Radical cystectomy is the most common and effective treatment modality for invasive bladder cancer. However, in case of the elderly patient its application accompanies anxieties over the possible mortality and complications. We purposed to analyze the postoperative mortality and early complication of the elderly patients compared to those of non-elderly patients. We reviewed retrospectively the medical records of 27 elderly patients, over 70 years of age and 61 non-elderly patients, under 69 years of age who were not at high risk anesthesiologically and underwent radical cystectomies with ileal conduits for invasive bladder cancers during last 11 years. We compared mortality, early complications, and postoperative hospital days between two groups. There was no death related to operation in elderly group, but one of the non-elderly group died of sepsis and DIC(disseminated intravascular coagulation) postoperatively Overall early complications were significantly higher in elderly group(P=0.013). But the major complications that were life threatening or required reoperation revealed no significant difference between two groups. There was no significant difference in postoperative hospital days(16.8 days in elderly group, 16.1 days in non-elderly group) between two groups. In conclusion, radical cystectomy can be performed as an effective and safe modality for the treatment of invasive bladder cancer even in elderly patients if only they are not at high risk anesthesiologically.
Aged* ; Anxiety ; Cystectomy* ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Mortality* ; Reoperation ; Retrospective Studies* ; Sepsis ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; Urinary Diversion

While a giant cell tumor most frequently involves the distal end of the femur and proximal end of the tibia, involvement of the cervical spine is quite rare. Recently we observed a patient with a giant cell tumor affecting the sixth cervical vertebra. This is regarded as a clinically malignant tumor because its nature and difficulty in diagnosis and treatment We easily confirmed the extent of the lesion by CT scanning with Metrizamide. The treatment was palliative tumor ressection. This case of a giant cell tumor affecting the sixth cervical vertebra is reported with a brief review of the literature.
Diagnosis ; Femur ; Giant Cell Tumors ; Giant Cells ; Humans ; Metrizamide ; Spine ; Tibia ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Since the first attemt of internal fixation not much more than a century ago, implants have come to play an important role in orthopaedic surgery. Yet little has been reported about complications which may result from implant surgery. During the period of May 1980 to April 1984, 32 cases of fixation failures were treated in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hallym College, Kang Nam Sacred Heart Hospital and results were obtained as follows: 1. The most common area involved femoral shaft, but the highest rate was distal femur. 2. The most common period of failure was between 2 to 4 months postoperatively. 3. The leading cause of failure was remaining defects at fracture site. 4. The authors recommend accurate reduction of fracture and bone graft, if necessary, adequate immobilization postoperatively and co-coperation of patient to avoid failure of implant.
Femur ; Heart ; Humans ; Immobilization ; Transplants

A typical synovial osteochondromstosis within the both knee joints occured in a 29-year-old man. The patient complained of palpable masses in the both knee joints showed multiple round, oval, amorphous calcified loose bodies. Arthrotomy of the left knee joint, removal of loose bodies and total synovectomy were performed. The microscopic findings of loose body revesled a degenerated cartilage cap and showed ares of cacification, ossification and fibroadipose tissue in the central part of the body. The mocroscopic findings of synovium revesled a cartilagenous metaplasis of the fibro vascular tassue and showed no evidence of calcification or ossification. The cartilagenous tissue was relatively matured form.
Adult ; Cartilage ; Chondromatosis, Synovial ; Humans ; Knee Joint ; Knee ; Synovial Membrane

No abstract available.
Bowen's Disease* ; Carcinoma, Merkel Cell*

Cases of metastases from extracranial tumor to intracranial tumor are very rare. The world wide review of the literatures until 1992 revealed 44 cases of primary intracranial tumors containing metastatic tumors which are unrelated extracranial primary malignant tumors; the intracranial recipient tumor is a meningioma in 35 cases among them. Carcinomas of the lung and the breast are the most common extracranial donor tumors. Metastases from colon cancer to meningioma are extremely rare. A 74 year-old-female presented with headache for 2 weeks. CT revealed a round mass with high signal intensity, measuring 4 cm in diameter, which is located in the left parietal lobe. The patient had colon cancer 2 years ago and lymphoma I year ago. On operation, the tumor is relatively well delineated and attached to the meninx. Microscopically, the tumor is composed of fascicles of long slender, fibroblast-like spindle cells with indistinct cytoplasmic border, variable amount of collagen deposit and many psammoma bodies. A few scattered glands are present in periphery of the meningioma. The tumor glands are composed of columnar cells with basally located hyperchromatic nuclei and similiar to the glands of the adenocarcinoma of the colon.
Female ; Humans ; Adenocarcinoma ; Meningioma ; Neoplasm Metastasis

No abstract available.
Diagnosis* ; Ectopia Cordis*

Primary biliary cirrhosis(PBC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease of unknown origin. The small and medium sized intrahepatic bile ducts are destroyed by an inflammatory process, which, it has been suggested, is of the autoimmune type. It is strongly associated with the presence of antimitochondrial antibodies, predominantly IgM and IgG. The liver changes are classified into four stages, of which stage IV represents the development of cirrhosis, which required orthotropic liver transplantation in the longrun. The prevalence rates was reported 128 per millon in Sweden , but the disease is relatively rare in Oriental area. In medical treatment, long-term administration of ursodeoxycholic acid improves both clinical and biochemical signs, slows the progression of the disease and reduces the complication requiring liver transplantation. We report two cases of PBC, one with histologically proven cirrhosis, and the other with bile duct destruction consistent with stage III and hypothyroidism.
Antibodies ; Bile Ducts ; Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic ; Fibrosis ; Hypothyroidism ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary* ; Liver Diseases ; Liver Transplantation ; Prevalence ; Sweden ; Ursodeoxycholic Acid

For 16 years after the finding of HIV as an agent of AIDS in 1981, HIV therapeutic drugs of reverse transcriptase inhibitors (AZT, ddI, ddC, d4T) and protease inhibitors have been developed. Recent studies also were focused on a combination therapy by using HIV therapeutic drugs or natural compounds. Korean red ginseng (KRG) of natural compounds has been well known as a good reinforcement agent in Asia. The percentage of CD3+CD4+ T cell in nine HIV-infected patients without KRG treatment averaged 17.8% on baseline and decreased 15.8% after 6 months, whereas the percentage of the cell in fifteen HIV-infected patients with KRG treatment averaged 15.3% on baseline and increased up to 18.9% after the same period. The average percentage of CD3+CD8+ T cell of KRG-nontreated and KRG-treated HIV patients increased after 6 months 47.8% to 50.7% and 44.7% to 51.4%, respectively; and the average percentage of B and NK cell in the KRG-nontreated and KRG-treated HIV patients decreased 9.4% to 7.9% and 13.0% to 9.7%, 8.9% to 8.5% and 16.2% to 11.6%, respectively, KRG, therefore, didn't have any effects on the CD3+CD8+ T cell, B cell, and NK cell. However, it seems that KRG has a potential activity for stimulating the
Asia ; HIV ; Humans ; Killer Cells, Natural ; Lymphocyte Subsets* ; Lymphocytes* ; Panax* ; Protease Inhibitors ; Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors

Recurrent disc herniation and postoperative fibrosis are the main disease entities causing failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has become a major diagnostic modality in differentiating the two. To observe the variable entities of FBSS and their MR findings, we retrospectively analyzed 15 MR images in 12 patients. The causes of FBSS were as follows; normal (no organic cause), fibrosis, new or recurrent disc herniation, discitis, osteomyelitis, inflammation at operation site, epidural abscess, arachnoiditis, and hematoma. Except a case of hematoma, gadolinium enhancement scan was necessary and informative in the diagnosis of FBSS and MR imaging only was not enough in the diagnosis of arachnoiditis.
Arachnoid ; Arachnoiditis ; Diagnosis ; Discitis ; Epidural Abscess ; Failed Back Surgery Syndrome* ; Fibrosis ; Gadolinium ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Osteomyelitis ; Retrospective Studies