• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7627-7632
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• 2015

Background: The present study was conducted to evaluate the technical feasibility, safety and adequacy of surgical margins with salvage transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for recurrent or residual head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients who underwent salvage TORS using the 'DaVinci' robot were enrolled in the study and data related to their surgical time, complications and functional outcome were recorded. Results: The feasibility of salvage TORS in our study was observed to be 100%. Positive margins were encountered in only 6.7% of patients. Mean blood loss was 23.3 ml with no patient requiring blood transfusion. Postoperative complications in the form of primary haemorrhage requiring active surgical intervention occurred in 13.3%. Oral feeding could be started as early as the 3rd postoperative day in a few patients, with nasogastric tubes being removed on the 12th postoperative day. Long term gastrostomy tube dependency was seen in 10% cases. Median survival of patients was 19 months. Conclusions: Salvage TORS is a safe, effective and feasible option in the management of treatment failure cases. It offers an alternative surgical approach with unexpected benefits in terms of tracheostomy tube use, Ryle's tube and gastrostomy dependence.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.63-71
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• 2009

Background: The treatment of tracheal stenosis includes less invasive bronchoscopic intervention and more invasive segmental resection & anastomosis. Depending on the patient's clinical features, sometimes all these methods are inappropriate. Silicone T-tube stenting has recently been used as an alternative, safe management of tracheal stenosis. We studied the short term and Intermediate term results of using T-tubes in patients with tracheal stenosis, and this tracheal stenosis was caused by various underlying diseases. Material and Method: We retrospectively reviewed 57 patients with tracheal stenosis and who were treated with T-tubes between Jan 1997 and Apr 2007. Based on the patient's medical records and the imaging studies, we evaluated the clinical findings and status of T-tube removal. Result: There was no T-tube related morbidity or mortality in this series. On follow-up, one patient underwent sleeve resection and end-to-end anastomosis. The T-tube could be successfully removed from 13 patients (13/57, 22.8%) without additional interventions. For another four patients, a T-tube was again inserted after removal of the first T-tube due to tracheomalacia or recurrent stenosis. Four patients died of underlying disease and cancer. The patients' gender and previous tracheostomy significantly affected T-tube removal. By contrast, multiple logistic regression analysis identified gender as a predictor of successfully removing a T-tube. Gender (p=0.033) and previous tracheostomy (p=0.036) were the two factors for success or failure of T-tube removal. Conclusion: A T-tube provided reliable patency of a stenotic airway that was caused by any etiology. We have proven that using a T-tube is safe and effective therapy for patients with tracheal stenosis for the short term or the intermediate term.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.228-239
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• 1999

In 1990 Home Care Education Programs started when legislation established certification for Home Care Nurses. The Ministry of Health and Welfare proposed a home care education curriculum which has 352 class hours and 248 hours of 'family nursing and practice'. Though Home Care Education Programs have been offered in 11 home care educational institutes, there has been no formal revision for the home care education programs. Also a first and second home care demonstration projects have been carried out, but there has been no research on outcomes for home care education as applied in home care practice. The purposes of this study were to identify the important content areas for home care nursing as perceived by home care nurses, and to identify their clinical competence in each of these areas, and from these to identify the education needs. The sample was 107 home care nurses who were working in home care demonstration hospitals and community-based institutions which have been offering home care services. Responses were received from 88 nurses, comprising a 82.2% return rate, and 86 were included in the final analysis. The instrument used was a modification of the instrument developed by Caie-Lawrence et(1995) and Moon's(1991) instrument on home care knowledge. The instrument's Cronbach's coefficient was 0.982. Among the respondents, 64% were working at home care demonstration hospitals and 36% were working at community-based institutions. Their home care experiences were from one month to six years, with a mean of 20.6 months. The importance rating for home care education content was 3.42 0.325, which means importance was rated relatively high. Technical aspects of home care were identified the most important. Five items 'education skill', 'counseling skill', 'interview skill', 'wound care skill', 'bed sore care skill' received 100% importance ratings. The competency rating was 2.87 0.367 and 'technical aspects of home care' was the highest, and 'application to home care skill' was the lowest. Home care nurses' education needs were identified and compared to the importance ratings and competency ratings. Eleven items were identified as the highest in the importance areas and eleven items were in the lowest competency areas. High importance ratings matched with low competency ratings determined training needs, but there was no matching items in this study. In the lowest competency areas four items were excluded, because of not being applicable in current home care practice. Therefore total eighteen items were identified as home care education needs. These items are 'bed sore care skill', 'malpractice', 'wound care skill', 'general infection control', 'change and management of tracheostomy tubes', 'CVA patient care', 'Hospice care', 'pain management', 'urinary catheterization and management', 'L-tube insertion and managements', 'Respirator use and management skill', 'infant care', 'prevention to burnout', 'child assessment', 'CAPD', 'infant assessment', 'computer literacy', and 'psychiatry patient care'.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.149-152
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• 1975

In spite of great advances in surgical treatment during past several decades, surgery of the trachea failed to develop correspondingly, partly because of relative rarity of the tracheal lesions and partly because of difficulties in surgical technique and anesthesia. Surgical diseases of the trachea are largely obstructions due to neoplasm or cicatrical stenosis and tracheal malacia. The present treatment of respiratory failure, using cuffed endotracheal and tracheostomy tubes, has produced, apparently with increasing frequency, tracheal stenosis, tracheomalized tracheal erosion. Surgery is presently the only reasonable way to treat stenotic lesions of the tracheobronchial tree. In the case of tumors, the current trend has been that of radical excision. Primary end-to--end reconstruction of the trachea has been generally recognized as the ideal method of repair following resection. However, for decades it was believed that a maximum of four tracheal rings only might be excised and primary healing achieved with safety. A great variety of procedures, developed by numerous investigations and directed at tracheal substitution, have almost invariably met with discouraging results. A meticulous study done by Grillo and associates on autopsy specimens has shown that an average 6.4cm of mediastinal trachea can be safely resected by full mobilization of the right lung and transplantation of the left main bronchus into the bronchus intermedius. Recently, we experienced a case of successful resection of a tumor of the tracheal carina and primary tracheo-left main bronchial anastomosis at the Department of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery, the National Medical Center in Seoul. The patient, a 29-year-old man, was admitted to the hospital with complaints of dyspnea and cough. On admission, chest film showed hydropneumothorax on the right. After closed thoracostomy, hydropneumothorax disappeared, but hazy densities, developed in the right middle and lower lung fields, resisted to treatment. Bronchoscopy uncovered irregular tumor covering the carina and the right main bronchus, and biopsy indicated well differentiated squamous Cell carcinoma. Operation was performed on July 2, 1975. A right postero-lateral thoracotomy was used. Excision involved the lower trachea, the carina, the left main bronchus and the right lung. This was followed by direct anastomosis between the trachea and the left main bronchus. Bronchography was done on 17th postoperative day revealed good result of operation without stricture at the site ofanastomosis. About one month after the operation symptoms and signs of bronchial irritation with dyspnea developed, and these responded to respiratory care. On 82nd postoperative day, sudden dyspnea developed at night and the patient expired several hours later. Autopsy was not done and the cause of death was uncertain.