A possible therapeutic effect of acetyl-L carnitine (ALCAR) on peripheral nerve injuries and the expression of Jun, the protein products of immediate-early genes(IEGs), in the spinal cord were investigated after sciatic nerve injury in Sprague-Dawley rats. Experimental animals were divided into 3 groups: intact sciatic nerve as a control group, surgical repair alone, and surgical repair with ALCAR treatment. Toe-spreading response, pinprick response, and compound action potential were measured to evaluate the recovery of sciatic nerve injury. Recovery of behavioral function and electrophysiological function both improved in the surgical repair with ALCAR treatment group. Weak basal expression of Jun was shown in the ventral horn the of spinal cord in the control group. In the surgical repair alone group or the surgical repair with ALCAR treatment group, Jun expression persisted until 28 days after injury in the ventral horn of the spinal cord. Moreover, the surgical repair with ALCAR treatment group showed more increased expression of Jun than the surgical repair alone group. These results suggest that ALCAR facilitates the functional recovery after peripheral nerve injury.
Acetylcarnitine ; Action Potentials ; Animals ; Carnitine* ; Horns ; Peripheral Nerve Injuries ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sciatic Nerve* ; Spinal Cord

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) is an uncommon heritable disorder of elastin characterized by cutaneous, ocular and vascular abnormalities. Typical skin lesion shows yellowish papules and redundant skin folds on the neck, axilla and groin due to degeneration and calcification of elastic fibers in deep dermis. As in all heritable disorders of connective tissue, no curative therapy is presently know. Redundant and unsightly skin folds about the neck can be improved by surgery, but irregular papular lesion on skin does not improved by surgery. A-44-year-old female who had a skin lesion and angioid streak was treated as follows: Skin folds on the neck were excised successfully without any significant problem such as intraoperative bleeding, wound dehiscence or hypertrophic scar formation. To evaluate whether we could smooth the irregular skin surface due to multiple papules, laserbrasion with a SLT contack Nd:YAG laser system was performed experimentally on a limited area which was located on the right supracla-vicular area about 2 x 3cm in size. An acceptable aesthetic appearance was achieved with surgical excision 12 months after the operation. Biopsy of the laserbrasion site revealed disappearance of the calcium deposit. This study emphasizes the possibility of using laserbrasion in solving troblesome skin lesion of the PXE.
Angioid Streaks ; Axilla ; Biopsy ; Calcium ; Cicatrix, Hypertrophic ; Connective Tissue ; Dermis ; Elastic Tissue ; Elastin ; Female ; Groin ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Neck* ; Pseudoxanthoma Elasticum ; Skin ; Wounds and Injuries

The traumatic optic neuropathy occurs in 0.5 to 5% of closed head trauma cases. Because it may cause permanent blindness, the early diagnosis and proper treatment are very important. We have treated 6 traumatic optic neuropathy patients among 433 head trauma cases from Sep, 1997 to Aug, 1998. Four patients showed visual recovery with steroid therapy. The diagnosis can be made clinically when the patient suffers from acutely decreased vision, Marcus-Gunn pupil, with its relatively normal fundoscopic finding, is considered as the most sensitive indicator and the first herald of visual tract injury, even though visual acuity is normal at the initial stage. The megadose steroid therapy must be diagnosed for the recovery of incompletely injured axons rather than regeneration. The optic canal decompression surgery must be spared for the delayed onset optic neuropathy patients who do not respond to the steroid therapy. In a case of indirect optic neuropathy, the associated orbital fracture reduction should not be undertaken until the optic neuropathy has stabilized. But severely displaced blow-in fracture of the orbit that decreases orbital volume should repaired early for orbital decompression.
Axons ; Blindness ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Decompression ; Diagnosis ; Early Diagnosis ; Head Injuries, Closed ; Humans ; Optic Nerve Diseases ; Optic Nerve Injuries* ; Optic Nerve* ; Orbit ; Orbital Fractures ; Pupil Disorders ; Regeneration ; Visual Acuity

Infection following insertion of a breast implant is relatively uncommon, with an overall incidence of less than 4 percent, but can be devastating. Although its management options may be antibiotic therapy along with active surgical regimen like drainage, mechanical irrigation, debridement and implant removal, the efficacy of aforementioned therapeutic regimen is unclear in some cases, thus can be challenging. In particular cases of being chronic and refractory to therapy, spreading of infection which was originally localized in the periprosthetic space-over adjacent tissues by an aggressive curettage at the early stage appears to play a major role. Months elapse before a complete resolution of the infection, and it can also cause serious physical and mental issues in patients. Based on clinical and operative findings in four cases of a chronic, refractory and recurrent periprosthetic infection following an aggressive initial debridement and curettage, we suggest that surgeon should be watchful against debridement and curettage at the early stage of infection and pay special attention to make an accurate and limited curettage using endoscopy.
Breast Implants ; Curettage ; Debridement ; Drainage ; Endoscopy ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mammaplasty*

PURPOSE: Chemical burn accounts for a small proportion of burns in burn patient population. However, chemical injuries own importance to their deep tissue destruction which continues long after the initial exposure. YUHANROX(R) is a domestic bleach which has been widely used in Korea. Chemical burn by the domestic bleach is an unusual case. METHODS: A 70 yrs old female soiled with stool, her husband wiped the mess with YUHANROX(R). Skin edema, erythematous lesion was developed the second day, and she was admitted to our hospital via emergency department. RESULTS: Complete epithelization was done after 3 times STSG but, severe scar was formed. CONCLUSION: We report this case to warn about the dangers of domestic bleaches chemical substances and to emphasize that they should be used with caution. Public relation of the primary care of the chemical burn injury is needed.
Burns ; Burns, Chemical ; Cicatrix ; Edema ; Emergencies ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Primary Health Care ; Skin ; Sodium ; Sodium Hypochlorite ; Soil ; Spouses

PURPOSE: Aging changes of midface include drooping of lower lid, wrinkles of malar area, orbitomalar groove and deepening of nasolabial fold from drooping of malar fat pad. Improvement of lower lid can be achieved through lower blepharoplasty, but improvement of cheek can not be gained. Superficial subciliary cheek lift(by Moelleken, 1996) is a method that lifts malar fat pad through extended subciliary incision. We obtained simultaneous improvement of lower lid, malar wrinkles and orbitomalar groove with modification of this technique. METHODS: From December 2003 to January 2006, we performed this method on 21 patients among volunteers for lower blepharoplasty who wanted to correct orbitomalar groove and malar wrinkles. Under local anesthesia, lateral extension of subciliary incision is done 1cm from the lateral orbital rim. Skin-muscle flap is elevated, and dealing of orbital fat and septum is the same as with ordinary lower blepharoplasty. After downward subcutaneous dissection through extended incision, exposing the upper 1/3 level of malar fat pad, superolateral fixation is done to superior deep temporal fascia. Excision of the upper part of fat pad is performed, if needed. After excision of overlapped skin-muscle flap, skin closure is done. RESULTS: We obtained satisfactory results with this simple method for improvement of orbitomalar groove and malar wrinkles among patients for lower blepharoplasty. During a follow-up period of 5 months on the average, no revision was performed. CONCLUSION: Under local anesthesia, lower blepharoplasty and improvement of orbitomalar groove and malar wrinkles can be achieved at the same time. It is good for patients who do not want conventional midface- lifting. But surgeons should select patients and perform cautiously for it may leave a scar of the extended incision that require over 2 months for maturation and it is insufficient for improvement of nasolabial fold compared to conventional mid face-lifts.
Adipose Tissue ; Aging ; Anesthesia, Local ; Blepharoplasty ; Cheek* ; Cicatrix ; Fascia ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lifting ; Nasolabial Fold ; Orbit ; Skin ; Volunteers

PURPOSE: It is generally accepted that anatomical structures of the soft tissue in Asian faces are quite different from those in Caucasian. It is presumed that these differences are due to collagen rich thick dermis and durable superficial musculo-apponeurotic system (SMAS) in Asian. We classified the aging lower eyelids and reviewed the operative procedures according to the types of aging lower eyelids in Asian. METHODS: We compared preoperative and postoperative photos of 117 patients over 30 years of age, who underwent lower blepharoplasty at the Kyunghee Medical Center from January 2001 to April 2006. We classified the patients based on the degree of skin laxity, presence of nasojugal groove and malar bag, the extent of aging process. We also reviewed the operative procedures according to each type of classification. RESULTS: We classified our patients into four types as following. Type I patients showed minimal skin-muscle excess confined to lower eyelids regardless of the facial line. For these patients, we performed only transcutaneous or transconjunctival blepharoplasty. In type II patients, nasojugal grooves were shown and skin- muscle laxity was limited to the medial side of imaginary vertical line at lateral margin of pupil. In these cases, we performed free fat graft or fat repositioning on nasojugal groove or fat removal and septal duplication confined to medial side. Type III patients displayed more advanced medial bulging and remarkable laxity over the lateral side, the same operation methods as those of type II were applied at the lateral side of the line. Type IV patients demonstrated extensive midfacial aging changes including malar bags and underwent superficial subciliary cheek lift. CONCLUSION: The lower eyelid aging of Asian is different from those of Caucasian. We think that our classification is useful in selection of appropriate operative procedure to address specific problems for Asian patients.
Aging ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Blepharoplasty ; Cheek ; Collagen ; Dermis ; Eyelids ; Humans ; Muscles ; Pupil ; Skin ; Surgical Procedures, Operative ; Transplants

PURPOSE: Infection, foreign body reaction and decreased volume of implant are common complications after augmentation rhinoplasty with Gore-tex(R) implant. The author experienced two cases of recurrent foreign body granuloma in the patients who underwent Gore-tex(R) removal because of infection after augmentation rhinoplasty. and treated them with complete removal of Gore-tex(R). METHODS: Case 1: A 49 year-old female visited our clinic for recurrent foreign body reaction on nasal dorsum and tip area. The patient underwent augmentation rhinoplasty with Gore-tex(R) 3 years ago and implant was removed due to infection 9 months ago. Excision of the granuloma was performed and a piece of foreign body suspicious to be a Gore-tex(R) implant debris was detected under the subcutaneous pocket. The implant fragments were removed and nasalis muscle rotation flap was performed to cover the lesion. The specimen was proved to be Gore-tex(R) in histological study. Case 2: A 31 year-old-male with recurrent foreign body granuloma on the nasal tip area visited our clinic. 10 years ago, the patient had augmentation rhinoplasty with silicone implant and then, he underwent revisional rhinoplasty five times including nasal implant removal, which was performed 9 months ago. The authors excised the granuloma and found a small sized foreign body suspicious to be a Gore-tex(R) implant debris under the granuloma. The foreign body was excised and identified to be Gore-tex(R) in histological study. RESULTS: In both cases, the lesions were healed without any complications and there were no evidences of recurrence up to 6 months of follow-up. CONCLUSION: The Gore-tex(R) is known to be weak against mechanical force. These properties of Gore-tex(R) make it difficult to remove the implant completely. In the patient who have infection after augmentation rhinoplasty with Gore-tex(R), the operator should take care to perform the complete removal without remaining fragment of the implant.
Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Foreign Bodies ; Foreign-Body Reaction ; Granuloma ; Granuloma, Foreign-Body ; Humans ; Muscles ; Recurrence ; Rhinoplasty ; Silicones

Lower palpebral bags and tear trough grooves are the common signs of aging. Weakness of the orbital septum, atrophy of the orbicularis oculi muscle, slackness and laxity of the lower lid skin are the main causes of these aging changes. Tear trough groove with skeletonization of the lower orbital rim can not be corrected easily by the conventional lower blepharoplasty, but the augmentation of the volume, can be an effective method. Lower lids provide a well vascularized recipient site, which is vital for proper grafting of fat to occur. We treated tear trough groove with free fat graft of surgically removed orbital fat. Surgical excision of the fat pad and septal reinforcement with free fat graft below the levator labii superioris alaeque nasi muscle were performed to correct tear trough groove. This technique was performed in 29 consecutive individuals from October, 2001 to January, 2005. Palpebral bags and tear trough groove were corrected concomitantly and obtained a youthful attractive midface with no secondary hollowness of lower lid and irregularity. The overall results obtained were satisfactory without any complications. Recurrence of tear trough deformity due to grafted fat absorption was not noted during the 7 months of the follow-up period. The authors conclude that the procedure is safe and effective in selected patients.
Absorption ; Adipose Tissue ; Adolescent ; Aging ; Atrophy ; Blepharoplasty ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Orbit* ; Recurrence ; Skeleton ; Skin ; Transplants*

Down syndrome patients possess multiple facial stigmata; hypotonic macroglossia with small oral cavity, saddle nose, epicanthal fold, telecanthus, and high palpebral fissure inclination, etc. Surgical mitigation for some of these conditions may benefit both patient and family, and may influence the patient's acceptance by general public. We reported the basic study of craniofacial complex and anthropometric study of face in Korean children with Down syndrome. With the benefit of these study, 210 Down syndrome children underwent orthomorphic surgery including augmentation rhinoplasty, epicanthoplasty, lateral canthoplasty, and partial glossectomy and for the relief of respiratory distress tonsilar adenoidectomy were performed in selected cases of Down syndrome children. We evaluated the postoperative change in 105 Down syndrome children through questionnaires about the parent's satisfaction, the change of oral function and sleep pattern. We analysed postoperative change of speech with multi-speech model 3700 program. After these rehabilitation operation, we found out some facts. The parents were happy with the result of partial glossectomy(85.1%) and augmentation rhinoplasty(82.3%). And we found general improvement in oral function and sleep pattern. The results of speech analysis showed improvement in voice quality, patch, resonance and articulation.
Adenoidectomy ; Child* ; Christianity ; Down Syndrome* ; Glossectomy ; Humans ; Macroglossia ; Mouth ; Nose ; Parents ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Rehabilitation* ; Rhinoplasty ; Voice Quality