• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.105-110
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• 2001

Chordoma is a rare, clinically and morphologically well characterized tumor, which arises from remnants of the notochord, The majority(60%) occurs in the sacrococcygeal region, with 25% in the clival legion, and 15% in the spine. Although most chordomas do not develop metastasis, the long term prognosis is very poor due to local progressive tumor growth and tendency to recur if incompletely excised. The chordoma has characteristic cytologic features which make a preoperative diagnosis possible. We reviewed the cytologic findings of five patients with chordoma(one oropharynx, two clivus, and two sacrum). The patients were three male and two female, aged from 29 to 77 years(mean 60). Of five chordomas, there were local recurrences in two cases and metastasis of lymph node In one case. Four were FNA smears and one was squash smear taken from intraoperative consultation. All five cases show similar cytologic features. The dominating tumor cells were large with round nuclei and pale-stained vacuolated cytoplasm. The small round uniform cells and short spindle-shaped cells were frequently noted. The cells were surrounded by myxoid or mucoid matrix. The chordoma has characteristic cytologic features which make a preoperative diagnosis possible.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.197-202
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• 2019

The cause of a pilonidal cyst is unclear, and treatment is still under debate. In Korea, the incidence of this disease is lower than that of Western countries, and it has often been misdiagnosed as a simple abscess. When pilonidal cysts are diagnosed, the principle of treatment is not to leave a residue, and a wide excision is needed to reduce the recurrence rate. This paper introduces a wide excision technique using Indigo-carmine dye to minimize the recurrence of a pilonidal cyst.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.574-579
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• 2000

Chordomas are rare central nervous system tumors that are found predominantly in the sacrococcygeal(50%) and basiosphenoidal region(35%). Most of the remainder are related to the vertebral bodies and only 1 to 2% of them are known to occur in the thoracic vertebrae. A 15-year-old girl was admitted because of paraparesis. Three months prior to admission, she underwent a lumbar laminectomy at other hospital for the treatment of herniated lumbar disc but paraparesis became rather aggravated after the operation. At admission, MRI showed a low signal T1WI, high signal T2WI mass compressing the cord at T2 vertebral body. The tumor was subtotally removed via costotransversectomy but as the tumor was proven to be a chordoma, a second stage operation via anterior route was followed. At second operation, T2 corpectomy and T1-T3 plate fixation with autogeneous ileac bone graft was performed. Shortly after the operation, preoperative paraparesis disappeared completely and no evidence of tumor recurrence was noticed both clinically and radiologically for next 2 years. Spine surgery at cervicothoracic junction may be technically demanding due to anatomical complexity and hindering large vessels. The authers reviewed this case with special emphasis on the surgical procedure in this region.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.23-28
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• 2018

Purpose: Abdominoperineal solid tumors presenting in neonates often require surgical intervention during the neonatal period. Although we report our single-center experience, this study would be meaningful to understand the clinical implications of these neoplasms. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed and analyzed the clinical data and characteristics of 22 patients (${\leq}28$ days old) diagnosed with histopathologically confirmed abdominoperineal solid neoplasms (benign or malignant) after surgical resection. Results: The mean gestational age and postnatal age at the time of operation were $38.3{\pm}1.8weeks$ and $13.5{\pm}8.3days$, respectively. Most patients (18/22, 81.8%) were diagnosed during antenatal care visits; however, 4 (18.2%) were identified after birth. The mean tumor size was $6.4{\times}5.3cm$ (3.5-17.0 cm), and tumors occurred most frequently within the sacrococcygeal region (8/22, 36.4%). Histopathologically, 14 patients (63.6%) demonstrated benign tumors and 8 (36.4%) demonstrated malignant tumors. Germ cell tumors and hepatoblastomas were the most commonly observed tumors. Fortunately, all patients showed a localized pattern of tumor involvement without distant metastasis. No recurrence or mortality was observed during the follow-up period (mean $66.4{\pm}44.2months$). Conclusion: Abdominoperineal solid tumors occurring in neonates show variable clinical patterns during the antenatal and postnatal monitoring/screening periods. We conclude that aggressive and multidisciplinary approaches could achieve good clinical results in these patients.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.23-28
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• 2016

Background: Sacral nerve stimulation is a therapeutic option with demonstrated efficacy for conditions presenting with perineal pain caused by different etiologies. We aimed to assess whether a sacral electrode ($Interstim^{(R)}$, Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA) inserted through the caudal pathway is able to offer an acceptable level of sacral stimulation and rate of catheter migration. Methods: We present 12 patients with pelvic pain who received sacral neuromodulation via the sacral hiatus with the InterStim electrode. We evaluated patient satisfaction as well as migration and removal of the electrode, if necessary. Results: Our experience included 12 patients, 10 women and two men, with a mean age of 60 years. In eight of the 12 patients, the initial therapy was effective, and the final system implantation was performed. During subsequent follow-up, patient satisfaction was good. To date, there have been no cases of electrode displacement or migration. Conclusions: The caudal insertion of the InterStim electrode, with its own fixation system, and initially designed for transsacral insertion, appears in our experience to be a satisfactory option which can minimize electrode displacements, achieving similar results in therapeutic efficacy and causing no difficulties in removal.