From 1989 to 1996, push back palatoplasty, 2-flap palatoplasty and Furlow's palatoplasty were the main procedures of cleft palate repair in our institute. To compare the maxillary growth state of patients in each palatoplasty group, evaluation of dental occlusion and cephalometric analysis were performed in total 50 patients. The results were as follows: 1. Normal control group was composed of 17 children who didn't have cleft lip or cleft palate. Mean values of cephalometric data in the normal control group were 6.19 cm in SN length, 1.17cm in ONA length, 7.29cm in effective maxillary length 53.88degree in SNO angle, and 82.41 degree in SNA angle. 2. Fourteen patients who underwent push-back palatoplasty showed anterior crossbite in all cases. SNO angle and SNA angle were significantly decreased compared to the normal control group, which indicated significant impairment of maxillary growth. 3. In seventeen patients who underwent 2-flap palatoplasty, 7 patients showed anterior crossbite. Cephalometric parameters showed no significant difference compared to the normal control group. 4. Nineteen patients underwent Furlow's palatoplasty. In this group, 3 patients had anterior crossbite. Cephalometric parameters showed no significant difference compared to the normal control group. Although this report was based on data acquired from patients before the age of complete maxillary growth, our results suggested that each palatoplasty would have a different influence on maxillary growth.
Child ; Cleft Lip ; Cleft Palate ; Dental Occlusion ; Facial Bones* ; Humans ; Malocclusion

There are many women who want larger and brighter eyes that will give a favorable impression. Surgical methods that make the eye larger and brighter include double eyelidplasty, epicanthoplasty, as well as lateral canthoplasty. Double eyelidplasty produces changes in the vertical dimension of the eyes, whereas epicanthoplasty and lateral canthoplasty create changes in the horizontal dimension of the eyes. Epicanthoplasty, a surgical procedure which enlarges the eye horizontally, is performed at the inner corner of the eye, whereas lateral canthoplasty enlarges the outer edge of the eye. In particular, if the slant of the palpebral fissure is raised and the horizontal dimension of the palpebral fissure is short, adjusting the slant of the palpebral fissure through lateral canthoplasty can achieve an enlargement of eye width and smoother features. Depending on the patient's condition, even better results can be achieved if this procedure is performed in conjunction with other procedures, such as double eyelidplasty, epicanthoplasty, eye roll formation surgery, fat graft, and facial bone contouring surgery. In this paper, the authors will introduce in detail their surgical method for a cosmetic lateral canthoplasty that lengthens the lateral canthal angle and corrects the outer tail of the eyes, in order to ease the unfavorable impression.
Facial Bones ; Female ; Humans ; Methods ; Tail* ; Transplants ; Vertical Dimension

Multiple biliary papillomatosis involves an epithelial field change of the intrahepatic and extrahepatic portions of the biliary tree. Pathologically it is benign, occasionally with dysplasia, but the clinical behavior is regarded as having a low-grade malignant potential. Such malignancy is rare but the prognosis is poor if it is impossible to remove the tumor completely. Here, we report one case of multiple biliary papillomatosis in the biliary tree.
Biliary Tract ; Papilloma* ; Prognosis

A wide variety of free muscle or composite flaps have been used clinically for the reconstruction of soft tissue or compound tissue defects since introduction of the microsurgical technique but there were still difficulties in their application due to donor site morbidity and flap bulkiness. Free serratus anterior muscle flap and free composite flap, including serratus anterior muscle have been applied to 17 patients with small or medium sized tissue defects or large sized compound tissue defects from June 1995 to July 1997. There were 11 male cases and 6 female. Average age was 27 years. Defect sites were the anterior tibial area in 6 cases, the dorsum of foot in 6, the medial malleolar area in 1, the heel area in 1, the foot in 2, and the thumb and 1st web space in 1. There were 12 free muscle flaps, 2 free serratus anterior and rib composite flaps, 2 free serratus anterior and latissimus dorsi combined muscle flap and 1 free serratus anterior and latissimus doris and rib composite flap. The average follow up period was 14 month. The survival rate was 100% in 16 cases, 80% in 1 case. There was no remarkable donor site morbidity and operative results were satisfactory in all cases. The advantages of this flap are consistent and reliable flap with minimal donor site morbidity, long constant large caliber pedicle, taking a thin flap, excellent malleability allowed a broad of range of inserting technique, and additional possibility of a composite flap.
Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Foot ; Heel ; Humans ; Male ; Ribs ; Superficial Back Muscles ; Survival Rate ; Thumb ; Tissue Donors

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis is the most important disease that may cause ischemic syndrome in many organs including heart. It is supposed that apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMCs) is closely related to the progression and rupture of atheromatous plaque. Recent studies have documented evidence for elevated level of nitric oxide(NO) within advanced human atheroma and evidence of regression of atheroma by NO. So this study is designed to evaluate whether exogenous NO from NO donors can induce apoptosis of cultured rat VSMCs and which proapoptotic gene(s) is involved in this type of apoptosis. METHODS: Rat VSMCs were cultured and used for experiment at passage 5 through 7. For NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine(SNAP) of 0.5, 1, 2, 4mM were exposed to subconfluent VSMCs. The cells were harvested at 6, 12, 24, 48, 72hours after exposure of NO donors. Apoptosis was to be identified by 4, 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride(DAPI) staining of nuclei and in-situ nick end labeling(TUNEL). The amount of fragmented DNA was analyzed semiquantitatively by diphenylamine(DPA) assay. Immunocytochemical(ICC) staining and western bolt analyses were designed to detect apoptosisrelated gene products, such as Bax-a, Fas and Bcl-2. RESULTS: 1) Decreased mitotic activity was shown after 12 hours exposure of exogenous NO donors, and condensation and margination of chromatin was identified agter 24 hours exposure, by DAPI staining. 2) Percent DNA fragmentation assessed by DPA method was 0,2,9,48,45% at 0,6,12,24,48 hours after exposure of 2mM of NO donors respectively. 3) The expression of Bax-a and Bcl-2 proteins was demonstrated in apoptotic cells by ICC staining. 4) The expression of Bax-a protein in cells under 24 hours exposure of NO donors was elevated by more than 18% of control level on densitometric analysis of western blot. The level of Bcl-2 was suppressed by 26% of control. So, Bax-a/Bcl-2 ratio in cells under exposure of NO donors was elevated to 2.0 from 1.2 of control level. CONCLUSIONS: Exogenous NO from NO donors can induce apoptosis of cultured rat VSMCs, and it is considered that bax-a and bcl-2 genes are involved in this type of apoptosis.
Animals ; Apoptosis* ; Atherosclerosis ; Blotting, Western ; Chromatin ; DNA ; DNA Fragmentation ; Genes, bcl-2 ; Heart ; Humans ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular* ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitroprusside ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; Rats* ; Rupture ; Tissue Donors

The effects of embryo number and incubation volume on the development of mouse embryos were evaluated. The growth rate of two-cell mouse embryos to attached blastocyst stage and the growth rate of blastocysts to early somite stage were assessed after culture in different incubation volumes and embryo densities. Embryos were collected from ICR female mice superovulated with pregnant mare serum gonadotropin and human chorionic gonadotropin and mated by ICR males. In experiment 1, groups of one, five, ten, twenty 2-cell embryos were cultured in 10-, 50-, 500-, 1000-microliter drops of BWW media under mineral oil at 37 degrees C in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2 and 95% air. As the incubation volume decreased, significantly (p<0.05) higher rates of embryos reached morular and blastocyst stage on day 3 and 4 culture, respectively In experiment 2, groups of one, five, ten, twenty blastocysts were cultured in 1- and 2-ml volumes of CMRL 1066 media under same condition as in experiment 1. However the reverse was the result. Decreasing the number of embryos incubated per volume from 1 to 20 significantly (p<0.05) increased the number of blastocysts reaching the late egg cylinde. (LEC) and early somite (ES) stage on day 6 and 8 culture, respectively, regardless of incubation volume. Blastocysts cultured in 2ml had higher (p<0.05) development rates to LEC and ES stage on day 6 and 8 culture, respectively, than embryos cultured in 1ml. Our results suggest that the effects of embryo number and incubation volume on the development of mouse embryos are stage specific and the shifting point was between hatching and EEC stage.
Animals ; Atmosphere ; Blastocyst ; Chorionic Gonadotropin ; Embryonic Structures* ; European Union ; Female ; Gonadotropins ; Humans ; Male ; Mice* ; Mineral Oil ; Ovum ; Somites

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There has been a need for functional status measurement tool with better validity than the existing tools such as New York Heart Association Functional Class. Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) is a representative example of a tool that was developed to enhance the validity of measurement by asking the patients about the ability to perform specific activities and scoring the response. Because such a tool must be culture-sensitive, it is desirable to use 'Koreanized' version of the tool. No Koreanized version of the functional status measurement tool has been developed yet. The objective of this study is to develop a Korean version of DASI. MATERIALS AND METHOD: In the developmental phase, a pilot questionnaire asking the ability to perform specific activity was made with reference to existing tools, such as Specific Activity Scale and DASI. Substitution, correction and addition of items were done through the pilot study. Ninety-nine patients was asked to fill developmental version of questionnaire, then underwent treadmill exercise test. Weight for each items were assigned to optimize the correlation between the calculated index (KASI) and total treadmill exercise time. Criteria for categorical functional classification were determined to maximize the agreement between KASI-estimated functional class (KASIFC) and functional class estimated by exercise time. In the validation phase, final version of questionnaire was tested in independent group of 159 patients. The questionnaire was self-administered. Canadian Cardiovascular Society Functional Class (CCSFC) was estimated by the physician who is in charge of treadmill exercise test. RESULTS: In the validation phase, Spearman correlation coefficient between KASI and treadmill exercise time was 0.62(p=.0001) and between CCSFC and exercise time -0.48(p=.0001). KASIFC agreed with functional class estimated by exercise time in 77% of cases, disagreed by 1 class in 20% and by 2 classes in 1%. KASIFC agreed with functional class estimated by exercise time in 77% of cases, disagreed by 1 class in 20% and by 2 classes in 1%. These two methods did not differ significantly in categorical classification. CONCLUSION: KASI is more accurate or at least as accurate as the existing tool in estimation of functional status. The characteristics such as self-administration, availability of outcome as a continuous variable are expected to make it a convenient, efficacious and useful tool in various clinical researches.
Classification ; Exercise Test ; Heart ; Humans ; Pilot Projects ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There has been a need for functional status measurement tool with better validity than the existing tools such as New York Heart Association Functional Class. Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) is a representative example of a tool that was developed to enhance the validity of measurement by asking the patients about the ability to perform specific activities and scoring the response. Because such a tool must be culture-sensitive, it is desirable to use 'Koreanized' version of the tool. No Koreanized version of the functional status measurement tool has been developed yet. The objective of this study is to develop a Korean version of DASI. MATERIALS AND METHOD: In the developmental phase, a pilot questionnaire asking the ability to perform specific activity was made with reference to existing tools, such as Specific Activity Scale and DASI. Substitution, correction and addition of items were done through the pilot study. Ninety-nine patients was asked to fill developmental version of questionnaire, then underwent treadmill exercise test. Weight for each items were assigned to optimize the correlation between the calculated index (KASI) and total treadmill exercise time. Criteria for categorical functional classification were determined to maximize the agreement between KASI-estimated functional class (KASIFC) and functional class estimated by exercise time. In the validation phase, final version of questionnaire was tested in independent group of 159 patients. The questionnaire was self-administered. Canadian Cardiovascular Society Functional Class (CCSFC) was estimated by the physician who is in charge of treadmill exercise test. RESULTS: In the validation phase, Spearman correlation coefficient between KASI and treadmill exercise time was 0.62(p=.0001) and between CCSFC and exercise time -0.48(p=.0001). KASIFC agreed with functional class estimated by exercise time in 77% of cases, disagreed by 1 class in 20% and by 2 classes in 1%. KASIFC agreed with functional class estimated by exercise time in 77% of cases, disagreed by 1 class in 20% and by 2 classes in 1%. These two methods did not differ significantly in categorical classification. CONCLUSION: KASI is more accurate or at least as accurate as the existing tool in estimation of functional status. The characteristics such as self-administration, availability of outcome as a continuous variable are expected to make it a convenient, efficacious and useful tool in various clinical researches.
Classification ; Exercise Test ; Heart ; Humans ; Pilot Projects ; Surveys and Questionnaires

No abstract available.
Animals ; Blastocyst* ; Epidermal Growth Factor* ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2* ; Mice* ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor*

Actinomycosis is a chronic suppurative bacterial infection produced by Actinomyces israeli. The three major clinical presentation include the cervicofacial, thoracic, and abdominal regions. Abdominal actinomycosis is a rare entity which presents some difficulty in establishing a correct preoperative diagnosis. The diagnosis is usually based on histologic demonstration of sulfur granules in pus or surgically resected specimen. Recently, authors experienced a case of actinomycosis of the greater omentum in 38-years old woman. The patient underwent surgery under the impression of periappendiceal abscess. A 6cm sized firm mass was noted in the transverse colon. Histologically the mass was composed of fibroinflammatory mass with multiple actinomycosis granules.
Abscess ; Actinomyces ; Actinomycosis* ; Adult ; Bacterial Infections ; Colon, Transverse ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Omentum* ; Sulfur ; Suppuration