Protein S (PS) deficiency is a rare blood disorder associated with thrombosis. Only a small number of cases of isolated celiac artery dissection can be found in the literature. We now report a case of isolated celiac artery dissection and splenic infarction in a 44-year old male with PS deficiency. Abdominal computed tomography revealed celiac artery dissection and splenic infarction. The patient's PS activity was 64% (nl : 70~140%) upon admission and 52% four weeks later. He was started on a regimen of NPO, antibiotics, and analgesics. He resumed oral intake of food and drugs on hospital day 3 and was discharged to his home on hospital day 8. We report a case of isolated celiac artery dissection with splenic infarction in a patient with PS deficiency that improved with conservative treatment. The patient's management did not include anti-platelet/thrombotic agents or endovascular/operational procedures.
Analgesics ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Celiac Artery ; Humans ; Male ; Protein S ; Protein S Deficiency ; Splenic Infarction ; Thrombosis

Internal abdominal hernia is an unusual cause of intestinal obstruction. Paraduodenal hernia is relatively rare congenital malformations resulting from incomplete rotation of the midgut with entrapment of the small intestine beneath the developing colon. We report a case of paraduodenal hernia treated by laparoscopic approach. The patient was a 45-year-old man presenting with severe abdominal pain for 5 hours. Left paraduodenal hernia with jejunum hernia containing jejunal loops showed in abdominal CT. At operation, herniation of the small intestine into a retroperitoneal space through a defect on the left mesocolon was noted. After the herniated bowel was fully reduced, the hernia orifice was closed intra-corporeally in the manner of interrupted sutures with absorbable suture materials. The patient was discharged home without any serious complications on postoperative day 9. Conclusively, we think laparoscopic surgery in left paraduodenal hernia is feasible.
Abdominal Pain ; Colon ; Hernia ; Hernia, Abdominal ; Humans ; Intestinal Obstruction ; Intestine, Small ; Jejunum ; Laparoscopy ; Mesocolon ; Middle Aged ; Retroperitoneal Space ; Sutures

The fourth author's name was misprinted.
Fibroblast Growth Factor 2* ; Humans ; Pilot Projects*

BACKGROUND: The use of leeches can effectively increase the salvage rate of flap congestion. However, the first reaction from patients and carers in using leeches in clinical fields is strong aversion. This can be due to the fact that development of our culture from agriculture to industrial society, coming across leeches became fairly rare. Also because of the biological traits that leeches carry; staying attached to a leg or other body parts of the host, sucking blood, and leaving wounds. METHODS: This study was conducted through questionnaires, divided into many subgroups. We scaled the compliance of the two therapies, with or without leech. Maximum scale of 10 showing no rejective response to the therapy and minimum scale of 0 showing the greatest rejective response. RESULTS: Overall subjects' compliance was improved after explaining the benefits of hirudotherapy. Irrelevant to the explanation, there was no significant difference in general compliance between male and female. Young-aged group and medical personnel or people studying medicine showed higher compliance over older-aged group and the general public. CONCLUSION: In the terms of general social cognition, recognizing leech as a therapeutic material may not be welcomed at first, but provided with proper information and explanations, overall compliance of patients and carers can be improved and consequently result in superior outcomes in flap salvage.
Agriculture ; Bloodletting ; Caregivers ; Cognition ; Compliance ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Female ; Human Body ; Humans ; Leeches ; Leg ; Male ; Patient Compliance* ; Surgical Flaps ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Wounds and Injuries

BACKGROUND: Nitric Oxide (NO) is a multi-faceted molecule with dichotomous regulatory roles in many areas of biology. NO can promote apoptosis in some cells, whereas it inhibits apoptosis in other cell types. This study was performed to characterize NO-induced cell death in lung epithelial cells and to investigate the roles of cell death regulators including iron, bcl-2 and p53. METHODS: A549 cells were used for lung epithelial cells. SNP (sodium nitroprusside) and SNAP (S-nitroso-N-acetyl-penicillamine) were used for NO donor. Cytoxicity assay was done by MTT assay and crystal violet assay. Apoptotic assay was done by fluorescent microscopy after double staining with propidium iodide and hoecst 33342. Iron inhibition study was done with RBCs and FeSO4. For bcl-2 study, bcl-2 overexpressing cells (A549-bcl-2) were used and for p53 study, Western blot analysis and p53 functionally knock-out cells (A549-E6) were used. RESULTS: SNP and SNAP induced dose-dependent cell death in A549 cells and fluorescent microscopy revealed that SNAP induced apoptosis in low doses but necrosis in high doses while SNP induced exclusively necrotic cell death. Iron inhibition study using RBCs and FeSO4 significantly blocked SNAP-induced cell death. And also SNAP-induced cell death was blocked by bcl-2 overexpression. Finally, we found that SNAP activate p53 by Western blot analysis and that SNAP-induced cell death was decreased in the abscence of p53. CONCLUSION: In lung epithelial cells, NO can induce cell death, more precisely apoptosis in low doses and necrosis in high doses. And iron, bcl-2, and p53 play important roles in NO-induced cell death.
Apoptosis ; Biology ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Death* ; Epithelial Cells* ; Gentian Violet ; Humans ; Iron ; Lung* ; Microscopy ; Necrosis ; Nitric Oxide* ; Propidium ; Tissue Donors

Osteomas are benign, slow-growing osteogenic lesions frequently found in the craniomaxillofacial region. They can be classified as peripheral, central, or extraskeletal. Reactive mechanisms to trauma or infection, as well as muscle traction, are thought to play a major role in the development of peripheral osteomas. In the present report, a 41-year-old woman presented with a slow-growing, painless mass on her left eyebrow. She had suffered trauma 15 years prior. In the computed tomography scan, a 2.5 × 2 × 0.7-cm radio-opaque tumor was detected just medial to the left supraorbital foramen, and a peripheral osteoma was clinically diagnosed. An elective operation under general anesthesia was planned. Following a suprabrow incision, subcutaneous and intramuscular dissection was performed. In the surgical plane deep to the corrugator muscles and superficial to periosteum, a branch of the supratrochlear nerve was encountered and preserved using a vessel loop. The osteoma beneath the periosteum was extracted in multiple fragments using a chisel and mallet to minimize trauma to the nerve. Contour and facial symmetry were corrected. To use a suprabrow incision, the surgeon must understand neighboring anatomical structures, including the course of the supratrochlear and supraorbital neurovascular bundles. When these structures are located adjacent to tumor lesions, careful surgical maneuvers should be performed to preserve them.
Adult ; Anesthesia, General ; Eyebrows ; Female ; Forehead ; Humans ; Muscles ; Osteoma ; Periosteum ; Traction

Schwannoma is a slow-growing, well-demarcated, benign soft tissue tumor of the peripheral nerve sheath. It commonly develops in the head and neck region, usually in the parapharyngeal space. In this case, a 42-year-old woman visited the outpatient department to manage a painless mass on her left cheek. She had no history of concern and no neurological symptoms were observed. In the enhanced computed tomography scan, a 2.8 × 2.8 × 1.8 cm, heterogeneously enhanced tumor was detected in the left masseter muscle. A tumor resection under general anesthesia was planned. For the resection, a facelift incision was chosen; branches of the facial nerve were identified and retrogradely dissected. A well-marginated, yellowish, solid mass was found in the left masseter muscle. The mass was excised and given a histopathological diagnosis of schwannoma. A definite diagnosis of schwannoma, originating in the masseter muscle, is difficult to arrive at with radiographic findings alone; it is often misdiagnosed as intramuscular hemangioma. Histopathological examinations, including fine-needle aspiration or histological biopsy after surgery, are necessary. Using a facelift incision with retrograde facial nerve dissection, tumor resection in an intramasseteric lesion can be performed efficiently, without nerve damage, or leaving conspicuous scars on the face.
Adult ; Anesthesia, General ; Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Cheek ; Cicatrix ; Diagnosis ; Facial Nerve ; Female ; Head ; Hemangioma ; Humans ; Masseter Muscle ; Neck ; Neurilemmoma ; Outpatients ; Peripheral Nerves ; Rhytidoplasty

BACKGROUND: The cheek rotation flap has sufficient blood flow and large flap size and it is also flexible and easy to manipulate. It has been used for reconstruction of defects on cheek, lower eyelid, or medial and lateral canthus. For the large defects on central nose, paramedian forehead flap has been used, but patients were reluctant despite the remaining same skin tone on damaged area because of remaining scars on forehead. However, the cheek flap is cosmetically superior as it uses the adjacent large flap. Thus, the study aims to demonstrate its versatility with clinical practices. METHODS: This is retrospective case study on 38 patients who removed facial masses and reconstructed by the cheek rotation flap from 2008 to 2015. It consists of defects on cheek (16), lower eyelid (12), nose (3), medial canthus (3), lateral canthus (2), and preauricle (2). Buccal mucosa was used for the reconstruction of eyelid conjunctiva, and skin graft was processed for nasal mucosa reconstruction. RESULTS: The average defect size was 6.4 cm², and the average flap size was 47.3 cm². Every flap recovered without complications such as abnormal slant, entropion or ectropion in lower eyelid, but revision surgery required in three cases of nasal side wall reconstruction due to the occurrence of dog ear on nasolabial sulcus. CONCLUSION: The cheek rotation flap can be applicable instead of paramedian forehead flap for the large nasal sidewall defect reconstruction as well as former medial and lateral canthal defect reconstruction.
Animals ; Cheek* ; Cicatrix ; Conjunctiva ; Dogs ; Ear ; Ectropion ; Entropion ; Eyelids ; Forehead ; Humans ; Lacrimal Apparatus ; Mouth Mucosa ; Nasal Mucosa ; Nose ; Retrospective Studies ; Skin ; Skin Pigmentation ; Transplants

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to analyze the treatment strategies of patients with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)-related perforations. This is a retrospective study. METHODS: We experienced 13 perforations associated with ERCP. We reviewed the medical recordsand classified ERCP-related perforations according to mechanism of injury in terms of perforating device. Injury by endoscopic tip or insertion tube was classified as type I, injury by cannulation catheter or sphincterotomy knife as type II, and injury by guidewire as type III. RESULTS: Of four type I injuries, one case was managed by conservative management after primary closure with a hemoclip during ERCP. The other three patients underwent surgical treatments such as primary closure orpancreatico-duodenectomy. Of five type II injuries, two patients underwent conservative management and the other three cases were managed by surgical treatment such as duodenojejunostomy, duodenal diverticulization and pancreatico-duodenectomy. Of four type III injuries, three patients were managed conservatively and the remaining patient was managed by T-tube choledochostomy. CONCLUSION: Type I injuries require immediate surgical management after EPCP or immediate endoscopic closure during ERCP whenever possible. Type II injuries require surgical or conservative treatment according to intra- and retro-peritoneal dirty fluid collection findings following radiologic evaluation. Type III injuries almost always improve after conservative treatment with endoscopic nasobilliary drainage.
Catheterization ; Catheters ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde ; Drainage ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND: NF-κB is the most important transcriptional factor in Il-8 gene expression. Triptolide is a new compound that recently has been shown to inhibit NF-κB activation. The purpose of this study is to investigate how triptolide inhibits NF-κB-dependent IL-8 gene transcription in lung epithelial cells and to pilot the potential for the clinical application of triptolide in inflammatory lung diseases. METHODS: A549 cells were used and triptolide was provided from Pharmagenesis Company (Palo Alto, CA). In order to examine NF-κB-dependent IL-8 transcriptional activity, we established stable A549 IL-8-NF-κB-luc. cells and performed luciferase assays. IL-8 gene expression was measured by RT-PCR and ELISA. A Western blot was done for the study of IκBα degradation and as electromobility shift assay was done to analyze NF-κB DNA binding. p65 specific transactivation was analyzed by a cotransfection study using a Gal4-p65 fusion protein expression system. To investigate the involvement of transcriptional coactivators, we perfomed a transfection study with CBP and SRC-1 expression vectors. RESULTS: We observed that triptolide significantly suppresses NF-κB-dependent IL-8 transcriptional activity induced by IL-1β and PMA. RT-PCR showed that triptolide represses both IL-1β- and pMA-induced IL-8 mRNA expression and ELISA confirmed this triptolide-mediated IL-8 suppression at the protein level. However, triptolide did not affect IκBα degradation and NF-κB DNA binding. In a p65-specific transactivation study, triptolide significantly suppressed Gal4-p65TA1 and Gal4-p65TA2 activity suggesting that triptolide inhibits NF-κB activation by inhibiting p65 transactivation. However, this triptolide-mediated inhibition of p65 transactivation was not rescued by the overexpression of CBP or SRC-1, thereby excluding the role of transcriptional coactivators. CONCLUSIONS: Triptolide is a new compound that inhibits NF-κB-dependent IL-8 transcriptional activation by inhibiting p65 transactivation, but not by an IκBα-dependent mechanism. This suggests that triptolide may have a therapeutic potential for inflammatory lung diseases.
Blotting, Western ; DNA ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Epithelial Cells* ; Gene Expression ; Interleukin-8* ; Luciferases ; Lung Diseases ; Lung* ; NF-kappa B* ; RNA, Messenger ; Transcriptional Activation ; Transfection