PURPOSE: To analyze the clinical and radiological results of the operative treatment in the avulsion fracture on the base of the fifth metatarsal. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied retrospectively, 11 patients of avulsion fracture on the base of the fifth metatarsal operated and followed over 1 year, from February 2000 to May 2002. There were eight men and three women and the average age was 39 years old. The mean follow up period was 14 months. Ten cases were slip-down and one case was fall from a height injuries. We used the modified Foot Score by Wiener for the clinical evaluation, and analyzed the time of union and state of reduction radiologically. RESULTS: In clinical results, we had ten excellent and one good cases by the modified Foot Score at last follow-up. In radiologic results, the complete bony union was achieved in all cases and the duration of the bony union was 37 days in average. CONCLUSION: We had good result for the avulsion fractures on the base of the fifth metatarsal treated by the operation. This study shows the operation was recommended for the moderate and severe displacement of the avulsion fractures on the base of the fifth metatarsal.
Adult ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Foot ; Humans ; Male ; Metatarsal Bones* ; Retrospective Studies

There were so many causes of chronic coughing including postnasal drip, pneumonia, nasal polyp, asthma, interstinal lung disease etc. Congenital bronchoesophageal fistula was not usually thought as cause of chronic coughing. A 46-year-old female patient suffered from chronic coughing without usual causes. Her chest X-ray viewed normally. She coughed especially after swallowing foods. So we recommended her esophagogram and it revealed broncho-esphageal fistula. She underwent surgical resection of broncho-esophageal fistula. She was well without cough after the surgery. We reported a case of congenital broncho-esphageal fistula that had caused chronic coughing without any evidence of pneumonia, malignancy, tuberculosis, bronchiectasis, inflammation, asthma, nasal polyp, etc. So we should suspect the bronchoesophageal fistula when patients cough chronically with eating, and recommend the esophagogram.
Asthma ; Bronchiectasis ; Cough* ; Deglutition ; Eating ; Female ; Fistula* ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Lung Diseases ; Middle Aged ; Nasal Polyps ; Pneumonia ; Thorax ; Tuberculosis

Thoracoscopic thoracic sympathectomy for primary palmar hyperhidrosis has been known to be effective and to have cosmetic merits compared to conventional open sympathectomy. In spite of its cosmetic advantages over thoracotomy, VATS using 5 mm or 10 mm instruments still has the problem of operative wound as well as pain on trocar sites. Recently, 2 mm thoracoscopic instruments have been used. The purpose of this study was to examine the results of thoracoscopic sympathectomy for palmar hyperhidrosis with 2 mm thoracoscopic instruments. From January 1997 to April 1997, 46 patients underwent bilateral thoracoscopic sympathectomy with 2mm instruments at Seoul National University Hospital. T-2 ganglion was carefully dissected and resected out in all patients. In one patient, the lower third of T-1 ganglion was inadvertently resected together with T-2 ganglion due to poor anatomical localization. In 4 patients who also complained of excessive axillary sweating, T-3 ganglion was resected as well. The instruments were removed without leaving any chest drain after reexpansion of the lung. Trocar sites were approximated with sterile tapes. All patients were relieved of excessive sweating in their upper extremities immediately after the operation. Nine patients (19.6%) showed incomplete reexpansion of the lung, and two of them required needle aspiration. Complications related to the surgical procedures, such as Horner's syndrome, hemothorax, and brachial plexus injury, were not detected in any cases. Most patientsdid not complaine of pain. All patients were discharged from the hospital on the day of operation. Despite a narrow operative viewfield, thoracic sympathectomy with 2 mm thoracoscopic instruments can be performed without increasing any severe complications. We recommend 2 mm instruments for thoracoscopic sympathectomy because they make as the more cosmetic, less painful, and equally effective compared to thoracoscopic sympathectomy using 5 mm or greater instruments.
Brachial Plexus ; Ganglion Cysts ; Hemothorax ; Horner Syndrome ; Humans ; Hyperhidrosis* ; Lung ; Needles ; Seoul ; Surgical Instruments ; Sweat ; Sweating ; Sympathectomy* ; Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted ; Thoracoscopy ; Thoracotomy ; Thorax ; Upper Extremity ; Wounds and Injuries

Methotrexate (MTX) has been widely used in the treatment of psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. But prolonged use of MTX can induce hepatic fibrosis and even cirrhosis. To date, in Korea, there have been very few reports on hepatotoxicity due to MTX, and no report on biopsy-proven chronic active hapatitis. We report one patient who developed chronic acitve hepatitis while taking long-term daily dose of MTX(10mg per day) for psoriasis for a prolonged period.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Fibrosis ; Hepatitis ; Hepatitis, Chronic* ; Humans ; Korea ; Methotrexate* ; Psoriasis*

Small cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder is a rare finding. It is characterized by an aggressive clinical course with early metastasis and it tends to affect the elderly who have significant comorbidities. The mean age of these patients is 67.8 years. The prognosis of small cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder is poor because its behavior is more aggressive than bladder transitional cell carcinoma. On the pathologic finding, small cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder is usually combined with transitional cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma in approximately 40% of cases. We reported here on a case of the primary pure small cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder in a 26 year-old man who was managed with partial cystectomy and combined chemotherapy using cisplatin.
Adenocarcinoma ; Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Small Cell* ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell ; Cisplatin ; Comorbidity ; Cystectomy ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis ; Urinary Bladder*

We report a rare case of the idiopathic membranous glomerulonephritis (IMGN) in association with the thin glomerular basement membrane nephropathy (TGBMN) in a 63-year-old female with hematuria. This is the first case reported in Korea. In renal biopsy of this case, direct immunofluorescence demonstrated anti-IgG Ab along the glomerular capillary wall with granular pattern. The basement membrane was thin, about 170-220 nm and small epimembranous electron dense deposits were observed by electron microscopy. As this case, the combination of TGBMN and IMGN is very uncommon because the IMGN is characterized morphologically by diffuse global thickening of the glomerular capillary wall, while the TGBMN is defined as an extreme thinning of the glomerular basement membrane, less than 200 nm. Our case showed no renal function deterioration and benign prognosis as other reports showed.
Basement Membrane ; Biopsy ; Capillaries ; Female ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Direct ; Glomerular Basement Membrane* ; Glomerulonephritis, Membranous* ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Korea ; Microscopy, Electron ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis

PURPOSE: To investigate the teratogenic effect of gamma-ray on the heart of chick embryo. METHODS: 50 rad, 100 rad, 150 rad, 200 rad, 250 rad, and 300 rad of gamma-ray were used to irradiate three days old chick embryos. The control group was not irradiated. After three weeks, the embryos were sacrificed and examined for cardiovascular malformation. RESULTS: The survival rate of the gamma-ray irradiated group was significantly lower than that of the control group(33.3-63.3% vs 76.4%, P=0.001). The cardiac malformation rate of the experimental group was 11.0%. In the control group, no congenital cardiac malformations were observed. The experimental groups had a significantly higher malformation rate(P=0.001). The types of malformation were ventricular septal defect, tricuspid atresia, Ebstein anomaly and aortic arch anomaly. In the gamma-ray irradiated group, the cardiac malformations were : 14 small ventricular septal defects (VSDs), five large VSDs, two tricuspid atresias, and one Ebstein anomaly. The higher the dose of radiation applied, the higher the incidence of cardiac malformation was noted. CONCLUSION: Gamma-ray irradiation of 3 days old chick embryos increased the rate of death and the rate of cardiac malformation significantly.
Animals ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Chick Embryo* ; Ebstein Anomaly ; Embryonic Structures ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular ; Heart* ; Incidence ; Survival Rate ; Tricuspid Atresia

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The prognosis of chronic liver disease is closely related to the development of hepatic fibrosis. Liver biopsy is the gold standard method to assess inflammatory activity and fibrosis stage, but this is associated with morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum hyaluronic acid, 7S domain of type IV collagen and AST/ALT ratio as markers of hepatic fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B and cirrhosis. METHODS: This study included 100 patients with chronic hepatitis B and cirrhosis. Liver biopsy and histopathologic classification were done. Serum hyaluronic acid and 7S domain of type IV collagen were measured by one step sandwich binding protein assay and radioimmunoassay using polyclonal antibody to 7S domain of type IV collagen, respectively. RESULTS: The serum concentrations of hyaluronic acid, 7S domain of type IV collagen and AST/ALT ratio in the cirrhosis group (139 +/- 98.4 ng/mL, 6.9 +/- 3.5 ng/mL, 1.6 +/- 1.5) were significantly higher (p<0.01) than those in the normal and fatty liver group (20.2 +/- 12.5 ng/mL, 3.5 +/- 0.5 ng/mL, 0.7 +/- 0.3), mild hepatitis group (32.3 +/- 52.7 ng/mL, 3.9 +/- 1.4 ng/mL, 0.7 +/- 0.4), and moderate to severe hepatitis group (68.2 +/- 72.3 ng/mL, 5.3 +/- 2.4 ng/mL, 0.8 +/- 0.4). At the cutoff value of 77 ng/mL for hyaluronic acid and 6.3 ng/mL for 7S domain of type IV collagen and 0.62 for AST/ALT ratio, the sensitivities were 81.8%, 63.6%, 90.9% and specificities were 87.3%, 88.6%, 53.1% for discriminating cirrhosis (fibrosis score: 4) from the mild to severe fibrosis (fibrosis score: 0-3). CONCLUSIONS: Serum hyaluronic acid, 7S domain of type IV collagen and AST/ALT ratio measurement may be clinically useful as markers of hepatic fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B and cirrhosis.
Adult ; Alanine Transaminase/*blood ; Aspartate Aminotransferases/*blood ; Biological Markers/blood ; Collagen Type IV/*blood ; Female ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/blood/*pathology ; Humans ; Hyaluronic Acid/*blood ; Liver/*pathology ; Liver Cirrhosis/blood/*pathology ; Male ; Prognosis ; Sensitivity and Specificity

BACKGROUND: Although aortic valve sclerosis causes no significant hemodynamic alterations, it is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular death and myocardial infarction. However, the role of beta3 integrin in aortic valve sclerosis remains unclear. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Twenty male New Zealand rabbits were divided into two groups. Group 1 rabbits (n=10) received a normal chow diet, while group 2 (n=10) rabbits received a diet containing 1% cholesterol for 12 weeks. After the rabbits were euthanized, their aortic valves and ascending aortas were excised for analysis. RESULT: Total serum cholesterol (2,148.3+/-1,012.5 mg/dL versus 53.7+/-31.8 mg/dL, p<0.05), triglyceride (240.4+/-218.3 mg/dL versus 31.6+/-6.4 mg/dL, p<0.05), and low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol (2,065.3+/-960.9 mg/dL versus 29.1+/-30.9 mg/dL, p<0.05) levels were significantly higher in the cholesterol diet group compared with the normal diet group. Myofibroblasts and macrophages were more highly expressed in the aortic valve leaflets of rabbits in the cholesterol diet group than of those in the normal diet group. A real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed decreased beta3 integrin mRNA levels in the hypercholesterolemic aortic valves and aortas. CONCLUSION: The present study shows that hypercholesterolemia induces aortic valve sclerosis. These findings suggest that alterations in beta3 integrin may play a role in the development of aortic valve sclerosis.
Aorta ; Aortic Valve ; Atherosclerosis ; Cholesterol ; Diet ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Integrin beta3 ; Integrins ; Lipoproteins ; Macrophages ; Male ; Myocardial Infarction ; Myofibroblasts ; Rabbits ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Messenger ; Sclerosis

PURPOSE: We investigated the clinical characteristics and demographics of patients who suffered from hydrofluoric acid chemical injury and the mechanism of damage. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who were exposed to hydrofluoric acid from March 2004 to March 2009 and who were seen at the emergency centers in two university teaching hospitals. RESULTS: Forty four patients out of 47 patients suffered from chemical burn, while the injuries of the remaining 3 could not be identified by the medical records. A total of 17 hydrofluoric acid chemical injury patients were enrolled during the study period, and their mean age was 29.6+/-7.0. All the patients were accidentally injured by contact with the material and none of them inhaled or ingested the material. Only 6 patients wore appropriate protective equipments and 5 underwent the water irrigation for more than 10 minutes. The most common exposure area was the hand and forearm (70.5%). Less than 1% of all of the patients had their total body surface (TBS) exposed to hydrofluoric acid (mean=0.35%). The mean time interval from calcium gluconate administration to pain relief was 33.6+/-8.8 hours. CONCLUSION: When exposed to hydrofluoric acid, it is important to wear protective equipment and undergo water irrigation for more than 10 minutes. Pain and skin damage were observed in all the patients. After treatment, we concluded that administration of calcium gluconate and pain killers was successful in relieving pain, and the prognosis was also positive for the admitted and followed up patients when less than 1% of the TBS was exposed.
Burns, Chemical ; Calcium Gluconate ; Demography ; Emergencies ; Forearm ; Gluconates ; Hand ; Hospitals, Teaching ; Humans ; Hydrofluoric Acid ; Medical Records ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Skin ; Water