BACKGROUND: Atrial cardiomyocytes synthesize, store and release atrial natriuretic peptide(ANP) which has potent physiological effects, including natriuresis, diuresis, relaxation of vascular smooth muscle and inhibition of aldosterone and renin secretion. A family of atrial peptides are derived from a precursor proANP. However, the structure-activity relationship of several C-terminal ANPs are not yet well documented. METHODS: The effects of structural difference of ANP analogs on the renal function were studied with a sensitive and reproducible bioassay using intrarenal arterial infusion in unanesthetized rabbits. RESULTS: Rat ANP-(1-28)(rANP, 12-Ile), a-human ANP-(1-28)(hANP, 12-Met), atriopeptin III [APIII, rANP-(5-28)], atriopeptin II[APII, rANP-(5- 27)], atriopeptin I[API, rANP-(5-25)], a-human ANP- (7-28)[hANP-(7-28)], and ANP fragments(13-28) [ANP-(13-28)] and (17-28)[ANP-(17-28)] were infused into left renal artery. No significant differences were observed between rANP and hANP. Diuretic and natriuretic activities of APIII were significantly lower than those of rANP and hANP, but were similar to those of hANP-(7-28). Diuretic and natriuretic effects of APII were similar to rANP and hANP in terms of peak responses. Duration of the effects of APII were longer than those of rANP and hANP. No significant changes were observed by infusions of API, and ANP fragments, ANP-(13-28) and ANP-(17-28). rANP, hANP and APIII decreased active but increased inactive renin secretion. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that substitution of isoleucine to methionine at 12 position of ANP does not affect the renal effects of ANP and that disulfide bond and C-terminal segment of ANP are important for the possession of natriuretic and diuretic activities.
Aldosterone ; Animals ; Atrial Natriuretic Factor ; Biological Assay ; Diuresis ; Humans ; Isoleucine ; Methionine ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; Natriuresis ; Natriuretic Agents ; Peptides ; Rabbits* ; Rats ; Relaxation ; Renal Artery ; Renin ; Structure-Activity Relationship

PURPOSE: This study was designed to determine surgeon's opinions on the name of the Department of Surgery in Korea. METHODS: This report is a survey of 797 randomly selected questionnaire (28.8%) from among 2,804 submitted by members of the Korea Surgical Society. The questionnaire consisted of 16 questions. RESULTS: Among the respondents, 70.4% were in the 4th or 5th decade of age, and 51.9% were working for private clinics. Among the names for the Department of Surgery in Korea, 48.9% included the word Surgery and 44.2% the word General surgery. Respondents who consider that we have to make use the unified Korean name of the Department of Surgery were 90.1%. CONCLUSION: The name of our department is considered as a common issue by most members. Most members insist that as much as possible, we should make use of the unified name Department of Surgery. We confirm that it is important to lead the public to a better understanding of our department by means of a far-reaching public information and that policy must be made and carried out by the Korea Surgical Society.
Surveys and Questionnaires ; Korea ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: To assess the effectiveness of low-dose (30 mCi) I-131 ablation therapy for remnant thyroid tissue following total thyroidectomy for differentiated thyroid cancer. METHODS: Between March 1995 and December 1997, 48 patients were given ablative doses (30 mCi) of I-131 following total thyroidectomy for differentiated thyroid cancer in the presence of I-131 uptake in remnant thyroid tissue. The effective ablation of remnant thyroid tissue was determined using a subsequent I-131 whole body scan. If any remnant thyroid tissue remained, we repeated the same management protocol at 6-month intervals. RESULTS: Thirty-eight (79.1%) patients displayed papillary, 8 (16.7%) follicular, 1 (2.1%) medullary and 1 (2.1%) Hurthle cell type cancer. Forty-eight patients underwent total thyroidectomy, 35 cases of which underwent central neck dissection, and 14 cases modified radical neck dissection. Postoperative complication developed in 8 cases, including 4 cases of transient hypoparathyroidism, 1 case of permanent hypoparathyroidism, 2 cases of transient recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, and 1 case of wound hematoma. There was significant remnant thyroid tissue detected in 46 cases (95.8%) following total thyroidectomy, which were able to be ablated by low dose (30 mCi) I-131. There was no statistical difference between the operative procedures or the numbers of treatment of I-131. CONCLUSION: This data suggests that low-dose (30 mCi) I 131 therapy is effective for the ablation of remnant thyroid tissue following total thyroidectomy for differentiated thyroid cancer.
Hematoma ; Humans ; Hypoparathyroidism ; Neck Dissection ; Postoperative Complications ; Surgical Procedures, Operative ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms* ; Thyroidectomy* ; Vocal Cord Paralysis ; Whole Body Imaging ; Wounds and Injuries

PURPOSE: This study was done to determine the diagnostic efficacy of clinical examination, fine needle aspiration(FNA) cytology, mammography and ultrasonography in palpable breast mass. METHODS: We performed 248 FNA cytology of palpable breast mass, among which 106 cases were histologically examined during the period of from Jan. 1994 to Dce.1997 at the Department of Surgery, Chonbuk National University Hospital. Among 106 patients, mammographys were taken for 96 patients, and ultrasonographys for 73 patients. RESULTS: Main clinical symptom was palpable mass on breast at the she visited the hospital. Clinical diagnosis based on symptoms and physical examination had 96.9% of sensitivity, 57.5% of specificity. Based on definite histologic diagnosis, the sensitivity of FNA cytology was 96.9%, specificity 91.7%, and diagnostic accuracy 93.5%, respectively. 86.1% of cytologic malignancy was proven to be malignant histologically, and 100% of cytologically benign cases were turned out histologically benign. Mammography was performed on 96 cases and the results were as follows; sensitivity 89.3%, specificity 84%, and diagnostic accuracy 86.8%. Ultrasonography in 73 cases showed 93.5% sensitivity, 51.4% specificity, and 74.6% diagnostic accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: FNA cytology was reliable and safe diagnostic method compared to physical examination, mammography, and ultraxonography. And FNA cytology of palpable breast mass should be diagnostic procedure of choice for those patients classified clinically as probably benign or malignant.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle* ; Breast* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Jeollabuk-do ; Mammography* ; Needles ; Physical Examination ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Ultrasonography*

Primary hyperparathyroidism is a relatively rare disease entity in Korea. It is characterized by severe skeletal and renal changes due to hypersecretion of parathyroid hormone and rarely shows peptic ulceration, hypertension, pancreatitis and impaired mentality. Primary hyperparathyroidism is most commonly caused by an adenoma, or hyperplasia and rarely by cancer of the parathyroid gland. The authors experienced a case involving a giant parathyroid adenoma in a 62-year-old female. The main symptoms were general weakness, anorexia, and constipation. We detected the giant parathyroid adenoma on the anterior neck by using preoperative localization methods, such as ultrasonography, and a thallium-technetium subtraction scan. A parathyroidectomy was carried out, and the parathyroid adenoma measured 5.0 cm 3.2 cm in size and 12 gm in weight. Clinical laboratory reports and symptoms were normalized with no sequelae. We report this case with a review of the literature related to sizes and weights of adenomas.
Adenoma ; Anorexia ; Constipation ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperparathyroidism, Primary* ; Hyperplasia ; Hypertension ; Korea ; Middle Aged ; Neck ; Pancreatitis ; Parathyroid Hormone ; Parathyroid Neoplasms* ; Parathyroidectomy ; Peptic Ulcer ; Rare Diseases ; Ultrasonography ; Weights and Measures

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) of the upper extremity has been recently been recognized as being more common than previously reported (probably because of the increasingly frequent use of subclavian venous access). Since the initial descriptions of axillary-subclavian vein thrombosis more than 100 years ago, studies cites a 1.3% to 2.1% incidence of all DVT that occurs in the axillary or subclavian veins. Axillary-subclavian vein thrombosis is commonly associated with significant morbidity. The most serious aspect of morbidity and mortality is pulmonary embolization. Venography or digital subtraction studies are most reliable in allowing detection of thrombosis and Duplex imaging of vein is useful in following the course and assessing the effect of treatment. Early diagnosis and initiation of treatment before thrombus organization are important for successful outcome. Polycythemia vera are at an especially high risk for both thrombotic and hemorrhghic events and postoperative complications. We report a case of axillary-subclavian vein thrombosis after left subclavian vein catheterization in polycythemia vera.
Catheterization* ; Catheters* ; Early Diagnosis ; Incidence ; Mortality ; Phlebography ; Polycythemia Vera* ; Polycythemia* ; Postoperative Complications ; Subclavian Vein* ; Thrombosis* ; Upper Extremity ; Veins* ; Venous Thrombosis

The malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) was first introduced in 1963 to refer to a group of soft-issue tumors characterized by a storiform or cartwheel-ike growth pattern and predominantly fibroblastic appearance. It was postulated that they were derived from histiocytes that could assume the appearance and function of fibroblasts. MFH has been recognized to be the most common sarcoma in the soft tissue of late adult life which involves the deep fascia or skeletal muscles of the extremities or retroperitoneum. It has been noted in other organs, however, it rarely arises in the liver. We report two cases of primary malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the liver histopathologically confirmed after surgical resection-storiform pleomorphic and myxoid subtypes in the 55 year old male and 49 year old female patients, respectively, and describes the clinical courses, characteristics and pathologic aspects with review of the related literatures.
Adult ; Extremities ; Fascia ; Female ; Fibroblasts ; Histiocytes ; Histiocytoma, Malignant Fibrous* ; Humans ; Liver* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Sarcoma

From Feburary 1989 to December 1997, 118 cases of primary living-donor renal transplantations were performed in Chonbuk National University Hospital. We analyzed the outcome of grafts and the potential risk factors that could influence the graft survival. The results were as follows. Male versus female ratio of recipients and donors were 3.2:1 and 1.1:1, and the mean age of them were 33.4 years and 44.8 years, respectively. Overall graft and patient survival rates were 95.7%, 97.4% at 1 year, 90.8%, 93.5% at 3 year, and 87.7%, 93.5% at 5 year, respectively. In all, 16 cases (13.6%) were lost during the observation period, with the most common causes of graft loss being chronic renal failure (10 cases, 63%), death with a functioning graft (3 cases, 19%), acute renal failure, anastomotic infection, and spontaneous renal rupture in each other one case. The deaths of patients occured in 9 cases (7.6%). The most common causes were pneumonia (5 cases, 56%), and the others were sepsis, breast cancer, retroperitoneal hematoma, and multiple organ failure in each other one case, respectively. The analyzed variables that could affect the graft survival were HLA typing, relative relationship, ABO typing, pretransplant blood transfusion, prevalence of CRF, acute rejection, and frequency of rejection episodes, but the results were not statistically significant. According to the relative relationship, acute rejection rate was 28.4% (25 of 88 cases) in relative, and 59.3% (16 of 27 cases) in non-relative. And so relative relationship influenced the acute rejection rates (p=0.003).
Acute Kidney Injury ; Blood Transfusion ; Breast Neoplasms ; Female ; Graft Survival ; Hematoma ; Histocompatibility Testing ; Humans ; Jeollabuk-do ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Kidney Transplantation* ; Male ; Multiple Organ Failure ; Pneumonia ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Rupture ; Sepsis ; Survival Rate ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

A mesenteric cyst is an uncommon cause of a palpable abdominal mass. Such cysts occur along the Gastrointestinal(G-I) tract, from the duodenum to the rectum and are commonly found in the mesentery of small bowel rather than in the mesocolon. They can present themselves as chronic abdominal pain, an abdominal mass, and abdominal pain, and the most common physical finding is an abdominal mass which is movable transversely but not longitudinally. Diagnostic aids include abdominal computed tomography and ultrasound. An upper gastrointestinal series, barium enema, and intravenous pyelogram exclude GI and genitourinary cysts and tumors. Complete excision of the cyst, including a bowel resection, if necessary, is the treatment of choice and it has excellent postoperative results. The authors experienced three new cases of mesenteric cysts from March 1986 to July 1997 in Chonbuk National University Hospital. These cases are reported in this paper, along with a review of the literature on mesenteric cysts.
Abdominal Pain ; Barium ; Duodenum ; Enema ; Jeollabuk-do ; Mesenteric Cyst* ; Mesentery ; Mesocolon ; Rectum ; Ultrasonography

BACKGROUND: Palpable breast tumors have traditionally been diagnosed with open biopsy. We propose fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology as a reliable, safe initial procedure in these patients. METHODS: We performed 248 fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology of breast tumors, among which 106 cases were histologically examined during the period of form Jan. 1994 to Dec. 1997 at the Department of Surgery, Chonbuk National University Hospital. RESULTS: Main clinical symptom was palpable mass on breast at the time she visited the hospital. Clinical diagnosis based on symptoms and physical examination had 96.9% of sensitivity, 57.5% of specificity. Based on definite histologic diagnosis, the sensitivity of FNA cytology was 96.9% specificity 91.7%, diagnostic accuracy 93.5%, respectively. 86.1% of cytologic malignancy were proven malignant histologically, and 100% of cytologically benign cases turned out hitologically benign. CONCLUSIONS: A fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology of solid palpable breast lesions should be diagnostic procedure of choice for those patients classified clinically as probably benign or clinically as malignant.
Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle* ; Breast Neoplasms ; Breast* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Jeollabuk-do ; Physical Examination ; Sensitivity and Specificity