• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.38 no.2 s.247
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• pp.157-163
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• 2005

Background: Clinical outcomes of esophageal cancer have not been satisfactory in spite of the development of surgical skills and protocols of adjuvant therapy. We analyzed the results of corrective surgical patients for esophageal cancer from January 1992 to July 2002. Material and Method: Among 129 patients with esophageal cancer, this study was performed in 68 patients who received corrective surgery. The ratio of sex was 59 : 9 (male : female) and mean age was $61.07\pm7.36$ years old. Chief complaints of this patients were dysphagia, epigastric pain and weight loss, etc. The locations of esophageal cancer were 4 in upper esophagus, 36 in middle, 20 in lower, 8 in esophagogastric junction. 60 patients had squamous cell cancer and 7 had adenocarcinoma, and 1 had malignant melanoma. Five patients had neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Result: The postoperative stage I, IIA, IIB, III, IV patients were 7, 25, 12, 17 and 7, respectively. The conduit for replacement of esophagus were stomach (62 patients) and colon (6 patients). The neck anastomosis was performed in 28 patients and intrathoracic anastomosis in 40 patients. The technique of anastomosis were hand sewing method (44 patients) and stapling method (24 patients). One of the early complications was anastomosis leakage (3 patients) which had only radiologic leakage that recovered spontaneously. The anastomosis technique had no correlation with postoperative leakage, which stapling method (2 patients) and hand sewing method (1 patient). There were 3 respiratory failures, 6 pneumonia, 1 fulminant hepatitis, 1 bleeding and 1 sepsis. The 2 early postoperative deaths were fulminant hepatitis and sepsis. Among 68 patients, 23 patients had postoperative adjuvant therapy and 55 paitents were followed up. The follow up period was $23.73\pm22.18$ months ($1\~76$ month). There were 5 patients in stage I, 21 in stage 2A, 9 in stage IIB, 15 in stage III and 5 in stage IV. The 1, 3, 5 year survival rates of the patients who could be followed up completely was $58.43\pm6.5\%,\;35.48\pm7.5\%\;and\;18.81\pm7.7\%$, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that long-term survival difference was associated with a stage, T stage, and N stage (p<0.05) but not associated with histology, sex, anastomosis location, tumor location, and pre and postoperative adjuvant therapy. Conclusion: The early diagnosis, aggressive operative resection, and adequate postoperative treatment may have contributed to the observed increase in survival for esophageal cancer patients.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.171-180
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• 1992

The precise role of radiotherapy for low grade gliomas including the optimal radiation dose and timing of treatment remains unclear. The information given by a retrosepctive analysis may be useful in the design of prospective randomized studies looking at radiation dose and time of surgical and radiotherapeutic treatment. The records of 56 patients (M:F = 29:27) with histologically verified cerebral low grade gliomas (47 cases of grade 1 or 2 astrocytomas and 9 oligodendrogliomas) diagnosed between 1979 and 1989 were retrospectively reviewed. The extent of surgical tumor removal was gross total or radical subtotal in 38 patients ($68\%$) and partial or biopsy only in the remaining 18 patients ($32\%$). Postooperative radiation therapy was given to 36 patients ($64\%$) of the total 56 patients with minimum dose of 5000 cGy (range=1250 to 7220 cGy). The 5-and 10-year survival rates for the total 56 patients were $44\%$ and $32\%$ respectively with a median survival of 4.1 years. According to the histologic grade the 5- and 10-year survivals were $52\%$ and $35\%$ for the 24 patients respectively with grade I astrocytomas compared to $20\%$ and $10\%$ for the 23 patients with grade II astrocytomas. Survival of oligodendroglioma patients was greater than those with astrocytoma ($65\%$ vs $36\%$ at 5 years), and the difference was also remarkable in the long term period of follow up ($54\%$ vs $23\%$ at 10 years). Those who received high-dose radiation therapy ($\geq$5400 cGy) had significant better survival than those who received low-dose radiation (< 5400cGy) or surgery alone (p<0.05). The 5- and 10-year survival rates were, respectively $59\%$ and $46\%$ for the 23 patients receiving high-dose radiation, $36\%$ and $24\%$ for the 13 patients receiving low-dose radiation, and $35\%$ and $26\%$ for the 20 patients with surgery alone. Survival rates by the extent of surgical resection were similar at 5 years ($46\%$ vs $41\%$), but long term survival was quite different (p<0.01) between total/subtotal resection and partial resection/biopsy ($41\%$ and $12\%$, resepctively). Previously published studies have identified important prognostic factors in these tumor: age, extent of surgery, grade, performance status, and duration of symptoms. But in our cases statistical analysis revealed that grade I histology (p<0.025) and young age (p<0.001) were the most significant good prognostic variables.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.258-264
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• 1985

The experience with operative treatment for total correction of Fallot at the department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Keimyung University Dong San Medical Center from July 1980 to July 1984 was reviewed. There were 37 males and 12 females and their ages ranged from 3 years to 30 years, with the average age of 12.2 years. Sixty nine point four percent of patients were younger than 15 years of age. The most frequent type of right ventricular outflow stenosis was the combined type [pulmonary valvular and infundibular stenosis] containing 41 patients [83.7%] and there were 9 deaths in this group. The major associated lesions included Patent foramen ovale in 20 patients [40.8%], Atrial septal defect in 7 patients [14.3%], Left superior vena cava in 4 patients [8.2%], Right sided aortic arch in 2 patients [4.1%] and Patent ductus arteriosus in 11 patient [2.0%]. The pulmonary valvotomy was performed in 41 patients and patch graft reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract was performed in 23 patients. In 11 patients the monocusp patches were used. Thirty-five patients [71.4%] had the right bundle branch block postoperatively. There were 11 postoperative deaths with hospital mortality rate of 22.4% and the leading causes of death were low output syndrome, bleeding, and cerebral embolism.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.1081-1084
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• 1998

Background: Esophageal surgery in esophageal cancer has low curative resection rate and its resut has not improved even after the extended lymphnode dissection. To evaluate the effectiveness of cervical lymph node dissection, we compare the node of cervical lymph node metastasis in patients esophageal cancer. Materials and methods: We studied a series of 32 patients who underwent operation for thoracic esophageal carcinoma at our institution. The 25 patient who underwent curative surgery were divided into two groups. Both groups A and B underwent transthoracic esophagectomies with mediastinal and abdominal lymphadenectomies only, but group B also underwent bilateral lower neck node dissection. Results: The rate of operative complications did not differ significantly between two groups. No operative and hospital mortalities were noted in either group. However, the mean anesthetic time was significantly longer in group B(mean: 90 minutes). Neck node metastasis was revealed in 27% of group B. Conclusions: Therfore, neck node dissection is meaningful for surgical treatment of the thoracic esophageal carcinoma. The longterm survival rate should be compared later.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.220-225
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• 2009

Background: Sternoclavicular septic arthritis manifests serious complications such as abscess, osteomyelitis, mediastinitis and empyema; therefore, a prompt diagnosis and appropriate treatment are necessary. Material and Method: The treatment results of eight patients with sternoclavicular septic arthritis and who had been surgically treated at our institutions between September 2005 and July 2008 were retrospectively reviewed. The surgical treatment they underwent was en bloc resection, including partial resection of the sternum, the clavicular head and the 1st rib. Result: The patients ranged in age from 40 to 74 years with an average of $55.1{\pm}10.3$ years. Five were men and three were women. There were 6 patients with spontaneous sternoclavicular septic arthritis and 2 patients had their condition induced by central venous catheters. The pathogens isolated from the patients’ blood and wounds were MRSA (3), Streptococcus intermedius (1), Streptococcus agalactiae (1) and Pseudomonas luteola (1). One patient expired from aggravation of preoperative sepsis on POD 31. Conclusion: The life-threatening complications from sternoclavicular septic arthritis can progress and lead to death unless appropriate treatment is administered. A prompt diagnosis, appropriate antibiotics therapy and effective surgical treatment such as radical en bloc resection can reduce the morbidity and mortality of this malady.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.27-34
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• 1992

Cis-Platinum (DDP) was utilized as a radiosensitizer in a pilot study for stage III and IV squamous cell carcinoma between 1984-1987, and DDP 20 $mg/M^2$/day was administered for 4 days at 3 week interval with concurrent radiotherapy. This study consisted of three phases: cytoreduction phase, eradicative treatment phase and adjuvant phase. Total 59 patients were subjected to evaluate a tumor response and its toxicity. During the eradicative phase,27 patients underwent surgery (group I ), 29 patients were treated with radiotherapy only (group II) and 3 patients did not complete the second phase of therapy. At the cytoreduction phase, $95\%$ response rate with complete response (CR) $47.5\%$ and partial response (PR) $47.5\%$ was observed. Complete tumor clearance (CTC) rate following 2nd phase of therapy was $84\%$ (47/56) with 26/27($96\%$) in group I achieved CTC with surgery and 21/29 ($72\%$) patients In group II achieved CTC following 2nd phase. $67\%$ of primary lesions and $70\%$ of nodal diseases in group I showed no tumor in the surgical specimen. $34\%$ of patiets who achieved CTC at 2nd phase developed recurrence and median time to recur was 8 months. Actuarial disease free survival at 4 years was $59\%$ and $51\%$(24/27) of patients who achieved CTC at 2nd phase were alive without any evidence of disease at median follow-up 31 months (range, 10-48 months). There was no significant difference in overall and disease free survival between group I and II between CR and PR group following 1st Phase. Only significant Prognostic factor in this study was the complete tumor clearance following 2nd phase theapy. In general, toxicity was not excessive. Author concludes that this study confirmed the significant radiosensitizing effect of DDP with the acceptable toxicity and warrant the prospective study to determine optimum scheduling for DDP and radiotherapy which maximizes the therapeutic gain.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.152-156
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• 1994

Stomal recurrence after total laryngectomy presents serious therapeutic problems despite aggressive treatment methods. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the critical analysis of etiology and treatment results and to clarify the treatment plans and prevention of stomal recurrence. Among 159 cases who had undergone total laryngectomy for cancers of larynx(135 cases) and hypopharynx(24 cases) during recent 10 years, stomal recurrence occured in 12 cases(1 case with type I, 2 cases with type II, 2 cases with type III, 3 cases of type IV and unclassified 4 cases according to Sisson's classification) and the retrospective analysis of results were as follows: 1) Average duration of stomal recurrence was $8.2{\pm}4.35$ months after cessation of primary treatment. 2) The overall incidence of stomal recurrence was 7.6%. 3) The suggested etiology in the pathogenesis of stomal recurrence could be inadequate surgical margin, delayed laryngectomy after initial tracheostomy and improper management of metastatic nodes. 4) Mean survival time was $7.3{\pm}5.61$ months and one case with type I underwent surgical salvage is still alive out of 7 cases with chemotherapy and radiotherapy and 5 cases with surgical salvage and adjacent therapy. In summary, aggressive surgical resection should be recommended in cases with high risks of stomal recurrence.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.331-336
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• 2009

Background: Open surgical repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms was initiated by Dubost in 1952. Despite the rapid expansion of percutaneous endovascular repair, open surgical repair is still recognized for curative intent. We retrospectively analyzed surgical outcome, complications, and mortality-related factors for patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms over a 6 year period. Material and Method: We analyzed 18 patients who underwent surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysms between March 2002 and March 2008. The indications for surgery were rupture, a maximal aortic diameter >60 mm, medically intractable hypertension, or pain. Result: The mean age was $66.6{\pm}9.3$ years (range, $49\sim81$ years). Twelve patients (66.7%) were males a 6 patients were females. Extension of the aneurysm superior to the renal artery existed in 6 patients (33.3%), and extension to the iliac artery existed in 13 patients (72.2%). Five patients (27.8%) had ruptured aortic aneurysms. The mean maximal diameter of the aorta was $72.2{\pm}12.9$ mm (range, $58\sim109$ mm). Surgery was performed by a midline laparotomy, and 6 patients underwent emergency surgery. The mean total ischemic time from aorta clamping to revascularization was $82{\pm}42$ minutes (range, $35\sim180$ minutes). The mortality rate was 16.7%; the mortality rate for patients with ruptured aneurysms was 60%, and the mortality rate for patients with unruptured aneurysms was 0%. The postoperative complications included one each of renal failure, femoral artery and vein occlusion, and wound infection. The patients who were discharged had a long-term survival of $34{\pm}26$ months (range, $4\sim90$ months). Rupture and emergency surgery had a statistically significant mortality-related factor (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Emergency surgery for ruptured aortic aneurysms continues to have a high mortality, but unruptured cases are repaired with relative safety. Successfully operated patients had long-term survival. Even though endovascular aortic repair is the trend for abdominal aortic aneurysms, aggressive application should be determined with care. Experience and systemic support of each center is important in the treatment plan.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.244-249
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• 2006

Purpose: Tumor size has been reported to be one of the prognostic factors in the preoperative setting and 8 cm has been confirmed as a cut-off value for large gastric tumors with respect to postoperative complications. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinicopathologic features and the prognosis in patients with tumors larger than 8 cm in diameter. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively studied 2,260 patients with gastric cancer who underwent a gastrectomy from 1983 to 2001 at the Department of Surgery, Korea University College of Medicine. For a comparative analysis we divided the cases into the large and the small groups according to tumor size. The clinicopathological factors associated with large gastric tumors were analyzed by using univariate and multivariate analyses. To determine which variables were independent prognostic factors for overall survival, we applied the Cox proportional hazards model and we used P<0.05 as the cutoff value for statistical significance. Results: Univariate and multivariate analyses disclosed that tumor location (P<0.001), resection type (P<0.001), curability (P<0.001), depth of invasion (P<0.001), number of metastatic lymph nodes (P<0.001), differentiation (P<0.001) and combined resection (P<0.001) were significantly different between the two groups. The independent factors for survival identified by using the Cox proportional hazards model for large gastric tumors were nodal status (P<0.001), curative resection (P<0.001), depth of invasion (P=0.010), type of resection (P=0.018) and age (P=0.033). Conclusion: Large gastric tumors showed more aggressive local findings than their smaller counterparts. In patients with large gastric tumors, a curative resection was the most important factor for the prognosis. Therefore, we suggest that every effort should be made to do a curative gastrectomy and an accurate preoperative examination. (J Korean Gastric Cancer Assoc 2006;6:244-249)

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.117-123
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• 2007

Purpose: The surgical treatment of gastric cancer that invades adjacent organs is a radical gastrectomy with combined resection including the adjacent organs or a palliative operation by performing either a gastrojejunostomy or gastrectomy. However, since it is impossible to determine the exact stage of the cancer, either T or N, in the case of palliative surgery, it is inappropriate to predict patient prognosis. This study analyzes the prognoses for patients whose final TNM stages are determined by a combined resection performed due to macroscopical infiltration into the adjacent organs. Materials and Methods: Of 2,452 patients that underwent surgery for gastric cancer at our hospital from 1983 to 2002, we evaluated 102 patients where a combined resection was performed because direct infiltration into the adjacent organs was discovered. Results: Univariate analysis showed that the survival rate differed by the depth of invasion into the gastric walls, the degree of lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, pathological TNM stage, surgical curability, the location of tumor, and histological differentiation. By multivariate analysis, it was found that the surgical curability, the location of the tumor and the degree of lymph node metastasis were independent prognostic factors. Conclusion: It is suggested that even when infiltration into adjacent organs is suspected, radical surgery should be performed as to allow a prediction of prognosis through an exact determination of disease stage, and to improve the survival rate.