• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.792-798
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• 1998

Background: There are various tracheal diseseas which cause the obstruction of the trachea: postintubation tracheal stenosis, tracheal cancer, thyroid cancer, endotracheal tuberculosis, et al. Recently surgical resection and reconstruction of the trachea has been adopted as the safe method for tracheal lesions. Materials and methods: We report our experience and results of resection and reconstruction for various obstructive tracheal lesions in 38cases from 1985 to 1996. Length of resection of the trachea was up to 6 cm. Twenty lesions were approached by cervical collar incision, 12 lesions by cervicosternal incision and 4cases needed transthoracic approach. Surgical procedures consisted of resection and tracheotracheal anastomosis in 32 cases, resection and laryngotracheal anastomosis in 6cases and in addition laryngeal release was necessary to release anastomotic tension in 3cases. Results: The complications were 4 minor wound infections, 2 mild suture line granulomas, 1 vocal cord palsy, 2 pneumonias and 1 systemic candidiasis. Two patients who had poor consciousness and pnemonia and one who developed systemic candidiasis were expired after operation. Conclusion: We suggests resection and reconstruction of trachea is optimal procedure for up to 6cm long tracheal lesions. However, for the patients with poor consciousness or poor general conditions would be the conservative treatment preferred to the tracheal reconstruction because of high serious complications and mortalities.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.116-119
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• 2013

A burnt-out prostate cancer tumor is a very rare clinical entity. The term 'burnt-out' refers to a primary tumor that has spontaneously and nearly completely regressed without treatment. Since metastasis of prostate cancer is usually encountered in the presence of advanced disease, distant metastasis with an undetectable primary tumor is very rare. We report herein a case of a burnt-out prostate cancer tumor that metastasized to the thoracic (T) spine and caused cord compression. A 66-year-old man visited the Emergency Department due to weakness of both legs for the past two days. His blood and urine tests were normal at the time. His spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans looked like bone metastasis that involved the T-7 vertebral body and a posterior element, and caused spinal cord compression. Other images, including from the brain MRI, neck/chest/abdomino-pelvic computed tomography (CT) scan and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) and endoscopy, revealed no lesions that suggested malignancy. After total corpectomy T-7 and screw fixation/fusion at T5 to T10, the pathology report revealed a metastatic carcinoma that was strongly positive for prostate-specific antigen (PSA). The serum PSA value was 1.5 ng/mL. The transrectal 12-core prostate biopsy and ultrasonography showed no definitive hypoechoic lesion, but one specimen had slight (only 1%) adenocarcinoma with a Gleason score of 6 (3+3). The final diagnosis was burned-out prostate cancer with an initial normal PSA value. Although metastatic disease with an unknown primary origin was confirmed, a more aggressive approach in seeking the primary origin could provide a more specific treatment strategy and greater clinical benefit to patients.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.164-170
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• 1999

Background: The diffuse infiltrative lung disease often requires biopsy for its final diagnosis. Unlike the limited exposure that can be achieved through small thoracotomy incisions in open lung biopsy technique, the thoracoscopic approach allows visualization and biopsy of nearly entire surface of the lung without morbidity of large standard thoracotomy. The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic efficacy and operative safety of thoracoscopic lung biopsy(TLB) with open lung biopsy(OLB) in the diagnosis of diffuse infiltrative lung disease. Material and Method: From March 1993 to August 1997, 81 patients were referred for diagnostic lung biopsy. 51 of them underwent standard open lung biopsy and the remaining 30 patients underwent thoracoscopic lung biopsy. Result: Mean operative time was 63 minutes for TLB and 79 minutes for OLB (p=0.04). The volume of biopsy specimen was not different between two groups(TLB 7.8 cm3, OLB 6.9 cm3 : p=0.72) and the diagnostic accuracy of each methods was comparable (TLB 100%, OLB 96%). The duration of hospital stay was significantly less in TLB (TLB 13days, OLB 22days : p=0.01). The duration of parenteral narcotics administration was also less for TLB(TLB 2.5days, OLB 5.2days, p=0.05). Meanwhile, the duration of chest tube drainage, the frequency of parenteral narcotic injection were not significantly different between two groups. Complications occurred in 2 among the TLB patients (6.67%) and 4 among the OLB patients (7.84%). There was no operative mortality in both groups. Conclusion: We concluded that TLB is a good alternative procedure to OLB in the diagnosis of diffuse infiltrative lung disease with lower morbidity and comparable diagnostic accuracy.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.271-277
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• 1996

In selected cases, early corrective surgery is indicated in the management of infants having large ventricular septal defects. The risk of any surgical procedure in infancy is acknowledged to be great and should be avoided whenever possible. However this greater surgical risk is justified when the patient presents with intractable congestive heart failure, severe pulmonary hypertension, marked growth retardation, and recurrent prolonged lower respiratory infections. We analyzed 31 patients with ventricular septal defect in infancy who underwent surgical correction from January 1991 through December 1994. Age ranged from 6 months to 12 months with mean age of 9.2 months. Of the thirty-one patients, 23 patients were male and 8 patients were female. Mean body weight was 7. 4kg. The most common type of ventricular septal defect was perimembraneo s (64.5%). Associated cardiac anomalies were found in 17 patients (55.8%). Mitral regurgitation was the most commonly associated cardiac anomaly (16.1 %) and followed by patent ductus arteriosus (12.9%). When cardiac catheterization data were analysed, the most common range of Qp/qs, RpiRs, Pp/ps were 2.1∼ 3.0, 1-0.25, above 0.70 respectively. Among the indications of surgical correction, there were pulmonary hypertension in 20 patients, congestive heart failure in 3 patients, intractable respiratory infection in 10 patients and growth retardation in 14 patients. The most common surgical approach and method for closure of ventricular septal defect .were right atriotomy (58%) and Dacron patch closure (94%). Postoperative complications occurred in 10 cases (32%) and overall mortality was 12.9% (4 cases). All operative deaths in this series occurred in infants under the age of 8 months and weight of 8 kilograms.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.4125-4128
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• 2012

Background: Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) must be managed with a team involving pathologists, radiologists, surgeons, radiation therapists and medical oncologists. Treatment modalities and demographic charasteristics of Turkish STS were analysed in the current study. Material-Methods: Primary adult STS followed between 1999-2010 in Cukurova University Medical Faculty Department of Medical Oncology were analzied retrospectively Results: Of the total of 498 patients, 238 were male and 260 female. The most seen adult sarcomas were leomyosarcoma (23%). Localization of disease was upper extremity (8.8%), lower extremity (24.7%), head-neck 8.2%, thoracic 8%, retroperitoneal 5.6%, uterine 12.4%, abdominal 10%, pelvic region 3.6 and other regions 10%. Some 13.1% were early stage, 10.2% locally advanced, 8.2% metastatic and 12.2% recurrent disease. Patients were treated with neoadjuvant/adjuvant (12%) or palliative chemotherapy (7.2%) and 11.4% patients did not receive chemotherapy. Surgery was performed as radical or conservative. The most preferred regimen was MAID combination chemotherapy in the rate of 17.6%. The most common metastatic site was lung (18.1%). The overall survival was 45 months (95%CI 30-59), 36 months in men and 55 months in women, with no statistically significant difference (p=0.5). The survival rates were not different between the group of adjuvant and palliative chemotherapy (respectively 28 versus 18 months) (p=0.06), but radical surgery at 37 months was better than 22 months for conservative surgery (p=0.0001). No differences were evident for localization (p=0.152). Locally advanced group had higher overall survival rates (72 months) than other stages (p=0.0001). Conclusion: STS can be treated successfully with surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The survival rates of Turkish people were higher in locally advanced group; these results show the importance of multimodality treatment approach and radical surgery.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.139-145
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• 2004

This study describes our surgical results of transventricular complete repair of tetralogy of Fallot in infants. Material and Method: Eight hundred and forty children underwent complete repair of TOF between January 1990 and April 2002 in our institute. One hundred sixty infants of them were included to this survey. Mean age at repair was 8.1$\pm$2.6 months (3∼12). Correction was accomplished through a short right ventriculotomy less than 30% of ventricular height in all patients. A transannular patch was necessary in 78 patients (49%). Result: There were four early deaths. There were no late deaths. Follow-up with mean duration of 66 months was completed in all survivors, All patients are currently in New York Heart Association functional class I or II. Twenty patients required late reoperations. Actuarial freedom from reoperation at 1 and 10 years were 94% and 87% respectively. Two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiographic follow-up studies showed good right ventricular function in all patients except three. Conclusion: Our results suggested that early complete repair of TOF yield the acceptable results with low mortality and morbidity. Transventricular repair of intracardiac pathology can be safely applied to these patient population, yielding good postoperative right ventricular function.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.692-696
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• 1998

For the management of a secondary spontaneous pneumothorax, videothoracoscopic surgery may offer the potential therapeutic benefits of a minimally invasive approach. We report on a series of 36 patients(33 men and 3 women) with a mean age of 56.3 years(range, 31 to 80 years) who underwent thoracoscopic surgical procedures for the treatment of secondary spontaneous pneumothorax. Twenty-one patients had emphysema and 20 patients had old pulmonary tuberculosis. Nineteen patients presented a persistent severe air leak more than 3 days preoperatively and 15 patients had more than one recurrence. Bullectomy or exclusion of the lesion was performed in 33 patients. Mechanical pleurodesis was performed in the entire patients, talc was sprayed in 22 and vibramycin in 14. Mild pleural adhesion at the upper lobe was shown in 10 patients and severe pleural adhesion in 7 patients. One patient with persistent air leak died of persistent air leak and respiratory failure. The mean postoperative stay was 7.0 days(range, 2 to 17 days). At a mean follow-up of 15.8 months (range, 5 to 45 months), no pneumothorax had recurred. In comparison with the result of the treatment for 112 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax, the operating time was not significantly longer and there were no more primary treatment failures, but the duration of postoperative chest drainage and hospital stay was longer. Videothoracoscopic surgery has proved to be an effective treatment for secondary spontaneous pneumothorax in elderly patients who represent high-risk candidates for thoracotomy.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.48-54
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• 1997

Between 1987 and 1995, eleven patients with severe chronic corrosive stenosis of the hypopharynx and esophagus underwent surgical restoration of digestive continuity at Inje University Seoul Palk Hospital. There were 7 male and 4 female patients aged from 21 to 47 years (mean, 34 years). The caustic material was acid in 6 patients and alkali in 5 patients. The esophagus was reconstructed using the right colon In 9 and left colon in 2. The cervical approach and the side of proximal anastomosis depended on the status of the pyriform slnus of the hypopharynx. In the neck, J-formed incision was made along the sternocleidomastoid muscle. The sternohyoid and thyrohyoid muscles were divided transversely to expose the thyroid cartilage. Hypopharyngeal opening for proximal anastomosis was made by reverse triangular formed resection of the thyroid cartilage after elevation of perichondrium. Immediately after operation, dysphagia and aspiration into trachea were common, so training of swallowing was required. Feeding gastrostomy was usually maintained for 3 months until restoration of swallowing function was confirmed . There was graft necrosis in 3 patients, who were treated with jejunal free graft. Revisional procedures for stenosis of cervical anastomosis in B patients consisted of widening of pharyngocecostomy site in 2 and resection of adhesive band in one. Return of normal swallowing assuring normal nutrition was obtained in 10 of 11 cases.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.59 no.5
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• pp.480-486
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• 2005

Since the year 2000, lung cancer has become the leading cause of cancer death in South Korea as in many other parts of the world. The current multidisciplinary approach for lung cancer includes a wide range of modalities, not only surgery, radiotherapy, medical drug therapy but also pain control, as well as social and psychological support. Therefore, thoracic surgeons, radiologists, nuclear medicine specialists, anesthetists, psychologist, nurses and social workers as well as medical doctors care for lung cancer patients. Sharing a common treatment protocol and optimal communication are vital aspects of shared care both from a medical and cost-effectiveness point of view. We developed a shared electronic medical record (SEMR) for treating patients with lung cancer in a university hospital to facilitate the sharing protocols and communications between doctors involved in a lung cancer clinic. A SEMR system was developed within a order communication system(OCS) for a lung cancer clinic. The records of radiological, laboratory and pathological studies as well as the records of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy were stored and presented to all doctors who treat the same patient. Every doctor was allowed to change his/her own records. They could review other doctor s records but could not alter them. With the SEMR, it was expected that the time to complete the medical records for one patient could be reduced because it was easy to review all the data from the other doctors who share the same patient. In addition, the confidence of the doctors who share a common treatment protocol would be higher. Therefore, a shared electronic medical record is expected to improve the quality of patient care.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.40-45
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• 1998

Recently, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for mediastinal lesions has been considered a new effective therapeutic method. From March, 1992 to April, 1997, 33 cases of video assisted thoracoscopic surgery for mediastinal lesions were performed. Gender distribution was 16 males and 17 females. Average age was 42 years old(ranged from 14 to 69). The locations of lesions were anterior mediastinum in 14 cases, middle mediastinum in 5 cases, posterior mediastinum in 11 cases, and superior mediastinum in 3 cases. These included 9 neurilemmomas, 5 benign cystic teratoma, 4 pericardial cysts, 2 ganglioneuroma, 2 thymus, 2 thymic cyst, 1 thymoma, 2 esophageal leiomyomas, 1 dermoid cyst, 1 lipoma, 1 malignant lymphoma, 1 bronchogenic cyst, 1 pericardial effusion, and 1 Boerhaave's disease with empyema. Working window was needed in 6 cases. We converted to open thoracotomy in 6 cases. Reasons of convertion to open thoracotomy were large sized mass(1), severe adhesion(3), and difficult location to approach(2). The average operation time was 116min($\pm$56 min). The average chest tube drainage time was 4.7days. The average hospital stay was 8.7 days. Operative complications were atelectasis(2), empyema with mediastinitis(1), recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy(1), and plenic nerve palsy(1). In conclusion, VATS for mediastinal lesions were performed with shorter operation time and hospital stay, and lesser complications and pain than those of conventional thoracotomy.