• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.255-258
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• 2005

Many patients with intractable chest pain visit pain clinics, two of which, with rare cases of an intraspinal tumor and malignant mesothelioma were experiences at our clinic. A 37-year old female patient presented with exacerbating chest pain, but without neurological manifestations, of 15-months duration. Her laboratory findings, such as blood tests, chest X-ray, EKG, abdominal ultrasonography and chest CT, were normal. MRI revealed an intradural extramedullary schwannoma at the T 5 and 6 levels of the thoracic spine. She completely recovered following a laminectomy, with removal of the tumor. The other case was a 65-year old male patient, who presented with chest and back pain in the thoracic area of 6 months duration. He had no cough and dyspnea, and was initially misdiagnosed with intercostal neuralgia; therefore, pain control medication was administered, but all trials were ineffective. Finally, chest CT revealed a malignant mesothelioma, with multiple spine metastases. In conclusion, patients with intractable chest pain should be re-examined both clinically and radiographically.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.104-109
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• 2001

We describe the accidental injection of local anesthetics containing steroid into the subdural space during an attempted lumbar epidural injection for intractable radiculopathy in a patient with failed back surgery syndrome. A 24-year-old man complained of severe radiating pain to left lower extremity and showed a walking disturbance and severe lumbar scoliosis. The MRI finding was a left paramedian recurred disc herniation on L4-5 in a laminectomy state. Several therapeutic modalities such as epidural steroid injection, transforaminal injection, L2 root block, medication, and exercise therapy, etc failed. Initially, during epidural block at L4-5 under fluoroscopic guidance, a railroad track appearance appeared on epidurogram suggesting the presence of a subdural space. A second epidural block was tried at L5-S1. Following confirmation of epidural space upon epidurogram, 6 ml of 0.5% lidocaine including triamcinolone 40 mg was injected. The patient showed signs of the subdural injection including an unexpectedly high sensory block (T2) and a motor weakness of both lower extremities. Following this event, the severe radiculopathy and lumbar scoliosis were improved. Therefore, we conclude that subdural injection of steroid could be helpful in intractable radiculopathy, especially in the failed back surgery syndrome. However, it must be used cautiously with careful patient selection.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.169-175
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• 2011

Purpose: Acute internal hemorrhage is an occasionally life-threatening complication in pediatric cancer patients. Many therapeutic approaches have been used to control bleeding with various degrees of success. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of selective internal iliac artery embolization for controlling acute intractable bleeding in children with malignancies. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the cases of 6 children with various malignancies (acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia, Langerhans cell histiocytosis, and rhabdomyosarcoma), who had undergone selective arterial embolization (SAE) of the internal iliac artery at the Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital between January 2004 and December 2009. SAE was performed by an interventional radiologist using Gelfoam$^{(R)}$ and/or Tornado$^{(R)}$ coils. Results: The patients were 5 boys and 1 girl with median age of 6.9 years (range, 0.7-14.8 years) at the time of SAE. SAE was performed once in 4 patients and twice in 2, and the procedure was unilateral in 2 and bilateral in 4. The causes of hemorrhage were as follows: hemorrhagic cystitis (HC) in 3 patients, procedure-related internal iliac artery injuries in 2 patients, and tumor rupture in 1 patient. Initial attempt at conservative management was unsuccessful. Of the 6 patients, 5 (83.3%) showed improvement after SAE without complications. Conclusion: SAE may be a safe and effective procedure for controlling acute intractable hemorrhage in pediatric malignancy patients. This procedure may obviate the need for surgery, which carries an attendant risk of morbidity and mortality in cancer patients with critical conditions.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1195-1203
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• 2000

Objective : To confirm the efficacy of functional hemispherectomy and peri-insular hemispherotomy on treatment of intractable epilepsy. Materials & Methods : From April 1997 to February 1999, we performed 1 functional hemispherectomy and 6 peri-insular hemispherotomy in 7 consecutive patients. These procedures result in completely disconnected hemisphere while maintaining the disconnected portion of the hemisphere intact within the surgical cavity. The indications were hemimegalencephaly in 2 cases, infarction with encephalomalacia in 2, Sturge-Weber syndrome in 1, hemiconvulsion hemiplegia epilepsy syndrome in 1, cortical dysplasia with leptomeningeal cyst in 1. Mean follow-up is 15.8 months(range 8-28 months). Results : Among 7 patients, 1 patient died immediately after peri-insular hemispherotomy. Five patients became seizure free with reduced doses of medications. One patient developed rare disabling seizure with medication. In 6 patients, there were improvements in the function of the hemiparetic limbs in the postoperative phase. A 3-year-old boy with infarction and encephalomalacia died few hours after surgery due to postoperative hypothermia. Two patients required shunt after surgery. Two patients developed postoperative brain swelling but were successfully managed with conservative care. Conclusion : In conclusion, functional hemispherectomy and peri-insular hemispherotomy may provide substantial seizure control in selected cases of young hemiplegic patients with intractable epilepsy.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.329-335
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• 2009

Objective : Determining language lateralization is important for the presurgical evaluation of patients with medically intractable epilepsy. The Wada test has been the gold standard for lateralization of language dominance before epilepsy surgery. However, it is an invasive test with risk, and have some limitations. Methods : We compared the volumetric analysis with Wada test, and studied the clinical potential of volumetric analysis to assess language laterality in large surgical candidates with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). To examine the efficacy of volumetric analysis to determine language lateralization during presurgical evaluation, we compared the volumetric analysis of the bilateral planum temporale with the results of Wada test in 59 patients with chronic intractable TLE (rTLE, n=32; lTLE, n=27) who underwent epilepsy surgery. We measured the gray matter volumes of planum temporale (PT) of each patients using the VoxelPlus2 program (Mevisys, Daejeon, Korea). Results : Overall congruence of the volumetric analysis with the Wada test was 97.75% in rTLE patients and 81.5% in lTLE patients. There were more significant leftward asymmetry of the PT in rTLE patients than lTLE patients. In lTLE patients, relatively high proportion (37%) of the patients showed bilateral or right hemispheric language dominance. Conclusion : These results provide evidence that the volumetric analysis of the PT could be used as an alternatives in language lateralization. Also, the results of the Wada test suggested that there was considerable plasticity of language representation in the brains of patients with intractable TLE and it was associated with an earlier age of brain injury.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.81-84
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• 2011

Purpose: Nerve injury is one of the complication which can develop after brow lift. Peripheral nerve ending which is stretched from supraorbital nerve and supratrochlear nerve can be injured and symptoms such as pain, dysesthesia may appear. Usually, developed pain disappeared spontaneously and does not go on chronic way. We experienced a case that a patient complained chronic pain after brow lift which was not controlled by conservative management such as medications, local nerve block and report a successful surgical treatment of chronic pain after brow lift. Methods: A 24-year-old male who received brow lift with hairline incision at local hospital was admitted for chronic pain at the right forehead. The pain was continued for 3 months even though fixed thread was removed. Local nerve block at trigger point with mixed 1 mL 2% lidocaine and 1 mL Triamcinolone acetonide was done and oral medications, Gabapentine and carbamazepine, were also applied but there was no difference in the degree of pain. Therefore the operation was performed so that careful dissection was carried out at right supraorbital neurovascular bundle and adhered supraorbital nerve was released from surrounding tissues and covered with silastic sheet to prevent adhesion. Results: The pain was gradually relieved for a week. The patient was discharged without complications. No evidence of recurrence has been observed for 2 years. Conclusion: The pain developed after brow lift was engaged with nerve injury and sometimes remains chronically. Many kinds of conservative management to treat this complication such as medications, local nerve block have been reported and usually been used. But there are some chronic cases that conservative treatment do not work. In sum, we report 1 case of successful surgical treatment for relief of intractable pain developed after brow lift surgery.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2002

The central pain in patient with spinal cord injury is a common and disabling sequela. The microsurgical DREZ(Dorsal Root Entry Zone)otomy is a surgical procedure effective in the treatment of intractable pain and spasticity in spinal cord injured patients. It consists of a microsurgical lesions performed in the ventrolateral region of the dorsal root entry zone at the selected levels. This report presents one case with incomplete paraplegia patient, who had chronic central neuropathic pain ineffective to many conservative treatments in bilateral T10 and right T11 segments and both lower extremities, is relieved from the pain after microsurgical DREZotomy. In conclusion, microsurgical DREZotomy is one method of effective treatments for spinal cord injured patients with intractable central neuropathic pain.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.123-128
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• 2016

Phantom limb pain is a phenomenon in which patients experience pain in a part of the body that no longer exists. In several treatment modalities, spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has been introduced for the management of intractable post-amputation pain. A 46-year-old male patient complained of severe ankle and foot pain, following above-the-knee amputation surgery on the right side amputation surgery three years earlier. Despite undergoing treatment with multiple modalities for pain management involving numerous oral and intravenous medications, nerve blocks, and pulsed radiofrequency (RF) treatment, the effect duration was temporary and the decreases in the patient's pain score were not acceptable. Even the use of SCS did not provide completely satisfactory pain management. However, the trial lead positioning in the cauda equina was able to stimulate the site of the severe pain, and the patient's pain score was dramatically decreased. We report a case of successful pain management with spinal cauda equina stimulation following the failure of SCS in the treatment of intractable phantom limb pain.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.65-70
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• 2003

The activity of phase II enzyme in the liver of mice was examined following the application of Cnidium officinale Makino aqua-acupuncture solution (COMAS). The application of COMAS $CV_{12}$ to mice for 7 days increased quinone reductase(QR) activity. The glutathione S-transferase(GST) activity was also increased with COMAS. A greater increase was observed in the glutathione(GSH) levels than in the QR and GST activities.

• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.23-28
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• 2007

Background and Objectives: Since intractable aspiration in patients with impaired protective function of the larynx often results in multiple episode of aspiration pneumonia, repeated hospitalizations and expensive nursing care. The authors reported the preliminary results of laryngotracheal separation(LTS) in patient with chronic intractable aspiration. The purpose of this study was to report the follow up results of patient outcome with the LTS. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of 15 patients who underwent LTS between 1996 and 2006 was conducted. Ages ranged from 3 to 72 years. Results: Eight patients had morbid aspiration as a consequence of acquired neurologic injuries and seven patients with congenital neurologic injuries. Two patients had a postoperative fistula, which was well controlled with local wound care. Following LTS, aspiration was effectively controlled in all patients and eight were able to tolerate a regular diet. Conclusion: LTS is a low-risk, successful, definitive procedure which decreases the potential for aspiration, pulmonary complications, duration of hospitalizations and increases quality of life, especially in patent with irreversible upper airway dysfunction and poor speech potential.