• Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.95-106
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• 2024

Background and Purpose: Ventricle enlargement has been implicated in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We studied the relationship between ventricular size and cognitive function in patients with AD. We focused on the effect of the initial ventricle size on the rate of cognitive decline in patients with AD. Methods: A retrospective analysis of probable clinical AD participants with more than 2 magnetic resonance imaging images was performed. To measure ventricle size, we used visual rating scales of (1) Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) score and (2) conventional linear measurement method. Results: Increased clinical dementia rating (CDR) was correlated with a decreased Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) score, and increased medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTLA) and global ventricle size (p<0.001, p<0.001, p=0.021, respectively). There was a significant correlation between the change in cognitive function in the group (70%-100%ile) with a large initial ventricle size (p=0.021 for ∆CDR, p=0.01 for ∆MMSE), while the median ventricle size (30%-70%ile) showed correlation with other brain structural changes (MTLA, frontal atrophy [FA], and white matter) (p=0.036 for initial MTLA, p=0.034 for FA). Conclusions: In this study, the initial ventricle size may be a potential new imaging biomarker for initial cognitive function and clinical progression in AD. We found a relationship between the initial ventricle size and initial AD-related brain structural biomarkers.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.272-274
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• 2004

We report an unusual case of left atrial auricular abscess which was successfully treated by surgical resection, treatment with antibiotics and mediastinal irrigation. A 9-year-old female patient with previous history of urinary tract infection was admitted because of persistent fever. Echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed massive pericardial effusion and a mass lesion at the left upper cardiac border. Pericardiocentesis isolated Staphylococcus aureus on culture. The patient underwent mass removal under cardiopulmonary bypass. The mass was located within the left atrial auricular wall with fibropurulent abscess formation inside. Postoperative mediastinal irrigation was performed. Pathologic examination of the mass showed organized thrombi with chronic fibrosing mural endocarditis. She discharged on the 21st postoperative day without complication.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.8
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• pp.599-604
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• 2002

Acute or chronic aortic dissection may lead to the rupture, which is the major cause of death. A dissecting aneurysm of ascending aorta(Stanford type A dissection) can rupture into the superior vena cava producing a aortocaval fistula, which is rare, but has been reported mostly in the cases of abdominal aortic aneurysm. We report a case of 67-year-old man with type A chronic dissection and aortocaval fistula, presenting symptoms of superior vena syndrome. The preoperative diagnosis was composed of radiologic examinations, including computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging angiography and aortography. The dissecting aneurysm was resected and replaced, and the aortocaval fistula was repaired under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. The details are described here.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.491-494
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• 1995

A fibroma arising in the right ventricle outflow tract of a 14 month-old infant was successfully removed. The patient was first seen because of shortness of breath and tachycardia. Pertinent clinical and laboratory findings included a grade II/VI systolic murmur, blood pressure of 120/60 mmHg, slight cardiomegaly on chest X-ray, a mass obstructing the outflow tract of the right ventricle on echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging. On october 30,1992, under cardiopulmonary bypass, a 4cm x 3cm x 3cm tumor was resected from the right ventricular outflow tract, together with a portion of the ventricular wall. Histologically, it was diagnosis as a fibroma. The patient was sent home on the 6th postoperative day following an uneventful recovery form the operation. Although cardiac fibroma is the second most common cardiac tumor in infancy and childhood, it is usually found in the left ventricle and one arising in the right ventricle is considered rare. Although it is a benign tumor, it could produce a severe cardiac dysfunction and even sudden death, depending on its size and location. With the advance in diagnostic techniques and operative management, there is a renewed interest in the early detection and operative removal of these tumors. The case herein presented is the first such case successfully managed and reported in the Korean literature.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.173-175
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• 2004

Primary pulmonary arterial sarcomas, especially those originating from the pulmonary valve are extremely rare. A 35 year-old male patient was admitted for exertional dyspnea and fatigue. Large intraluminal mass in the main pulmonary artery and both pulmonary arteries was detected by chest computed tomogram, chest magnetic resonance imaging, echocardiogram, and pulmonary angiogram. We regarded the mass as a primary pulmonary arterial malignant tumor, and resected under cardiopulmonary bypass. The mass was appeared to originate from the posterior cusp of pulmonary valve, and extended from below pulmonary valve to main pulmonary artery and both pulmonary arteries. We resected the mass by pulmonary endarterectomy and replaced the pulmonary valve. The mass was diagnosed as a pulmonary arterial sarcoma in histopathologic examination.

• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.16-19
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• 2021

Cushing's disease (CD) is a rare illness characterized by chronic hypercortisolism secondary to the overproduction of adrenocorticotropic hormone by a pituitary adenoma, which is associated with a high risk of developing serious complications, such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and emotional disorders. Endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery is performed for the treatment of CD, and was initially preferred over other types of treatments. However, the recurrence after pituitary surgery for CD is a common problem after an initial successful surgery. In microadenomas, the remission rates were higher than those of macroadenoma. This patient had a giant tumor that was greater than 4 cm in length on sella magnetic resonance imaging, and panhypopituitarism was detected using a combined pituitary stimulation test. After transsphenoidal surgery, the patient required temporary hormone replacement for a short period of time. After 1 year, he showed a normal cortisol response on the overnight dexamethasone suppression test and low morning cortisol levels. Therefore, we indicated that the patient was cured of giant macroadenoma with panhypopituitarism before surgery, and thus, reported this case.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.488-491
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• 2023

Silicone breast implant insertion is a commonly performed surgical procedure for breast augmentation or reconstruction. Among various postoperative complications, infection is one of the main causes of patient readmission and may ultimately require explantation. We report a case of infective costochondritis after augmentation mammoplasty, which has rarely been reported and is therefore difficult to diagnose. A 36-year-old female visited the clinic for persistent redness, pain, and purulent discharge around the left anteromedial chest, even after breast implant explantation. Magnetic resonance imaging showed abscess formation encircling the left fourth rib and intracartilaginous and bone marrow signal alteration at the left body of the sternum and left fourth rib. En bloc resection of partial rib and adjacent sternum were done and biopsy results confirmed infective costochondritis. Ten months postoperatively, the patient underwent chest wall reconstruction with an artificial bone graft and acellular dermal matrix. As shown in this case, early and aggressive surgical debridement of the infected costal cartilage and sternum should be performed for infective costochondritis. Furthermore, delayed chest wall reconstruction could significantly contribute to the quality of life.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.1044-1053
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• 2021

Objective: Motion-corrected averaging with a single-shot technique was introduced for faster acquisition of late-gadolinium-enhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging while free-breathing. We aimed to evaluate the image quality (IQ) of free-breathing motion-corrected single-shot LGE (moco-ss-LGE) in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Materials and Methods: Between April and December 2019, 30 patients (23 men; median age, 48.5; interquartile range [IQR], 36.5-61.3) with HCM were prospectively enrolled. Breath-held single-shot LGE (bh-ss-LGE) and free-breathing moco-ss-LGE images were acquired in random order on a 3T MR system. Semi-quantitative IQ scores, contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs), and quantitative size of myocardial scar were assessed on pairs of bh-ss-LGE and moco-ss-LGE. The mean ± standard deviation of the parameters was obtained. The results were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: The moco-ss-LGE images had better IQ scores than the bh-ss-LGE images (4.55 ± 0.55 vs. 3.68 ± 0.45, p < 0.001). The CNR of the scar to the remote myocardium (34.46 ± 11.85 vs. 26.13 ± 10.04, p < 0.001), scar to left ventricle (LV) cavity (13.09 ± 7.95 vs. 9.84 ± 6.65, p = 0.030), and LV cavity to remote myocardium (33.12 ± 15.53 vs. 22.69 ± 11.27, p < 0.001) were consistently greater for moco-ss-LGE images than for bh-ss-LGE images. Measurements of scar size did not differ significantly between LGE pairs using the following three different quantification methods: 1) full width at half-maximum method; 23.84 ± 12.88% vs. 24.05 ± 12.81% (p = 0.820), 2) 6-standard deviation method, 15.14 ± 10.78% vs. 15.99 ± 10.99% (p = 0.186), and 3) 3-standard deviation method; 36.51 ± 17.60% vs. 37.50 ± 17.90% (p = 0.785). Conclusion: Motion-corrected averaging may allow for superior IQ and CNRs with free-breathing in single-shot LGE imaging, with a herald of free-breathing moco-ss-LGE as the scar imaging technique of choice for clinical practice.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.647-659
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• 2023

Objective: The study was conducted to investigate the effect of correct occlusion of the left atrial appendage (LAA) on intracardiac blood flow and thrombus formation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) using four-dimensional (4D) flow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and three-dimensional (3D)-printed phantoms. Materials and Methods: Three life-sized 3D-printed left atrium (LA) phantoms, including a pre-occlusion (i.e., before the occlusion procedure) model and correctly and incorrectly occluded post-procedural models, were constructed based on cardiac computed tomography images from an 86-year-old male with long-standing persistent AF. A custom-made closed-loop flow circuit was set up, and pulsatile simulated pulmonary venous flow was delivered by a pump. 4D flow MRI was performed using a 3T scanner, and the images were analyzed using MATLAB-based software (R2020b; Mathworks). Flow metrics associated with blood stasis and thrombogenicity, such as the volume of stasis defined by the velocity threshold ($\left|\vec{V}\right|$ < 3 cm/s), surface-and-time-averaged wall shear stress (WSS), and endothelial cell activation potential (ECAP), were analyzed and compared among the three LA phantom models. Results: Different spatial distributions, orientations, and magnitudes of LA flow were directly visualized within the three LA phantoms using 4D flow MRI. The time-averaged volume and its ratio to the corresponding entire volume of LA flow stasis were consistently reduced in the correctly occluded model (70.82 mL and 39.0%, respectively), followed by the incorrectly occluded (73.17 mL and 39.0%, respectively) and pre-occlusion (79.11 mL and 39.7%, respectively) models. The surfaceand-time-averaged WSS and ECAP were also lowest in the correctly occluded model (0.048 Pa and 4.004 Pa^-1, respectively), followed by the incorrectly occluded (0.059 Pa and 4.792 Pa^-1, respectively) and pre-occlusion (0.072 Pa and 5.861 Pa^-1, respectively) models. Conclusion: These findings suggest that a correctly occluded LAA leads to the greatest reduction in LA flow stasis and thrombogenicity, presenting a tentative procedural goal to maximize clinical benefits in patients with AF.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.76 no.2
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• pp.88-92
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• 2014

We hereby report a case on bronchogenic cyst which is initially non-infected, then becomes infected after bronchoscopic ultrasound (US)-guided transesophageal fine-needle aspiration (FNA). The non-infected bronchogenic cyst appears to be filled with relatively echogenic materials on US, and the aspirate is a whitish jelly-like fluid. Upon contrast-enhanced MRI of the infected bronchogenic cyst, a T1-weighted image shows low signal intensity and a T2-weighted image shows high signal intensity, with no enhancements of the cyst contents, but enhancements of the thickened cystic wall. The patient then undergo video-assisted thoracic surgery 14 days after the FNA. The cystic mass is known to be completely removed, and the aspirate is yellowish and purulent. To understand the image findings that pertain to the gross appearance of the cyst contents will help to diagnose bronchogenic cysts in the future.