• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.59-66
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• 2010

Purpose: In the finger, there are three major palmar arches in the arterial system. The location of this arches are constant. The middle and distal transverse arches are consistently large (almost 1 mm) and may be used for arterial vessel repairs either proximally or distally, depending on the length and direction needed. This paper describes our experiences in reconstruction and replantation of the finger using rerouting the transverse digital palmar arch. Methods: 31 patients with injuries according to our classification were treated from March of 2005 to October of 2008. In this study the authors subdivided injuries into those with amputation distal to the insertion of the flexor digitorum profundus (Class I, 31 fingers); those with amputation distal to the insertion of the flexor digitorum superficialis (Class II, 4 fingers). Replantation was performed using the artery-only technique with neither vein nor nerve repair. Because the artery has been damaged, it is still possible to make a direct suture by transposing the arterial arch in an inverted Y to I arterial configuration or converting the arch. Venous drainage was provided by an external bleeding method with partial nail excision, medical leech, and repaired margin. Results: The success rate was 87% (n=27) in class I and 75% (n=4) in class II. The authors conclude that crushing and complete avulsion injuries & amputations are salvageable, with acceptable functional results in select patients, especially those with amputation distal to the insertion of the flexor digitorum superficialis. Conclusion: We performed replantation and reconstruction with only-arterial transposing anastomosis successfully, resulting in good recovery of aesthetic and functional outcome. Three major digital palmar arches, especially distal two branches, give us additional treatment options. In the finger replantation and reconstructive techniques using rerouting healthy the transverse digital palmar arch increase the survival rate of the finger.

• Archives of Craniofacial Surgery
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.68-71
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• 2012

Purpose: Eczema herpeticum, caused by herpes simplex virus, is an infectious disease involving skin and internal organs. Varieties of physiologic, psychosocial, or environmental stress reactivate reservoir virus which exists in the trigeminal nerve ganglia. Authors report rare cases of nasal eczema herpeticum following corrective rhinoplasty. Methods: First case, 22-year-old female underwent corrective rhioplasty through an external approach in a local clinic. She developed progressive and painful erythema, nodules and vesicles on nose on the 9th day postoperatively. This unfamiliar lesion lead to a misdiagnosis as a bacterial infection, and had accelerated its progress to the trigeminal innervation of the nasal unit. Second case, a 23-year-old female underwent corrective rhinoplasty by external lateral osteotomy. Ten days after the surgery, disruption occurred on the external osteotomy site, and the ulceration gradually worsened. The surgeon misdiagnosed it as secondary bacterial infection and only an antibacterial agent was applied. Results: Both cases were healed effectively without any complication with proper wound dressing and antiviral therapy, and show no sequelae during an 8-month follow-up period. Conclusion: Eczema herpeticum is rare in the field of plastic surgery, but it should be kept in mind that secondary bacterial infections may lead to serious complications such as full-thickness skin loss. Thus, acknowledgement of the patient's past history regarding perioral or intraoral lesion may provide the surgeon with the possible expectancy of eczema herpeticum. Thus, if anyone develops eczema herpeticum, following facial plastic surgery, early diagnosis and immediate proper antiviral therapy will allow fast recovery without serious complications.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.616-620
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• 2011

Purpose: Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster syndrome (MRK) is second common cause of primary amenorrhea. It is a syndrome of vaginal aplasia and Mullerian duct anomaly. Vaginal aplasia varies from agenesis of whole vagina to aplasia of upper 2/3. For reconstructing vagina, various methods are introduced. Gracilis myocutaneous flap was the first attempt in that the flap is used in vaginal reconstruction. Various flap-based vaginal reconstruction methods have been introduced. Modified Singapore flap (pedicled neurovascular pudendal thigh fasciocutaneous flap) is one of those methods that used posterior labial artery as pedicle, and pudendal nerve branch as sensory root. As its donor lies on inguinal crease that is easily hidden and there are benefits on sexual intercourse by early sensory recovery, authors think that modified Singapore flap is effective for young MRK syndrome patients. Methods: Eight patients underwent surgery between 2008 and 2010. The flap was designed on both groin area with external pudendal artery branch as a pedicle. All flaps were fixated in pelvic cavity with absorbable suture, and additional compression on neovaginal wall was supplied by polyvinyl alcohol sponge ($Merocel^{(R)}$). Results: All patients were successfully reconstructed without flap related complications such as congestion or partial flap loss. The average size of the flap (each side) was 69.34 $cm^2$. Polyvinyl alcohol sponge ($Merocel^{(R)}$) was inserted into neovagina for 5 days on every patient. One case of rectal laceration was occurred while making pelvic pocket by OBGY team. Other complications such as lumen narrowing, wound contracture or vaginal prolapsed were not reported during 8 months of follow up. Conclusion: Modified Singapore flap is a sensate fasciocutaneous flap that is thinner than other myocutaneous flap such as VRAM, and more durable over skin graft. Therefore this is a good choice for vaginal reconstruction in MRK syndrome. And known complications of Modified Singapore flap could be reduced with careful procedure and mild compression techniques.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.263-268
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• 2019

Methanol is a toxic alcohol used in various products such as antifreeze, detergent, disinfectant and industrial solvent. In the human body, methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde and formic acid, which can lead to metabolic acidosis, optic nerve impairment, and death. In this study, the methanol levels in detergents (n=191) and rinse aids (n=13) were analyzed by gas chromatography-headspace-mass spectrometry (GC-HS-MS). Limit of detection was 1.09 mg/kg, accuracy and precision were 91.1-97.9% and <10%, and it was suitable for quantitative analysis. This analysis method was simple and fast with a higher recovery rate than the conventional MFDS (Ministry of Food and Drug Safety) method of diluting the sample in water and putting it in a headspace vial.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.66 no.1
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• pp.72-81
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• 2023

Objective : Ischemia and hemorrhage of pituitary adenomas (PA) caused important clinical syndrome. However, the differences on clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes between these two kinds apoplexy were less reported. Methods : A retrospective analysis was made of patients with pituitary apoplexy between January 2013 and June 2018. Baseline and clinical characteristics before surgery were reviewed. All patients underwent transsphenoidal surgery and were followed up at least 1 year. Results : Total 67 cases (5.8%) among 1147 pituitary tumor patients were enrolled, which consisted of 28 (~2.4%) ischemic PA and 39 (~3.4%) hemorrhagic PA. There were more male patients in the ischemic group compared with hemorrhagic group (78.6% vs 53.8%, p=0.043). However, the mean age, tumor size and functional tumor ratio were significant higher in the hemorrhagic group. Headache was more common in ischemic PA (82.1%) than that of hemorrhagic PA (51.3%, p=0.011). Magnetic resonance imaging findings found that mucosal thickening and enhancement of the sphenoid sinus was observed in 15 ischemic PA patients (n=27, 55.6%), but none in patients with hemorrhagic PA (n=38, p<0.0001). It was worth noting that the rate of pre-surgical hypopituitarism in ischemic PA patients were seemed higher than that in hemorrhagic PA patients, but not significant. The two groups got a total tumor resection rate at 94.1% and 92.9%, independently. No significant difference on the operative time, blood loss in operation and complications in perioperative period was observed in two groups. After operation, cranial nerve symptoms recovered to normal at 81.8% of ischemic PA patients and 82.6% of hemorrhagic PA patients. Importantly, the incidence of postoperative hypopituitarism partially decreased in both groups, among which the rate of hypothyroidism in ischemic PA patients significantly decreased from 46.4% to 18.5% (p=0.044). Conclusion : Patients with ischemic PA presented different clinical characteristics to the hemorrhagic ones. Transsphenoidal surgery should be considered for the patients with neuro-ophthalmic deficits and might benefit for pituitary function recovery of the apoplectic adenoma patients, especially pituitary thyroid axis in ischemic PA patients.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.1-19
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• 2024

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to analysis the clinical study trends on Korean Medicine treatment for Bell's palsy during pregnancy. Methods: Key words such as 'facial palsy', 'Bell's palsy, 'Korean medicine', 'herbal medicine', 'acupuncture', 'pregnancy' were searched through the 'RISS', 'OASIS', 'KISS', 'PubMed' and 'CNKI' databases. Results: Ten clinical studies with 107 patients were selected, and 1 randomized controlled trial and 9 case reports were included as the target studies. In the 9 case reports, the gestational age at the onset of facial palsy was most common in the third trimester (29-42 weeks) in 38 cases (56.7%). The most commonly used Korean medicine interventions were acupuncture, with the most frequently used acupoints being ST4, ST2, ST6, BL2, TE23, LI20, GB1, GB14, SI18, and CV24. The herbal medicine treatment most commonly utilized was Geumgwedanggwi-san (金匱當歸散), which is related to the principles of clearing heat, nourishing blood, and stabilizing the fetus (淸熱養血安胎). Among the 65 participants evaluated using the House-Brackmann facial nerve grading system, 81.5% showed complete recovery to grade 1, while 6% remained at grade 4 with no effect, indicating the efficacy of Korean medicine treatment for facial palsy during pregnancy. All the selected studies reported no abnormalities in the mothers or fetal growth, and all participants who had the reported delivery had full-term childbirth. Conclusions: The effect on Korean Medicine treatment for Bell's palsy during pregnancy had mostly positive results. However, further large, well-designed clinical trials are needed to establish the foundation of Korean Medicine treatment for Bell's palsy during pregnancy.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2015

Acute phase patients who are unconscious and are suffering from cerebral infarction, cranial nerve disorders, or cerebral apoplexy are susceptible to aspiration pneumonia due to dysphagia. In these cases, a nasogastric tube is inserted to supply nutrients. Although bedside screening tests are administered during recovery after rehabilitation, clinical examinations may not be able to ascertain asymptomatic aspiration. Therefore, a video fluoroscopy swallowing study (VFSS) was performed in 10 patients with dysphagia after rehabilitation therapy; these patients had nasogastric tubes inserted, and a rehabilitation specialist assessed the degree of swallowing based on the patients' diet and posture. If aspiration or swallowing difficulties were observed, dysphagia rehabilitation therapy was administered. The patients were reassessed approximately 30-50 days after administration of therapy, based on the patients' condition. If aspiration is not observed, the nasogastric tube was removed. A functional dysphagia scale was used to analyze the VFSS images, and the scores were statistically calculated. The mean score of patients with nasogastric tubes was $49.79{\pm}9.431$, thereby indicating aspiration risk, whereas the group without nasogastric tubes showed a mean score of $11.20{\pm}1.932$, which indicated low risk of aspiration. These results demonstrated that a significantly low score was associated with nasogastric tube removal. Mann-Whitney's test was performed to assess the significance of both the groups, and the results were statistically significant with a P value <0.001. In conclusion, VFSS can effectively assess the movements and structural abnormalities in the oral cavity, pharynx, and esophagus. It can also be used to determine the aspiration status and ascertain the appropriate diet or swallowing posture for the patient. Therefore, VFSS can potentially be used as a reliable standard test to assess swallowing in order to determine nasogastric tube removal.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.189-206
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• 1988

The effects of ouabain on the contractile and electrical activities were investigated in the isolated preparations of guinea-pig taenia coli, and compared with those of vanadate. Spontaneous contractions were recorded with force transducer, and electrical activites were measured by use of suction electrode, or single sucrose-gap technique. The contractions were induced by the electrical stimulation for 5 seconds every 1 minute with alternating current (60 Hz, 3.0 V/cm) through the platinum electrodes located in parallel with the long axis of the preparation. All experiments were performed in tris-buffered Tyrode solution which was aerated with $100%{\;}O_2$ and kept at $35^{\circ}C$. The results obtained were as follows: 1) Responses of spontaneous contractions to ouabain were concentration-dependent; $10^{-7}M$ ouabain caused a rise of basal tone. Above the concentration of $10^{-6}M$ ouabain, an initial increase followed by a decrease in tension was observed. 2) A continuous spike discharge was induced by the administration of $10^{-7}M$ ouabain. Above $10^{-6}M$ ouabain, a transient initial increase followed by a decrease in spike frequency and amplitude was produced, and finally membrane potential was sustained at a certain level without a spike discharge. 3) The characteristic response to $10^{-7}M$ ouabain was not blocked by the pretreatment with $10^{-7}M$ atropine. 4) The electrically induced contractions were completely suppressed at the concentration of $2{\times}10^{-7}M$ ouabain. These contractions were blocked more rapidly in paralled with the increase in ouabain concentration. 5) Effects of vanadate on the spontaneous activities were quite different from those of ouabain; $10^{-6}M$ vanadate increased the amplitude of contractions and $10^{-5}M$ vanadate increased slightly both amplitude and frequency of spontaneous contractions. $10^{-4}M$ vanadate showed irregular phasic contractions superimposed on the increased basal tone. 6) $10^{-5}M$ vanadate depolarized the membrane potential and shortened the interval between the bursts of spike discharge, whereas $10^{-4}M$ vanadate induced continuous spike discharge with membrane depolarization. 7) Vanadate caused a characteristic inhibitory response to the contractions induced by electrical stimulation; An initial rapid inhibition of tension development and then gradual recovery to a certain level. From the above results, the following conclusions could be made: 1) The rise of basal tone at $10^{-7}M$ ouabain is due to continuous spike discharge without a silent period. The continuous spike discharge is likely to be associated with a slight membrane depolarization caused by the blockage of Na pump. 2) The biphasic response induced by above $10^{-6}M$ ouabain seems to occur by the different mechanisms. The initial increase in tension is associated with depolarization along with an increase in spike frquency, whereas the subsequent relaxation occurs through a non-electrical mechanism. 3) The characteristic response to $10^{-7}M$ ouabain is resulted not from the action on intrinsic nerve terminal, but from its direct action on the membrane of smooth muscle cells. 4) The phasic contractions superimposed on the increased basal tone at the concentration of $10^{-4}M$ vanadate is resulted from the continuous spike discharge with membrane depolarization, of which mechanism remains unknown. 5) The inhibitory action of ouabain on the electrically induced contractions suggests that the increasein intracellular Na in some way inhibits the electrically induced $Ca^{2+}$ influx. The mechanism of vanadate action on the induced contractions remains unknown.

• Journal of the Korean Arthroscopy Society
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.178-183
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• 2006

Purpose: We reported the results and efficiency of arthroscopic treatment in a state of the lateral traction about the degenerative arthris of elbow Materials and Methods: Twenty one elbows with the degenerative arthritis who were followed up for at 12 months were enrolled in this study. Male were 15 cases, female were 6 cases, the mean age was 47 years and right dominant hand was 14 cases. In all cases, during arthroscopic treatment under the traction of 10 pounds, we had done synovectomy, excision of loose body and anteroposterior spur. After operation, immobilization was done in the full extension state, and then continuous passive motion (CPM) was started two day Results: The average preoperative ROM of the elbow joint was $30{\sim}l15$ degree and the average postoperative ROM of the elbow joint was $5{\sim}130$ degree. The increasement of ROM was totally 41 degree in extension 25 degree and flexion 16 degree. The decrement of VAS in pain was from 7.5 into 2.3 and the increasement of the satisfactory function was from 1.8 into 9.0. Complication was in two cases. One was paresthesia of ulnar nerve, but resolved. The other was bullae formation around the elbow joint, but cured. Conclusion: Regarding degenerative arthritis of elbow, arthroscopic treatment showed excellent result in recovery of range of motion and relief of pain. We could obtain good visual field with distraction in lateral position.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.177-184
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• 2020

Objectives : Postpartum depression is known to occur in 10-15% of mothers. The concentration of cytokine varies depending on stress, depression, pregnancy and general medical conditions. We hypothesized that the concentration of cytokines may be related to reproduction and childbirth, and that women with postpartum depression would show alterations in cytokines levels. Methods : A total of 104 pregnant women were selected as subjects, and 60 non-pregnant women were selected as normal controls. Symptoms of depression were evaluated in the pregnant study subjects using the diagnostic criteria outlined in the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The pregnant subjects were divided into three groups perinatal non-depression controls (n=61), postpartum depression-recovery (n=18), and postpartum depression (n=25). Results : The plasma concentration of TGF-β1, IGF-1 was higher in the pregnant group than in non-pregnant controls (TGF-β1 ; p<0.01, IGF-1 ; p=0.026). At 24 weeks of pregnancy and 6 weeks of delivery, there were no significant differences in the plasma concentration of TGF-β1, IGF-1, β-NGF, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IFN-γ, TNF-α between the three groups. There was no statistically significant difference in all three groups during the course of depression in pregnant women. Conclusions : This study found significant difference in plasma cytokines concentrations between non-pregnant controls and perinatal non-depression controls.