• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.30 no.5
• /
• pp.512-516
• /
• 1997

We have experienced 66 cases of video assisted thoracic surgery(VATS) of spontaneous pneumothorax. The patients ranged in age from 1 Syears to 46years(mean age, 22.3years) and male patients were sixty three. The indications of video assisted thoracic surgery of spontaneous pneumothorax were recurrence, continuous air leakage, visible blabs on the chest X-ray & others. Infraoperative findings were as follows; blabs, pleural adhesion and pleural effusion. The operation was performed under general anesthesia wit double lumen endobronchial tube. Operative procedures included blebectomy and/or wedge resection of lung, vibramycin Pleurodesis with mechanical abrasion. In most cases, postoperative courses were uneventful and patients were discharged without significant complications. VATS provided the benefits of lesser postoperative pain, rapid recovery, short hospitalization, and smaller scar of wound. Conclusively VATS is a new interesting modality of surgical treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax and also can be extensively applicable in the diagnosis and treatment of other intrathoracic disease.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.31 no.8
• /
• pp.804-810
• /
• 1998

Background: Multiple trauma patients have rapidly increased due to traffic accidents, industrial disasters, incidental accidents, and violence. Multiple trauma can involve injuries to the heart, lung, and great vessels and influence the lives, necessitate prompt diagnosis and treatment. Most of the thoracic injuries can be managed with conservative method and simple surgical procedures, such as closed thoracostomy, but in certain cases open thoracotomy is necessary. Materials and methods: The author analyzed the surgical result of 70 cases of open thoracotomy after multiple organ injury including thoracic organ. Results: The most common type of thoracic lesion was hemothorax with or without pneumothorax and diaphragmatic rupture was the second. Sixty percent of the patients were associated with bone fractures, 42.9% with abdominal injuries, and 37.1% with head injuries. The modes of operation were ligations of torn vessels for bleeding control(48.6%), repair of diaphragm(35.7%), and repair of lung laceration(25.7%) in this order of frequency and additional procedures were splenectomy(14.3%), hepatic lobectomy (8.6%) and repair of liver lacerations(5.7%). Postoperative complications were atelectasis (8.6%), wound infection (8.6%), and pneumonia(4.3%). Postoperatively six patients died(The mortality rate was 8.6%) and the causes of death were respiratory failure(2), acute renal failure(2), sepsis(1), and hypovolemic shock(1).

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.221-227
• /
• 1986

Ventricular septal defect is most common congenital cardiac anomaly in Korea and worldwide. And its clinical spectrum is well known. The anatomic classification had been undertaken by several authors, but recently Dr. Soto and Anderson's classification is widely used instead of Dr. Kirklin's it. From April. 1984 to December 1986, 99 cases of ventricular septal defects had been taken surgical repair under direct vision using conventional cardiopulmonary bypass technique at Yeungnam university hospital. The clinical spectrum was similar to other hospital, and the postoperative mortality was 2%, The most common associated anomaly was patent foramen ovale, and the most common postoperative complication was incomplete or complete right bundle branch block. The rank of defects was as followings: 45 perimembranous inlet type, 21 doubly commited subarterial type, 17, perimembranous trabecular type, and 16 perimembranous outlet type. There was no muscular and mixed type.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.35 no.5
• /
• pp.387-391
• /
• 2002

Background: Postoperative morbidity and mortality in destroyed lung are relatively high. We tried to identify the prognostic factors affecting postoperative morbidity and mortality in destroyed lung through a retrospective study. Material and method: The retrospective study was undertaken in 112 patients who had undergone pneumonectomy or pleuropneumonectomy for destroyed lung at Severance Hospital from 1970 to 2000. We analyzed the correlation between postoperative morbidity and mortality and etiology, duration of disease, preoperative FEV1, presence or absence of peroperative empyema, operation timing, the side of operation, duration of operation, and operation type. Result: There were 55 men and 57 women, aged 20 to 81 years (mean 44 years). Etiologic diseases were tuberculosis in 86 patients(76.8%) including tuberculos empyema in 20 and tuberculous bronchiectasis in 4, pyogenic empyema in 12(10,7%), bronchiectasis in 12(10.7%), and lung abscess in 2(1.8%). Postoperative morbidity were 25%(n=28) and postoperative mortality was 6%(n=7). The presence of preoperative empyema(p=0.016), pleuropneumonectomy(p=0.037) and preoperative FEV1 of less than 1.75 L(P=0.048) significantly increased the postoperative morbidity, If operation time was less than 300min, postoperative morbidity(p=0.002) and mortality(p=0.03) were significantly low. Conclusion: Postoperative morbidity and mortality in destroyed lung were acceptable. Postoperative morbidity and mortality were significantly low when operation time was less than 300 min. Preoperative existence of empyema, pleuropneumonectomy and preoperative FEV1 of less than 1.75 L significantly increased postoperative morbidity.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.66 no.1
• /
• pp.37-41
• /
• 2009

Hot tub lung has been described as a pulmonary illness associated with exposure to nontuberculous mycobacteria,mainly hot bathtub water contaminated with Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) and hence the name. Although not entirely clear, its etiology has been thought to involve either an infection or a hypersensitivity pneumonitis secondary to MAC. Herein, we describe 2 female patients (60 and 53 years old) admitted to our hospital with hot tub lung, and both of whom worked in a public bath. Both women were initially admitted following several months of exertional dyspnea and cough. The patients had been working as body-scrubbers in a public bath for several years. Their chest CT scans showed bilateral diffuse ground-glass opacities with multifocal air-trappings and poorly defined centrilobular nodules in both lungs. Pathological findings from lung specimens revealed small non-necrotizing granuloma in the lung parenchyme with relatively normal-looking adjacent alveoli. Discontinuation of working in the public bath led to an improvement in symptoms and radiographic abnormalities, without antimycobacterial therapy.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.53 no.1
• /
• pp.79-84
• /
• 2002

Pulmonary nocardiosis is an infrequent but severe infection due to the microorganism, Nocardia spp, which may behave as both an opportunists and as a primary pathogens. Usually nocardiosis is found in patients under immunosuppressive regimens for organ transplans, chemotherapy for a malignancy and corticosteroids. The experience of pulmonary nocardiosis in the medical literature is limited to just case reports, with a few series including extrapulmonary nocardiosis. It is believed that the incidence of this infection has been increasing since 1960. The diagnosis is difficult because of the nonspecific clinical manifestations, the lack of laboratory evidence, and the non-specific radiographic findings. Here, we report a case of pulmonary nocardiasis in a 66 year-old patient with alcoholic liver cirrhosis who has suffered from acutely developed dyspnea and general edema. The nocardia species. was cultured from a specimen obtained by a percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.69 no.4
• /
• pp.279-283
• /
• 2010

The global number of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) pulmonary infection is increasing. Patients with preexisting lung disease or who are immunodeficient are at the greatest risk for developing MAC infection. Endobronchial lesions with MAC infection are rare in the immunocompetent host. However, there have been an increasing number of reports of an immunocompetent host being afflicted with various manifestations of MAC infection. We report a case of pulmonary and endobronchial MAC infection presenting as an acute pneumonia in a 59-year-old female without preexisting lung disease or immunodeficiency.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.209-212
• /
• 1997

A fifteen-year-old boy was transported to our hospital emmergency room due to sudden onset of chest pain, hemoptysis and dyspnea. He was diagnosed as persistent ductus arteriosus that had developed acute bacterial endocarditis with pulmonic valve vegetation and pulmonary embolism with pulmonary infarction. After conservative antibiotic therapy (vancomycin + aminoglycoside), we operated this patient successfully - patch closer of the ductus and pulmonary valve valvuloplasty - under the cardiopulmonary bypass.

• Neonatal Medicine
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.94-98
• /
• 2009

Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is a foodborne anaerobic gram-positive rod and the third most common pathogen for neonatal meningitis. Although the mortality and morbidity of L. monocytogenes infections are high, thus causing serious problems in Western populations, neonatal listeriosis is relatively rare in Eastern countries, including Korea. Possible routes for intrauterine infection or vertical transmission of L. monocytogenes include infected placentas and the reproductive tract. Intrauterine infections may cause chorioamnionitis, preterm labor, spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, or neonatal infection. A high index of suspicion and early empirical antibiotic treatment are critical to achieve a favorable prognosis for neonatal listeriosis. We managed a case of L. monocytogenes sepsis and pneumonia in a premature neonate born at 26 weeks of gestational age from an asymptomatic mother with culture-proven placental infection. The neonate was successively treated with ampicillin and gentamicin.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.63-66
• /
• 1996

Postoperative empyema thoracis with bronchopleural fistula (BPF) Is uncommon but serious complication. The management remains troublesome area in the field of the general thoracic surgery During the period of October 1993 to December 1994, four patients with postresectional empyema thoracic with BPF were treated consecutively in Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hosp tal. The treatment procedures include irrigation and debridement of the empyema cavity and muscle flap transposition. Follow-up periods after surgery were 4-12 months. Three patients were thought successful, one patient failed. We think that the cause of failure is muscle necrosis of rectos abdominis muscle flap due to vascular injury and infection of muscle due to residual infected debridement of empyema cavity.