• Journal of the Korean Medical Association
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• v.61 no.12
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• pp.710-714
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• 2018

A law revised in May 2012 provided support to regional and emergency centers for reducing the risk of preventable deaths. In particular, regional trauma centers have been established throughout the nation, with the goal of ensuring that any trauma patient can reach a trauma center within an hour. As a multidisciplinary approach is particularly important in treating severe trauma patients, activation teams are currently organized at each center to perform multiple simultaneous treatments. Under the present system, only 7 departments can participate in these trauma teams; emergency medicine, cardiothoracic surgery, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, radiology, and anesthesiology. Plastic surgeons also play an essential role in treating trauma patients, and in fact currently treat many such cases. Especially in reconstruction procedures in patients with head and neck trauma and wide tissue defects, plastic surgeons possess unique expertise. However, since plastic surgeons are excluded from the trauma response teams due to institutional limitations, we describe the role and necessity of plastic surgery for trauma and emergency patients, and urge that the system be improved.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.51-57
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• 1996

Radiography should be used judiciously and should not delay patients resuscitation. In the patient with emergency multiple trauma, three radiography should be obtained-cervical spine, anteroposterior(AP) chest, and AP pelvis. These examinations can be done in the resuscitation area, usually with a portable X-ray unit, but should not interrupt the resuscitation process. A retrospective study was carried on 157 emergency multiple trauma patients who were admitted to Yong Dong Severance Hospital from January, to December in 1995. I analyzed the types of X-ray examinations in emergency multiple trauma patients, and classified the patients by disoriented group of mentality. The results were as follows: 1. The subjects were 7.1%(157patients) of 2,208 trauma patients(7.3%) in total 30,085 emergency patients. 2. Male to female ratio was 2.57 : 1. The age distribution was highest from 31 years to 40 years(28.0% ). 3. The peak time of patient's entrance in emergency center was between 8 : 00 pm and 2 : 00 am(36.9%), and second peak time was between 2 : 00 pm and 8 : 00 pm (29.3%). 4. According to the injury type, traffic accident, motorcycle accident and falling down were 71.3%, 8.3% and 20.4% respectively. 5. According to the exposure rate of Computed Tomography, chest CT, cervical CT pelvis CT and brain CT were 39.5%, 24.2%, 69.4% and 51.6% respectively.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.38-42
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• 2018

A case of surgically treated intervertebral disc extrusion with intraoperatively confirmed intradiscal hematoma in a 30-year-old physical trainer is presented. Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging revealed downward migrating disc herniation, without definite suggestive findings of intradiscal hematoma. Intervertebral disc herniation with concomitant intradiscal hematoma is extremely rare, but could occur in patients who have excessive axial stress to the spine occupationally. In our case, the patient was an occupational physical trainer who had repetitive minor trauma to the lumbar spine. Although the patient did not have any clear history of major trauma to the spine, the intraoperative findings revealed intradiscal hematoma, which is very rare. The presence of intradiscal hematoma is to be suspected even when preoperative imaging studies shows indefinite findings of hematoma, considering the change in signal intensity of hematoma by time.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.115-125
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• 2014

Purpose: Stable vital signs (SVSs) are thought to be the most important criteria for successful non-operative management (NOM) of blunt spleen injury (BSI). However, a consistent definition of SVSs has been lacking. We wanted to evaluate the diversity of the definitions of SVSs by using a nationwide survey. Methods: A questionnaire regarding the definition of SVSs was sent to the trauma surgeons working at the Department of Trauma Surgery and Emergency Medicine at a level-I trauma center between October 2011 and November 2011. Data were compared using analyses of the variance, t-tests, ${\chi}^2$ tests and logistic regressions. Results: Among 201 surgeons, 198 responded (98.2%). Of these 198 responses, 45 were incomplete, so only 153 (76.1%) were analyzed. In defining the SVSs, significant diversity existed on the subjects of type of blood pressure (BP), cut-off value for hypotension, technique for measuring BP, duration of hypotension, whether or not to use the heart rate (HR) as a determinant, cut-off value of hypotension when the patient had a comorbidity or when the patient was a child. Of the 153 surgeons whose responses were analyzed, 91.5% replied that they were confused when defining SVSs. Conclusion: Confusion exists regarding how to define SVSs. Most surveyed surgeons felt that a need existed to clarify both the definition of SVSs and the use of SVSs to determine hemodynamic stability for NOM.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.89-93
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• 2014

Bile leaks are complications that are much more frequent after a high-grade liver injury than after a low-grade liver injury. In this report, we describe the management of bile leaks that were encountered after angiographic embolization in a 27-year-old man with a high-grade blunt liver injury. He had undergone an abdominal irrigation and drainage with a laparotomy on post-injury day (PID) 16 due to bile peritonitis and continuous bile leaks from percutaneous abdominal drainage. He required three percutaneous drainage procedures for a biloma and liver abscesses in hepatic segments 4, 5 and 8, as well as endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography with biliary stent placement into the intrahepatic biloma via the common bile duct. We detected communication between the biloma and the bilateral intrahepatic duct by using a tubogram. Follow-up abdominal computed tomography on PID 47 showed partial thrombosis of the inferior vena cava at the suprahepatic level, and the patient received anticoagulation therapy with low molecular weight heparin and rivaroxaban. As symptomatic improvement was achieved by using conservative management, the percutaneous drains were removed and the patient was discharged on PID 82.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.151-158
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• 2022

Purpose: There is a strong correlation between trauma and pain. Pain increases the rate of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and even mortality in trauma patients. Methods: This institution-based, provider-blinded and patient-blinded, observational study was conducted among trauma patients treated at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital. Over the course of 3 months, this study included patients who had no prior pain management at other hospitals before presentation, and who presented within 24 hours of the traumatic event. Results: Of the 74 patients evaluated, none of the patients had their pain level scored. The researcher-provided pain scale showed a severe subjective pain score for 79.7% of the patients and a severe functional activity score for 59.5% of the patients. Analgesia was provided at an average of 55.4 minutes after presentation and all patients received either diclofenac or tramadol. Satisfactory pain reduction after analgesia was 28.8% for patients initially complaining of severe pain, 54.6% for moderate pain, and 66.7% for mild pain, with the difference being statistically significant (P<0.05). Forty percent of patients discharged home received no analgesia after the first dose provided upon presentation. Conclusions: Pain scoring was nonexistent during the course of the study. The poor utilization rate of analgesia combination and opioids led to unsatisfactory pain outcomes in patients evaluated and followed for 24 hours after presentation.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.310-314
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• 2023

Pancreatic trauma from a blunt injury is fairly uncommon in the pediatric population. Furthermore, such trauma with associated disruption of the pancreatic duct (PD) is even less prevalent and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Pancreatic injuries in the pediatric population are often missed and hence require a thorough workup in children presenting with any form of abdominal injury. This case report describes a young boy who presented with abdominal pain and did not initially inform medical staff about any injury. For this reason, his initial provisional diagnosis was appendicitis, but he was later found to have transection of the pancreas with injury to the PD on imaging. The management of such injuries in pediatric patients often poses a challenge due to a lack of pediatric physicians trained to perform interventions such as endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Furthermore, such interventions carry a higher risk when performed on children due to the smaller size of their pancreatic ducts. As a result, our patient had to be transferred to an adult center to undergo this procedure. Thus, maintaining a high degree of suspicion, along with a detailed history and examination, is crucial for the early diagnosis and management of pancreatic injuries.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.119-124
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• 1975

This is a case report of the rupture of the trachea and the esophagus following external blunt trauma without any associated injury. A 7 year old male patient was brought to the emergency room. Hanyang University Hospital, on 23 Jul, 1974 while he played under the pile of pingpong table A table was fall down over the patient accidentally. The patient was injured by the table and found lying in unconsciousness on the ground.There was subcutaneous emphysema on his anterior chest and neck. A contusion on the upper part of the sternum was noted. The breathing sound were diminished over the left side of the chest. Ronchi were heard over the right lung field. This patient was suffered from vomiting, dypsnea, and irritable mental state after this accident. On the chest roentgenogram in A-P view, hyperlucency at the mediastinum and parapericardiac area suggested the pneumomediastinum. On the next day, a diagnosis of the tracheal and esophageal rupture was confirmed by the esophagogram with Lipiodol swallowing. A right thoracotomy was performed and ruptured orifice of the trachea and the esophagus were closed with interrupted sutures. Postoperative course was uneventful and primary closure of the rupture of the trachea and the esophagus were succeeded.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.231-234
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• 2017

Extrahepatic bile duct injury is commonly associated with hepatic, duodenal, or pancreatic injuries, and isolated extrahepatic bile duct injury is rare. We report a patient who presented with an isolated extrahepatic bile duct injury after blunt trauma. A 50-year-old man was referred to our hospital after having suffered a fall down injury. His laboratory findings showed hyperbiliribinemia with elevated aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase level. Initial abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed a mild degree of hemoperitoneum without evidence of abdominal solid organ injury. On the 3rd day of hospitalization, the patient complained of dyspnea and severe abdominal discomfort. Follow-up abdominal CT showed no significant interval change. Owing to the patient's condition, Emergency laparotomy revealed a large amount of bile-containing fluid collection and about 1 cm in size laceration on the left lateral side of the common hepatic duct. Primary repair of the injured bile duct with T-tube insertion was performed On postoperative day (POD) 30, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography showed minimal bile leakage and endoscopic sphincteroplasty and endoscopic retrograde biliary drainage were performed. On POD 61, the T-tube was removed and the patient was discharged.

• Journal of Korean Foot and Ankle Society
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.67-70
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• 2019

Septic arthritis is a serious medical condition that can lead to significant complications if misdiagnosed or mismanaged. A rare case of a 1st metatarso-phalangeal joint septic arthritis in a native joint is presented in a patient with no significant risk factors. A 41-year-old patient was referred by his general practitioner owing to ongoing pain and swelling over his native 1st metatarso-phalangeal joint with difficulty on weightbearing for three months. After a series of investigations, including blood tests and a foot magnetic resonance imaging, which were inconclusive, the patient was led to the operating theatre for sampling and washout of his joint. The samples taken in the theatres revealed septic arthritis with Streptococcus mitis as the causative microorganism. The patient was treated with six weeks of oral antibiotics with a good functional outcome. This case report illuminates this rare condition and makes foot and ankle surgeons aware of its existence. A high suspicion for this condition can prevent misdiagnosis and mismanagement.