• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.73-79
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• 1997

Complete denervation after severe brachial plexus injury make significant muscle atrophy with loss of proper function. It is much helpful to reconstruct the essential function of the elbow flexion movement in patient with total loss of elbow flexion motion after brachial plexus lesion which was not recovered with nerve surgery or long term conservative treatment from onset. In whole arm type brachial plexus injury, if there were no response to neurotization or neglected from injury, the volume of the denervated muscle is significantely reduced month by month. About 18 months most of the muscle fibers change to fibrous tissues and markedly atrophied irreversibly, further waiting is no more meaningful from that period. Authors performed 14 cases of functioning gracilis muscle transfer from 1981 to 1995 with microneurovascular technique, neuromusculocutaneous free flaps were performed for reconstruction of lost elbow flexion function. Average follow-up period was 5 years and 6 months. We used couple of intercostal nerves as a recipient nerve which were anastomosed to muscular nerve from obturator nerve in all cases. Recipient vessels were three deep brachial artery and eleven brachial artery which were anastomosed to medial femoral circumflex artery with end to end or end to side fashion. Average resting length of the transplanted gracilis were 24 cm. We can get average 54 degree flexion range of elbow with fair muscle power from flail elbow. There were one case of muscle necrosis with lately developed thrombosis of microvascular anastomosed site which comes from insufficient recipient arterial condition, 3 cases of partial marginal necrosis of distal skin of the transplanted part which were not significant problem with spontaneously solved with time goes by gracilis muscle has constant neurovascular pattern with relatively easy harvesting donor with minimal donor morbidity. Especially it has similar length and shape with biceps brachii muscle of upper arm and longer nerve pedicle which can neurorrhaphy with intercostal nerve without nerve graft if sufficient mobilization of the nerves from both sides of gracilis and intercostal region. Authors can propose gracilis muscle transplantation with intercostal nerves neurotization is helpful method with minimal donor morbidity for neglected brachial plexus palsy patients.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.247-255
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• 2019

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Accurate, early identification of acutely malnourished children has the potential to reduce related child morbidity and mortality. The current World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines classify non-oedematous acute malnutrition among children under five using Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) or Weight-for-Height Z-score (WHZ). However, there is ongoing debate regarding the use of current MUAC cut-offs. This study investigates the diagnostic performance of MUAC to identify children aged 6-24 months with global (GAM) or severe acute malnutrition (SAM). SUBJECTS/METHODS: Cross-sectional, secondary data from a community sample of children aged 6-24 months in Niger were used for this study. Children with complete weight, height and MUAC data and without clinical oedema were included. Using WHO guidelines for GAM (WHZ < -2, MUAC < 12.5 cm) and SAM (WHZ < -3, MUAC < 11.5 cm), the sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), predictive values, Youden Index and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were calculated for MUAC when compared with the WHZ reference criterion. RESULTS: Of 1161 children, 23.3% were diagnosed with GAM using WHZ, and 4.4% with SAM. Using current WHO cut-offs, the Se of MUAC to identify GAM was greater than for SAM (79 vs. 57%), yet the Sp was lower (84 vs. 97%). From inspection of the ROC curve and Youden Index, Se and Sp were maximised for MUAC < 12.5 cm to identify GAM (Se 79%, Sp 84%), and MUAC < 12.0 cm to identify SAM (Se 88%, Sp 81%). CONCLUSIONS: The current MUAC cut-off to identify GAM should continue to be used, but when screening for SAM, a higher cut-off could improve case identification. Community screening for SAM could use MUAC < 12.0 cm followed by appropriate treatment based on either MUAC < 11.5 cm or WHZ < -3, as in current practice. While the practicalities of implementation must be considered, the higher SAM MUAC cut-off would maximise early case-finding of high-risk acutely malnourished children.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.301-303
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• 2010

Purpose: The axillary web syndrome (AWS) is a selflimiting cause of morbidity in the early postoperative period after axillary surgery. This article presents a rare complication developed after surgical treatment for axillary osmidrosis. Methods: A 55-year-old male patient underwent surgical excision of skin and glandular tissue for axillary osmidrosis. Three weeks after the surgery, he visited our department due to a visible web of left axillary skin overlying palpable cord extends into the medial ipsilateral arm. There was a taut and tender cord of tissue under the skin and shoulder abduction was limited to less than 90 degrees. He was diagnosed with AWS and treated with conservative management. Results: Four months later, AWS resolved completely without any treatment and patient was free of pain or motion restriction. Conculsion: Axillary web syndrome has been described as frequent complication after axillary lymph node dissection or sentinel node biopsy, but not after surgical treatment of axillary osmidrosis. Surgeons must be aware of the risk of axillary web syndrome after treatment of axillary osmidrosis.

• The Journal of the Korean bone and joint tumor society
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 2007

Bone is a common site for metastatic spread from many kinds of malignancies. The morbidity associated with this metastatic spread can be significant, including severe pain. When it comes to spinal metastasis, occupying nearly 40% of skeletal metastases, the risks of complications, such as vertebral body collapse, nerve root impingement, or spinal cord compression, are also significant. Because of the necessity of preserving the integrity of the spinal column and the proximity of critical structures, surgical treatment has limitations when durable local control is desired. Radiotherapy, therefore, is often used as an adjunct treatment or as a sole treatment. A considerable limitation of standard radiotherapy is the reported recurrence rate or ineffective palliation of pain, either clinically or symptomatically. This may be due to limited radiation doses to tumor itself because of the proximity of critical structures. CyberKnife is an image-guided robotic radiosurgical system. The image guidance system includes a kilovoltage X-ray imaging source and amorphous silica detectors. The radiation delivery device is a mobile X-band linear accelerator (6 MV) mounted on a robotic arm. Highly conformal fields and hypofractionated radiotherapy schedules are increasingly being used as a means to achieve biologic dose escalation for body tumors. Therefore, we can give much higher doses to the targeted tumor volume with minimizing doses to the surrounding critical structures, resulting in more effective local control and less severe side effects, compared to conventional fractionated radiotherapy. A description of this technology and a review of clinical applications to bone metastases are detailed herein.

• Journal of Korea Association of Health Promotion
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2006

"본 논문은 대한외과학회지 2006년 제70권제1호에 실렸던 논문으로 대한외과학회 편집위원회 승인을 득하고 본 협회지에 게재함. Purpose: Malnutrition has been frequently reported for patients on their admission to the hospital and it has been associated with an increase in morbidity, mortality and the length of the hospital stay. Although a number of screening tools have been developed to identify those patients at risk for malnutrition, there is no' gold standard' for defining malnutrition and the malnourished patients remain largely unrecognized. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a nutritional screening tool for use in Dankook University Hospital. Methods Nutritional evaluation was performed for 53 patients who were admitted to the department of surgery and internal medicine between October and December 2004. The screening tool was completed by the ward nurse and the nutritional support team nurse on the same patients within24 hours of admission. The nutritional support team nurse performed the full assessment. The screening sheet included 4 questions regarding body mass index, recent unintentional weight loss, food intake and disease severity. Each answer was scored and a total of 5 was tested as the criterion fey malnutrition. The full assessment included current body weight, recent weight loss, triceps skinfold thickness, mid-arm muscle circumference, serum albumin)in and total lymphocyte count. Malnutrition was defined by 3 or more values below the reference values. The reliability of the screening tool was assessed using kappa statistic. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were calculated to evaluate the validity of the screening tool. The receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve was drawn to choose a cutoff valve that maximizes sensitivity and specificity. Results' The level of agreement between the ward nurse and the NST nurse was good for BMI and food intake and moderate for weight loss and disease severity. The full assessment identified7 patients(13.2%) as malnourished. The screening sheet had a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 80%. According to the ROC curve, a score of 5 points provided the best validity. Conclusion The nutritional screening tool is reliable when completed by different observers and it is valid for nutritional assessment.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.35-61
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• 1985

The surgical treatment of advanced carcinomas and some benign tumors having clinically malignant behaviors of the head and neck region often require extensive resection, necessitating large flaps for reconstruction. Since the original upper arm flap was described by Tagliacozzi in 1597, a variety of technique such as random pattern local flap, axial flap, distant flap, scalping flap, myocutaneous flap, free flap etc. have been proposed for reconstruction of head, face and neck defects. Reconstruction of the facial defects usually require the use of distant tissue. Traditionally, nasal reconstruction has been carried out with a variety of forehead flaps. In recent years, there has been more acceptance of immediate repairs following the removal of these tumors. As a result, patients are more willing to undergo these extensive resections to improve their chances of cure, with the reasonable expectation that an immediate reconstruction will provide an adequate cosmetic result. Authors experienced 13 cases of head and neck tumor during last three and half years that required wide excision and immediate reconstruction with various flaps, not with primary closure or simple skin graft. We present our experience with varied flaps for reconstruction after wide resection of head and neck tumors 3 cases of defect of dorsum of nose or medial canthus with island forehead flaps, lower eyelid defect with cheek flap, cheek defect with Limberg flap, orbital floor defect with Temporalis muscle flap, lateral neck defects with Pectoralis major myocutaneous flap or Latissimus dorsi myocutaneous free flap, subtotal nose defect with scalping flap, wide forehead defect with Dorsalis pedis free flap and 3 cases of mandibular defect or mandibular defect combined with lower lip defect were reconstructed with free vascularized iliac bone graft or free vascularized iliac bone graft concomitantly combined with free groin flap pedicled on deep circumflex iliac vessels We obtained satisfactory results coincided wi th goal of treatment of head and neck tumors, MAXIMAL CURE RATE with MINIMAL MORBIDITY, OPTIMAL FUNCTION, and an APPEARANCE as close to normal as possible.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.164-171
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• 2000

Fascia and fasciocutaneous free flaps (using perforators) are adequate reconstructive options with aesthetic and functional advantages, particularly for reconstruction of variable soft tissue defects of the extremities. Although various donor sites have been used for these concerns including temporoparietal fascia, serratus fascia, scapular fascia, fascial component of lateral arm and posterior calf fascia. The authors used temporoparietal and scapular fascia as a free flap for coverage of soft tissue defects and we compare two flap mainly their histologic studies and clinical applications. In our expierience both fascia provide thin, pliable coverage for exposed bone and tendons and provide good postoperative functional restoration on the recipient area. Histologically temporoparietal fascia flap has more rich blood supply and scapular fascia flap is rich in adipose tissue in their composition. In donor site morbidity, both flaps can bring satisfactory results about the donor sites, but the donor site of the temporoparietal fascia flap sometimes revealed conspicious linear scar and transient alopecia in short-haired patients and the scapular fascia flap has a tendency to be wider and thicker in obese patients. After successful application of the both fascia flap as a free flap in 38 patients (25 temporoparietal fascia, 13 scapular fascia) since 1995 ; authors recommend using the temporoparietal fascia flap for women, who tend to have more fat and longer hair, and the scapular fascia flap for men, who tend to be leand & shorter hair.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.779-784
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• 1994

Vidio-assisted thoracic surgery[VATS] has recently evolved as an alternative to thoracotomy for several thoracic disorders,and the role of thoracoscopy has expanded with advances in surgical techniques and instruments. From May 1993 to May 1994, 13 patients with mediastinal mass underwent VATS for diagnosis and treatment at Gil General Hospital. There were four males and nine females, and their ages raged from 5 years to 66 years with average 38.8 years. Among 13 patients, 3 were operated for tissue diagnosis,9 for treatment,and 1 for diagnosis and treatment. Pathologic diagnoses were as follows; 5 benign neurogenic tumors, 2 thymoma, 2 sarcoidosis, 1 teratoma, 1 peripheral neuroepithelioma, 1 tbc lymphadenitis, and 1 pericardial cyst. The mean time of operation was 111.7 $\pm$ 30.7 minutes[60-160], mean duration of chest tube drainage was 2.9 $\pm$1.9days[1-9], mean hospital stay was 6.2 $\pm$2.6 days[4-13]. There was no patient needed blood transfusion or conversion to open thoracotomy. Accurate diagnosis was possible in all patients operated for diagnosis and /or treatment.[4/4,100%] Two complications occurred in two patients: 1 transient Horner,s syndrome,1 anhydrosis of left arm. Compared with those of conventional thoracotomy done for mediastinal mass during previous 2 years[May 1991 - April 1993], operative results of VATS were better in all aspects. For mediastinal mass, we concluded that VATS can be done with less morbidity,less complication,less blood loss,shorter operation time and hospital stay,and not more expensive in cost than conventional thoracotomy. Noticeably, we think that VATS is the operation of choice for the diagnosis and palliation of malignant mediastinal mass.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.256-262
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• 2015

Background: Heart attack is the most common cause of line-of-duty death in the fire service. Daily aspirin therapy is a preventative measure used to reduce the morbidity of heart attacks but may decrease the ability to dissipate heat by reducing skin blood flow. Methods: In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study, firefighters were randomized to receive 14 days of therapy (81-mg aspirin or placebo) before performing treadmill exercise in thermal-protective clothing in a hot room [$38.8{\pm}2.1^{\circ}C$, $24.9{\pm}9.1%$ relative humidity (RH)]. Three weeks without therapy was provided before crossing to the other arm. Firefighters completed a baseline skin blood-flow assessment via laser Doppler flowmetry; skin was heated to $44^{\circ}C$ to achieve maximal cutaneous vasodilation. Skin blood flow was measured before and after exercise in a hot room, and at 0 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and 30 minutes of recovery under temperature conditions ($25.3{\pm}1.2^{\circ}C$, $40.3{\pm}13.7%\;RH$). Platelet clotting time was assessed before drug administration, and before and after exercise. Results: Fifteen firefighters completed the study. Aspirin increased clotting time before and after exercise compared with placebo (p = 0.003). There were no differences in absolute skin blood flow between groups (p = 0.35). Following exercise, cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC) was $85{\pm}42%$ of maximum in the aspirin and $76{\pm}37%$ in the placebo groups. The percentage of maximal CVC did not differ by treatment before or after recovery. Neither maximal core body temperature nor heart rate responses to exercise differed between trials. Conclusion: There were no differences in skin blood flow during uncompensable heat stress following exercise after aspirin or placebo therapy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.75-80
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• 2013

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in females in Sri Lanka and early detection can lead to reduction in morbidity and mortality. Aim: To evaluate selected aspects of breast cancer early detection services implemented through well woman clinics (WWCs) in the Gampaha District. Methods: The study consisted of two components. A retrospective descriptive arm assessed clinical breast examination (CBE) coverage of target age group women (TGW) of 35-59 years in all the WWCs in Gampaha district over 2003-2007. A cross sectional descriptive study additionally assessed quality of breast cancer early detection services. The Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) technique was used to decide on the lot size and threshold values, which were computed as twenty and six clinics. Checklists were employed in assessing coverage, physical facilities and clinic activities. Client satisfaction on WWC services was assessed among 200 TGW attending 20 WWCs using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Results: CBE coverage in the Gampaha district increased only from 1.1-2.2% over 2003-2007. With regard to physical facilities, the number of clinics that were rated substandard varied between 7-18 (35-90%). The items that were lacking included dust bins, notice boards, stationary, furniture and linen, and cleanliness of outside premises and toilets. With regard to clinic activities, punctuality of staff, late commencement of clinics, provision of health education, supervision, CBE and breast self-examination (BSE) were substandard in 7-20 clinics (35-100%). Client satisfaction for WWC services was 45.2% (IQR: 38.7-54.8%) and only 11% had a score of ${\geq}70%$, the cut off set for satisfaction. Conclusions: Breast cancer early detection service coverage in the Gampaha district remained low (2.2%) in 2007, 11 years after commencing WWCs. All 20 clinics were substandard for overall CBE and BSE.