• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.211-215
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• 2007

Cervicothoracic junction instability should be stabilized with the circumferential fusion. In addition, cervicothoracic junctional area should be examined carefully in acute traumatic injury not only to confirm hidden lesions but also to make the proper surgical plans. Here, three patients who underwent cervicothoracic arthrodesis at our institution are presented with a review of literature.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.23-29
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• 2012

Purpose : Purpose of this study was to investigate whether cervicothoracic posture was associated with scapula orientation and muscle activity during shoulder abduction. Methods : Cervicothoracic junction angle and thoracic kyphosis angle were measured in health twenty subjects. Then, scapular resting orientation and range of motion (upward/downward rotation, internal/external rotation) and muscle activity (upper trapezius, lower trapezius, serratus anterior) was determined using motion capture system and surface electromyography while subjects performed shoulder abduction. Results : Cervicothoracic junction angle was significantly associated with range of motion of scapular internal/external rotation during shoulder abduction. Thoracic kyphosis angle was significantly associated with scapular resting orientation of upward/downward rotation and average IEMG of lower trapezius. Conclusion : The result of this study shows that poor cervicothoracic posture is relationship with altered scapular kinematics cause of shoulder dysfunction. These findings suggested that cervicothoracic posture may be considered in occupation and exercise including arm elevation over head as well as used as predict factor to estimate shoulder dysfunction.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.156-158
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• 2018

Cervicothoracic thymic cysts are rare and difficult to diagnose preoperatively. We report a case of a cervicothoracic thymic cyst presenting as a lateral neck mass and mimicking a laryngocele in a 3-year-old boy and its definitive management.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.511-514
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• 2014

A 7-year-old, female Beagle dog presented with a primary complaint of severe neck pain and paretic gait. A lesion was suspected between C6 and T2 on the basis of neurological examinations. Magnetic resonance imaging of the cervicothoracic spine revealed herniation of disc material from the C7-T1 intervertebral space resulting in marked spinal cord compression. Hemilaminectomy was performed to treat the intervertebral disc disease at C7-T1. Treatment was effective and the clinical condition of the dog was remarkably improved. This result suggests that hemilaminectomy is an effective option for surgical treatment of intervertebral disc disease at the cervicothoracic junction in dogs.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.42-56
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• 2019

Background: Individuals with mechanical neck pain show biomechanical and neurophysiological changes, including cervical spine muscle weakness. As a result of deep muscle weakness, it causes stability disability and reduced upper thoracic spine mobility, which finally leads to functional movement restriction such as limited range of motion and dysfunction. Recent studies have shown that thoracic spine manipulation and mobilization could reduce symptoms of mechanical neck pain in patients. Objects: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of thoracic mobility exercise on cervicothoracic function, posture feature, and pain intensity in individuals with mechanical neck pain. Methods: The study subjects were 26 persons who were randomly assigned to the experimental (with thoracic mobility exercise) and control groups (without thoracic mobility exercise), with 13 subjects in each group. The cervicothoracic function (neck functional disability level and cervicothoracic range of motion), posture feature, and pain rating (using a quadrupled visual analogue scale [QVAS]) were measured before, after 3 weeks, and after 6 weeks. Results: Statistically significant group-by-time interactions were found with repeated analyses of variance for the Korean neck disability index (KNDI), all cervical range of motion (CROM), all thoracic range of motion (TROM), cranial rotation angle, sagittal shoulder posture (SSP), and QVAS (p<.05). All groups showed significant improvements from all times in all the evaluated methods. The KNDI, CROM, TROM of left rotation, and SSP in the experimental group showed significant improvements after 3 weeks, and the TROM of the right rotation and QVAS in the experimental group showed significant improvements after 6 weeks when compared with the control group. Conclusion: Thoracic mobility exercise during 6 weeks might be effective intervention to improve the functional level, posture feature, and QVAS pain rating for managing individuals with mechanical neck pain.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.55-57
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• 2010

Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) in the thoracic spine is rare, even in the Far East. A 45-year-old female presented with a 4month history of progressive motor weakness in the lower extremities, numbness below the midthoracic area, and spastic gait disturbance. Neuroradiological examinations revealed massive OPLLs at the T4-T6 levels with severe anterior compression of the spinal cord. Anterior decompressive corpectomies with bone grafts were performed from T4 to T6 using a trans-thoracic approach. After surgery, the patient made an uneventful recovery. However, eleven years after surgery, the patient developed recurrent lower extremity weakness and spastic gait disturbance. De novo OPLLs at the C6-T2 levels were responsible for the severe spinal cord compression on this occasion. After second surgery, paralysis in both legs was resolved. We present a rare case of late cervicothoracic OPLL in a patient surgically treated for thoracic OPLL.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.121-132
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• 2000

This study was carried out to determine the influencing of electrical stimulation to cervicothoracic sympathetic ganglion(CTSG; stellate ganglion) u the sympathetic tone. For the purpose of this study. the stimulation was given to both the interferential current stimulation(ICS: AMF 100Hz) group consisting of 10 person(males 8, females 2) and the transcutaneous nerve electrical stimulation(TENS: 100 Hz) group of 10(males 7, females 3) in the right side of the trachea with probe electrodes. Then. the temperature changes on the surfaces of the forehead. cheek, neck and internal ear of cephalocervix, which is subject to the influence of the cervicothoracic sympathetic ganglion, and the palm. which is the end of the upper limbs. measured before. immediately alter. 10 minutes after and 20 minutes after experiment. The results are summarized as follows. 1. The emergence of remarkable Horner's symptoms which appear due to the changes of the tone of cervicothoracic sympathetic ganglion was not seen. However, in the interferential current stimulation group there were two felt the sense of warmth in the facial region and one person who felt it in the upper limbs, and in the transcutaneous nerve electrical stimulation group there was each one person who felt the sense of warmth in the facial region and in the upper limbs, respectively. Both groups have each one person who felt the sense of oppression in the eyelids. Three persons of the interferential current stimulation group and two persons of the transcutaneous nerve electrical stimulation group have the sense of hoarse voice or numbness in the neck. These are the symptoms that appeared during stimulation, so it is difficult for them to be considered as the direct effects of the changes of the tone of cervicothoracic sympathetic ganglion. 2. The t-test was performed to determine the significance between the right, which is the experimental side, and the left, which is the non-experimental side. Significance between the right, which is the experimental side, and the left, which is the non-experimental side. Significant changes were seen in the necks of the interferential current stimulation group and in the cheeks and internal ears of the transcutaneous nerve electrical stimulation immediately after experiment(P<.05). And the interferential current stimulation group showed a very high significance in the cheeks immediately after experiment and in the necks ten minutes after experiment(p<.01). Therefore, it could be seen that the electrical stimulation had an influencing on the changes of body temperature of the cephalocervix. 3. In both the interferential current stimulation group and the transcutaneous nerve electrical stimulation group, the forecheads, checks and necks of the cephalocervix in the experimental side(right) rather than the non-experimental side(left) had mostly a statistically significant rise in temperature immediately after experiment. The one-way ANOVA was carried out to determine the temperature change of on the surface of the body with the lapse of time; before, immediately after, ten minutes after and tewenty minutes after experiment. But no statistical significance was found from both the right and left sides.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.61-64
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• 2011

Upper thoracic vertebral bodies are difficult to access using standard anterior approaches. It may require sternotomy and claviculectomy, which carries significant possibility of morbidities. We report a case of inferiorly migrated cervicothoracic junction disc treated successfully by anterior upper-vertebral transcorporeal approach. This specific technique obviated the need of sternotomy, created favorable working space and saved the motion segment at cervicothoracic junction. This report is the first transcorporeal approach to a disc fragment at T1-2 space without fusion.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.541-543
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• 2010

The purpose of this case report is to describe a rare case of a cervicothoracic spinal epidural hematoma (SEH) after anterior cervical spine surgery. A 60-year-old man complained of severe neck and arm pain 4 hours after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion at the C5-6 level. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a postoperative SEH extending from C1 to T4. Direct hemostasis and drainage of loculated hematoma at the C5-6 level completely improved the patient's condition. When a patient complains of severe neck and/or arm pain after anterior cervical spinal surgery, though rare, the possibility of a postoperative SEH extending to non-decompressed, adjacent levels should be considered as with our case.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.265-268
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• 2014

Solitary fibrous tumor is rare benign mesenchymal neoplasm. The spinal solitary fibrous tumor is extremely rare. The authors experienced a case of intramedullary solitary fibrous tumor of cervicothoracic spinal cord in a 48-year-old man with right lower extremity sensory disturbance. Spinal MRI showed intradural mass lesion in the level of C7-T1, the margin between the spinal cord and tumor was not clear on MRI. A Left unilateral laminectomy and mass removal was performed. Intra operative finding, the tumor boundary was unclear from spinal cord and it had intramedullary and extramedullary portion. After surgery, patient had good recovery and had uneventful prognosis. Follow up spinal MRI showed no recurrence of tumor.