• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.68-74
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• 1986

15 patients with constrictive pericarditis who underwent interphrenic pericardiectomy from January, 1981 to April, 1983 and 11 patients who underwent radical pericardiectomy from May, 1983 to September, 1984 were compared to the clinical improvement and the results of pre- and postoperative cardiac catheterization. In the group of partial pericardiectomy the pericardium was removed anteriorly from the left phrenic nerve to the right phrenic nerve and in the group of radical pericardiectomy the pericardium was removed from almost entire surface of the heart including diaphragmatic surface and posterior wall of the left ventricle. The following results were obtained. 1. Both group of the patients showed marked symptomatic improvement early after operation. 2. The central venous pressure was decreased significantly after operation in both group of the patients. 3. The right atrial mean pressure and pulmonary arterial mean pressure decreased significantly after operation in both group of the patients and there was no significant difference in the amplitude of decrease between the two groups. 4. The right ventricular end-diastolic pressure and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure were decreased postoperatively in both group of the patients and the patients of the radical pericardiectomy showed more decrease than the patients of interphrenic pericardiectomy, and in the group of radical pericardiectomy the right and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure were normalized postoperatively but in the group of partial pericardiectomy they showed abnormally high pressure persistently. 5. The ejection fraction showed normal level pre- and postoperatively in both group of the patients.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.482-487
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• 1990

The leading cause of death in patients with chronic renal failure is cardiovascular diseases. The problems relevant to cardiac surgery in these patients are occurring more frequently with a growing number of patients at risk. Among these, important risk factors related to uremic patients undergone open heart surgery are fluid and electrolytes imbalance, coagulopathy, increased susceptibility to infection. Since 1968 when Lansing and colleagues reported the first successful aortic valve replacement in patients with chronic renal failure and infective endocarditis, there have been increasing reports of the cardiopulmonary bypass surgery in chronic renal failure patients with acceptable perioperative morbidity and mortality From Jan. 1988 to Nov. 1989 we have experienced four uremic patients necessitating open heart surgery ; one needing a coronary artery bypass graft and the other 3 needed cardiac valve replacement. Based on our observations we would like to suggest followings 1]Intraoperative ultrahemofiltration during C-P bypass thought to be an excellent means for the control of hyperkalemia and fluid balance. 2] The immediate postoperative application of peritoneal dialysis instead of hemodialysis is beneficial in controlling fluid and electrolyte imbalance. 3]The cause of one early postoperative death was not associated to renal failure, rather it was the result of an accidental rupture in the right ventricular wall.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.823-828
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• 1989

Aortoenteric fistula is an uncommon important complication of aortic reconstruction with a prosthetic graft. The complication often is difficult to diagnose and is associated with poor prognosis. Aortoenteric fistula could be divided into true aortoenteric fistula and paraprosthetic-enteric fistula. In case of true aortoenteric fistula, an actual communication between the gastrointestinal tract and the aortic lumen is present. So, massive gastrointestinal hemorrhage is the presenting manifestation. In paraprosthetic-enteric fistula, characterized by communication between the gastrointestinal tract and the external surface of synthetic vascular prosthesis without actual fistularization into the vascular lumen, the predominant clinical manifestation were sepsis, fever and anemia. We experienced one case of paraprosthetic-enteric fistula in a 16 years old male after abdominal aortic reconstruction with a prosthetic graft. The interval from the operation to onset of symptoms was 40 months. The initial clinical manifestation was sepsis, fever and anemia without massive gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Surgical treatment consists of complete excision of infected graft, two layers closure of jejunal wall defect and pledgets suture of aortic stump with surrounding health tissue. Anatomic revascularization was not able to be done: because of extensive retroperitoneal inflammation and extraanatomic revascularization did not performed due to adequate distal blood supply through rich collateral circulation. After operation, he complained numbness on left foot on moderate exertion and felt coldness on left leg compared with right leg but not showed skin color change. 43 days after operation, he discharged without gait disturbance except numbness on left foot on moderate exertion.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.827-830
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• 1999

Congenital left atrial appendage aneurysm is a very rare congenital cardiac abnormality. That is postulated to arise from a developmental weakness in the atrial wall in utero. Clinically, patients are often asymptomatic and are diagnosed incidentally, but supraventricular arrhythmias and systemic thromboembolism have also been reported in some cases. Surgical resection at the time of diagnosis is recommended because of the propensity for thromboembolic complications. A 13-month-old female, who was suspected preoperatively as having partial absence of pericardium with left atrial herniation through the defect, underwent surgical resection of the left atrial appendage aneurysm. Exposure through a median sternotomy showed an intact pericardium. The postoperative course was uneventful.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.34 no.12
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• pp.948-951
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• 2001

A 43 years old female patient who had been diagnosed as having valvular heart disease but had not received any treatment invited and admitted due to progressive dyspnea. She was diagnosed as having aortic and mitral valve stenosis and regurgitation. Neurologic symptoms developed suddenly therefore, surgery was performed. In the operation field, there were many fungating tissue around the mitral valve annulus and left atrial wall. After operation, no neurologic symptoms were observed and pathologist revealed that fungating tissue was papillary fibroleastoma. The patient recovered and was followed in outpatients department.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.636-640
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• 1997

The common cause of tracheoesophageal fistula(T-I fistula) after tracheal intubation is ulceration and necrosis of the posterior wall of trachea by compression pressure generated by cuff. We experienced a young woman sustaining a T-I fistula which was found on the 12th day of intubation for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Because spontaneous closure of the fistula is far uncommon, operative closure should be aimed for and should be done as soon as diagnosis is conformed. We delayed ope ative closure because of poor general condition of the patient. In spite of delayed reconstruction, the tracheal reconstruction itself was successful, but the patient died of peritonitis induced sepsis on the postoperative 41th day.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.448-451
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• 2004

Report of right atrial thrombus complicating pulmonary embolism after cardiac surgery is rare. A 54-year-old woman operated on the atrial septal defect 10 months ago was admitted for left pleuritic pain and dyspnea. Multiple segmental perfusion defects were detected in lung perfusion scan. Transesophageal echocardiography showed a large mobile right atrial mass attached to the free wall of the right atrium with a stalk. Despite the intravenous heparinization for 13 days, follow-up echocardiography revealed the right atrial mass had not diminished in size. The mass which was confirmed as an organizing thrombus was excised under cardiopulmonary bypass. The patient recovered uneventfully and was discharged on warfarin therapy.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.283-286
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• 2014

A 61-year-old man was diagnosed with aortic stenoinsufficiency with periannular abscess, which involved the aortic root of noncoronary sinus (NCS) that invaded down to the central fibrous body, whole membranous septum, mitral valve (MV), and tricuspid valve (TV). The open complete debridement was executed from the aortic annulus at NCS down to the central fibrous body and annulus of the MV and the TV, followed by the left ventricular outflow tract reconstruction with implantation of a mechanical aortic valve by using a leaflet of the half-folded elliptical bovine pericardial patch. Another leaflet of this patch was used for the repair of the right atrial wall with a defect and the TV.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.513-516
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• 2019

Human sparganosis is a food-borne zoonosis mainly caused by the plerocercoid belonging to the genus Spirometra. The most common clinical sign of sparganosis is a subcutaneous mass in the trunk including abdominal or chest wall. The mass may be mistaken for a malignant tumor, thereby causing difficulty in terms of diagnosis and treatment. A 66-year-old woman visited our clinic for the removal of a lipoma-like mass. It was movable, hard, and painless. we identified 2 white mass, measuring $0.2{\times}4cm$ and $0.2{\times}1cm$. Pathologic finding indicated the white mass was a sparganum. She recalled having eaten a raw frog approximately 60 years before. A 35-year-old who lived North Korea was also presented to our clinic with an asymptomatic nodule on her abdomen. Intraoperatively, we found sparganum approximately 24 cm size. Subcutaneous masses are associated with clinical signs of inflammation or they may mimic a soft tissue neoplasm. While the incidence rate of sparganosis has decreased with economic development and advancements in sanitation, surgeons still encounter patients with sparganosis in the clinical setting. Therefore, a careful history is required in order to diagnose sparganosis.

• Archives of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.143-145
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• 2017

Medical leech therapy is a treatment for the venous congestion of tissue flaps, grafts, and replants. We report a case of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) following leech application at a congested flap after mastectomy. A 45-year-old woman had an invasive ductal carcinoma. Modified radical mastectomy was performed. The chest wall defect was reconstructed with a local rotation flap. On postoperative day (POD) 1, congestion and color change were observed, and 10 medical leeches were applied to the congested area. On POD 4, another 10 medical leeches were applied. On POD 12, wound necrosis progressed and a pus-like discharge appeared. A wound swab culture revealed MRSA. Debridement was carried out on POD 15. From POD 16, vancomycin and piperacillin/tazobactam were injected for 18 days. The wound culture on POD 18 also revealed MRSA. A split-thickness skin graft was performed on POD 28. MRSA has not been clearly identified in the literature as a leech enteric bacterium. Although MRSA may have come from another source, the present case raises the possibility of MRSA infections following leech application at congested flaps. When medical leeches are applied at the congestion site of a flap, an aseptic cradle will be helpful. Vancomycin irrigation may be needed if infection occurs.