient survival with a relatively low rate of late biliary complications, accurate and pronpt di-agnosis of hepatic arterial complications is important. Doppler US is a relatively inexpensive, accurate, and non-invasive method of diagnosing the vascular complications which may arise from liver transplantation.
Aneurysm, False ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Hepatic Artery ; Humans ; Liver Transplantation* ; Liver* ; Portal Vein ; Thrombosis ; Transplants