Background: The incidence of skin cancer, which is primarily caused by exposure to ultravioletradiation, has steadily increased in recent years. The authors of the present study sought to investigatechanges in the epidemiology of skin cancer by conducting a retrospective review of patientsdiagnosed with skin cancer who received related care at a single medical institution. Methods: The present study included patients who were diagnosed with skin cancer and receivedtreatment at Gyeongsang National University Hospital from 2008 to 2018. The site andtype of skin cancer, the number of patients with skin cancer each year, the sex and sex ratio of thepatients, and changes in patients’ age at first diagnosis were examined through retrospectivechart reviews. Results: The number of patients with skin cancer significantly increased, but statistically significantchanges were not found in patients’ sex, skin cancer sites, or the types of skin cancer. However,patients’ age at the first diagnosis of skin cancer showed a statistically significant decreasestarting in 2015. Conclusion In this study, the number of patients with skin cancer increased over time. However,patients’ age at first diagnosis has decreased since 2015. Therefore, younger patients should takecare to prevent skin cancer, and further research on the causes of skin cancer in younger patientsis needed.

Background: Closed reduction is the standard treatment for nasal bone fractures, which are the most common type of facial bone fractures. We investigated the effect of closed reduction on quality of life. Methods: The 15-dimensional health-related quality of life survey was administered to 120 patients who underwent closed reduction under general anesthesia for nasal bone fractures from February 2018 to December 2019, on both the day after surgery and 3 months after surgery. Three months postoperatively, the presence or absence of five nasal symptoms (nose obstruction, snoring, pain, nasal secretions, and aesthetic dissatisfaction) was also evaluated. Results: The quality of life items that showed significant changes between immediately after surgery and 3 months postoperatively were breathing, sleeping, speech, excretion, and discomfort. Low scores were found at 3 months for breathing, sleeping, and distress. There were 31 patients (25.83%) with nose obstruction, 25 (20.83%) with snoring, 12 (10.00%), with pain, 11 (9.17%) with nasal secretions, and 29 (24.17%) with aesthetic dissatisfaction. Conclusion Closed reduction affected patients’ quality of life, although most aspects improved significantly after 3 months. However, it was not possible to rule out deterioration of quality of life due to complications and dissatisfaction after surgery.

BACKGROUND: Defects of the nasal ala and tip have a complex three-dimensional structure that makes them challenging to reconstruct. Many reconstructive options have been described for nasal ala and tip defects, ranging from primary closure to local flaps and skin grafts. However, it is difficult to determine which method will yield the best cosmetic results in each individual case. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine which surgical procedures for reconstructing defects of the nasal ala and tip have better cosmetic results.METHODS: From 2008 to 2018, 111 patients underwent surgery to reconstruct skin defects after resection of skin cancer in the nasal ala or tip. Their charts were reviewed to obtain data on age, sex, surgical location, size of the defect, surgical method, and cosmetic results using a visual analog scale (VAS).RESULTS: For nasal ala reconstruction, the most commonly used surgical technique was the nasolabial flap (n= 42). This method also had the highest VAS score (7/10). The most commonly selected surgical method for nasal tip reconstruction was the bilobed flap (n= 13), and bilobed flaps and primary closure had the highest VAS score (7/10).CONCLUSION: Nasolabial flaps showed excellent cosmetic results for the reconstruction of nasal ala defects, while primary closure and bilobed flaps yielded excellent cosmetic results for the reconstruction of nasal tip defects.
Humans ; Methods ; Nose ; Skin Neoplasms ; Skin ; Surgical Flaps ; Transplants ; Visual Analog Scale

BACKGROUND: Skin defects of head and neck need reconstruction using various local flaps. In some cases, surgeons should consider skin graft for large skin defect. It is important to heal skin graft and donor sites. The authors investigated wound healing mechanisms at the donor sites with split-thick-ness skin graft (STSG). In this study, the authors compared two types of immediate regraft including sheets and islands for the donor site after facial skin graft using remnant skin. METHODS: The author reviewed 10 patients who underwent STSG, from March 2015 to May 2017, for skin defects in the craniofacial area. The donor site was immediately covered with the two types using remnant skin after harvesting skin onto the recipient site. Depending on the size of the remnant skin, we conducted regraft with the single sheet (n= 5) and island types (n= 5). RESULTS: On postoperative day 1 and 3 months, the scar formation was evaluated using the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) and Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS). Total POSAS and VSS scores for the island type were lower than in single sheet group after 3 months postoperatively. There was significant difference in specific categories of POSAS and VSS. CONCLUSION: This study showed a reduction in scar formation following immediate regrafting of the remnant skin at the donor site after STSG surgery. Particularly, the island type is useful for clinical application to facilitate healing of donor sites with STSG.
Cicatrix ; Head ; Humans ; Islands ; Neck ; Skin Neoplasms ; Skin Transplantation ; Skin ; Surgeons ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants ; Wound Healing

BACKGROUND: Closed reduction of nasal fracture with various instrument is performed to treat nasal fracture. Depending on the type of nasal fracture and the situation in which it is being operated, the surgeon will determine the surgical tool. The objective of this study was to investigate whether a periosteal elevator (PE) was a proper device to perform closed reduction for patients with simple nasal fractures. METHODS: From March 2018 to December 2018, 50 cases of simple nasal bone fracture underwent closed reduction performed by a single surgeon. These patients were divided into two groups randomly: nasal bone reduction was performed using only PE (freer) and nasal bone reduction was performed using Walsham, Asch forcep, and Boies elevator (non-freer, non-PE). RESULTS: The paranasal sinus computed tomography was performed on patients before and after operation to carry out an accurate measurement of reduction distance at the same level. According to the results, the interaction between instruments and fracture types had a significant influence on reduction distance (p = 0.021). To be specific, reduction distance was significantly (p= 0.004) increased by 2.157 mm when PE was used to treat patients with partial displacement compared to that when non-PEs were used. CONCLUSION: Closed reduction using PE and other elevator is generally an effective treatment for nasal fracture. In partial-displacement type of simple nasal fracture, closed reduction using PE can have considerable success in comparison with using classic instruments.
Elevators and Escalators ; Facial Bones ; Fractures, Closed ; Humans ; Nasal Bone ; Rubber ; Surgical Instruments ; Treatment Outcome

To survey the prevalence of Sarcocystis infections, 210 heart samples were collected from Korean native cattle (Bos taurus coreanae) at an abattoir in Daejeon Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea. Sarcocysts were detected form 31 specimens (14.8%) and identified as Sarcocystis cruzi via transmission electron microscopy. The wall of S. cruzi has flattened protrusions that did not contain fibrils or microfilaments. The protrusions arose irregularly from the base, contained a fine granular substance, lacked internal microfilaments, and measured approximately 0.21–1.25 μm in length and 0.05–0.07 μm in width. Sequence analysis revealed 99.5% homology to S. cruzi. This is the first report on the prevalence of S. cruzi in native cattle from the Republic of Korea.
Abattoirs ; Actin Cytoskeleton ; Animals ; Cattle ; Heart ; Korea ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea ; Sarcocystis ; Sequence Analysis

Sixteen genomic DNA simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers of Lentinula edodes were developed from 205 SSR motifs present in 46.1-Mb long L. edodes genome sequences. The number of alleles ranged from 3–14 and the major allele frequency was distributed from 0.17–0.96. The values of observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.00–0.76 and 0.07–0.90, respectively. The polymorphic information content value ranged from 0.07–0.89. A dendrogram, based on 16 SSR markers clustered by the paired hierarchical clustering' method, showed that 33 shiitake cultivars could be divided into three major groups and successfully identified. These SSR markers will contribute to the efficient breeding of this species by providing diversity in shiitake varieties. Furthermore, the genomic information covered by the markers can provide a valuable resource for genetic linkage map construction, molecular mapping, and marker-assisted selection in the shiitake mushroom.
Alleles ; Breeding ; DNA* ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Linkage ; Genetic Variation ; Genome ; Lentinula* ; Methods ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Shiitake Mushrooms*

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is common in elderly patients with cancer and is associated with many adverse clinical outcomes, including longer length of hospital stay (LOS), muscle loss, and various postsurgical complications. In particular, elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma have a high risk for malnutrition, which is associated with mortality and reduced quality of life. Therefore, we evaluated the association between nutritional status and the LOS after hepatectomy for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in elderly patients. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on 66 patients aged ≥65 years admitted consecutively from January 2010 to December 2014 for elective surgery to treat hepatocellular carcinoma. The Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) was applied for the assessment of nutritional risk in hospitalized elderly patients before surgery. RESULTS: The association between several factors that have been identified to influence outcomes and the LOS were evaluated by using multiple regression analysis. We found that only the GNRI was associated with the LOS. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that identifying nutritional risk using the GNRI before elective surgery is associated with increased risk of prolonged LOS. Therefore, prospective research based on GNRI can serve as a valuable resource for evaluating nutritional status of elderly patients under various clinical circumstances. Moreover, this particular research allows us to establish new ways of reducing the length of hospital stay for patients who underwent hepatic resection.
Aged* ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Hepatectomy* ; Humans ; Length of Stay* ; Malnutrition ; Mortality ; Nutrition Assessment ; Nutritional Status ; Prospective Studies ; Quality of Life ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the associated brain parenchymal abnormalities of developmental venous anomalies (DVA) with susceptibility-weighted image (SWI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 2012 and June 2013, 2356 patients underwent brain MR examinations with contrast enhancement. We retrospectively reviewed their MR examinations and data were collected as per the following criteria: incidence, locations, and associated parenchymal signal abnormalities of DVAs on T2-weighted image, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), and SWI. Contrast enhanced T1-weighted image was used to diagnose DVA. RESULTS: Of the 2356 patients examined, 57 DVAs were detected in 57 patients (2.4%); 47 (82.4%) were in either lobe of the supratentorial brain, 9 (15.7%) were in the cerebellum, and 1 (1.7%) was in the pons. Of the 57 DVAs identified, 20 (35.1%) had associated parenchymal abnormalities in the drainage area. Among the 20 DVAs which had associated parenchymal abnormalities, 13 showed hemorrhagic foci on SWI, and 7 demonstrated only increased parenchymal signal abnormalities on T2-weighted and FLAIR images. In 5 of the 13 patients (38.5%) who had hemorrhagic foci, the hemorrhagic lesions were demonstrated only on SWI. CONCLUSION: The overall incidence of DVAs was 2.4%. Parenchymal abnormalities were associated with DVAs in 35.1% of the cases. On SWI, hemorrhage was detected in 22.8% of DVAs. Thus, we conclude that SWI might give a potential for understanding of the pathophysiology of parenchymal abnormalities in DVAs.
Brain* ; Cerebellum ; Drainage ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Incidence ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Pons ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: We evaluated the diagnostic value of susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) for the detection of developmental venous anomaly (DVA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective review of 1068 brain MR examinations found 28 DVAs in 28 patients (2.6%) on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images. SWI, T2, and FLAIR images of 28 patients with DVA and 28 sex- and age-matched control patients without DVA were analyzed by blinded readers on each type of sequences. All images were independently reviewed by two radiologists who were blinded to other MR imaging finding. In cases of discrepancy, two reviewers reached a consensus later. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of each MR sequence for the detection of DVA were determined. Statistical analysis was performed by using the Mcnemar test. The significance level was p < 0.05. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of SWI for the detection of DVA were 85.7%, 92.9%, 92.3%, and 86.7%, respectively. T2 and FLAIR images showed sensitivity of 35.7% and 35.7%, specificity of 92.9% and 96.4%, PPV of 83.3% and 90.9%, and NPV of 59.1% and 60.0%, respectively. On SWI, the sensitivity and NPV for the detection of DVAs were significantly higher than those of T2 and FLAIR images (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: SWI was sensitive and specific for the detection of DVA.
Brain ; Consensus ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity