• Journal of Korean Orthopaedic Sports Medicine
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.61-68
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• 2011

Purpose: We evaluated the clinical outcome after arthroscopic repair in full thickness rotator cuff tears with and without delamination. Materials and Methods: From March 2006 to October 2008, we included 48 consecutive shoulders (31 males, 17 females; mean age 57.6 years; 45~68) who had arthroscopic double row repair for fullthickness tears of the rotator cuff. Mean rotator cuff tear size was 2.8 cm (range: 1.2~3.6) and the techniques of tendon-to-bone fixation varied according to the presence of delamination; separate row fixations of bursal and articular layer were used in delaminated tear. The mean follow-up was 26 months (range: 18~33) and functional and structural results were evaluated by American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES), University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) scale, isokinetic strength testing and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) obtained mean 8 months (range:6~13) postoperatively. The patterns of delamination, age, sex, symptom duration, size of tear, satisfaction rate, retear rate ware compared and significance was set at p values < 0.05. Results: Postoperative functional shoulder score improved significantly in 44 shoulders (91.7%). Delamination was observed in 15 shoulders (31%) and it extended proximally and posteriorly in the majority of shoulders, and the articular layer was thicker (8/15, 53%) and more retracted (9/15, 60%) compared with the superficial bursal layer. Final follow up functional shoulder scores showed no differences between non-delaminated and delaminated tears and the presence of delamination had no correlations with sex, symptom duration, tear size and satisfaction rate, however, older age had more delaminated tears (p=0.041). Follow up MRI in 29 shoulders revealed that fourteen (48%) shoulders had complete healing; nine (31%), partial healing; six (21%), complete retear but the half of the retear group showed favorable clinical results. 79% (15/19) in non-delaminated tear and 80% (8/10) in delaminated tear were judged as healed tendon on MRI and double-layer double row repairs in delaminated tears resulted in nearly same rate of structural integrity of single-layer double row repairs (p=0.165). Conclusion: The incidence of delamination in our series was 31% and older age had more delaminated tears. Sex, symptom duration, preoperative size of the tear, functional results and satisfaction rate had no significant correlations with the presence of delamination. Nearly the same postoperative structural integrity was noted in both delaminated and non-delaminated tears.

• Journal of the Korean Arthroscopy Society
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.83-91
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• 2011

Purpose: Microfracture has been used as a first-line treatment to repair articular cartilage defects. In this study, a new technique using an extracelluar matrix biomembrane to cover the cartilage lesions after microfracture was evaluated in terms of cartilage repairability and clinical outcome compared with conventional microfracture technique in a prospective randomized trial. Materials and Methods: A total of 53 patients (59 cases) without osteoarthritis who had focal full thickness articular cartilage lesions were randomly assigned in two group. Seventeen patients (17 cases) underwent conventional microfracture procedure (control group) and thirty-six patients (42 cases) received microfracture and placing biomembrane cover (ArtiFilm$^{TM}$) concomitantly (experimental group). Clinical assessment was done through 6 months postoperatively using the subjective International Knee Documentation Committee IKDC questionnaire, and visual analog scale (VAS) for pain and satisfaction. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed at 6 months after the operation in all patients. Results: In clinical outcomes, the significant difference was observed between both groups in IKDC, but not in VAS for pain and for satisfaction (final outcomes of IKDC, p=0.001; VAS for pain, p=0.074; VAS for satisfaction, p=0.194). The MRI showed good to complete defect fill (67 to 100%) in 33 patients (78.6%) of experimental group and 4 patients (23.5%) of control group, respectively. In control group, 9 of 17 patients (52.9%) showed poor defect fill (less than 33%), whereas 5 (11.9%) in experimental group (p=0.001). Assessment of peripheral integration revealed no gap formation in 35 patients (83.3%) in experimental group and 6 patients (35.3%) in control group (p=0.001). No serious complications or adverse effects related to the biomembrane were found. Conclusion: Good short-term follow-up clinical results were obtained in the group whose cartilage defects in the knee joint were covered with biomembrane after the microfracture, with the MRI findings confirming the excellent regeneration of the defective cartilage area. This suggests that the surgery to cover the defective area with biomembrane (ArtiFilm$^{TM}$) after the microfracture procedure is a safe, more effective treatment to induce cartilage regeneration.

• Journal of Korean Society of Spine Surgery
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.147-153
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• 2018

Study Design: Retrospective case series. Objectives: We retrospectively evaluated the clinical efficacy of postganglionic nerve block in symptomatic Schmorl nodules (SNs). Summary of Literature Review: SNs are common lesions that are often asymptomatic. In certain cases, SNs have been reported to cause severe axial back pain, thereby considerably impacting patients' quality of life. No consensus currently exists on the treatment of symptomatic SNs. Materials and Methods: From October 2015 to October 2017, a total of 21 patients with symptomatic SNs diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that did not respond to conservative treatment after 4 weeks were included in the study. All patients received postganglionic nerve block. We evaluated effective pain relief (improvement of back pain of more than 50% compared with before the intervention) and functional improvements, assessed by visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index scores obtained at 4 hours, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after the procedure. Results: Symptomatic SNs were more common at the L2-3 level, and the lower end plate was more commonly involved than the upper end plate. Eighteen of the 21 patients (85.7%) showed effective pain relief, and no deterioration was observed within the followup period. Throughout the follow-up period, the VAS remained significantly improved compared to before the procedure (p<0.05). Complications were not reported in any cases. Conclusions: Postganglionic nerve block for symptomatic SNs that do not respond to conservative treatment is a non-invasive modality for pain relief.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.84 no.6
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• pp.1309-1323
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• 2023

Purpose To assess the quality of four images obtained using single-breath-hold (SBH), single-shot fast spin-echo (SSFSE) and multiple-breath-hold (MBH) SSFSE with and without deep-learning based reconstruction (DLR) in patients with Crohn's disease. Materials and Methods This study included 61 patients who underwent MR enterography (MRE) for Crohn's disease. The following images were compared: SBH-SSFSE with (SBH-DLR) and without (SBH-conventional reconstruction [CR]) DLR and MBH-SSFSE with (MBH-DLR) and without (MBH-CR) DLR. Two radiologists independently reviewed the overall image quality, artifacts, sharpness, and motion-related signal loss using a 5-point scale. Three inflammatory parameters were evaluated in the ileum, the terminal ileum, and the colon. Moreover, the presence of a spatial misalignment was evaluated. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was calculated at two locations for each sequence. Results DLR significantly improved the image quality, artifacts, and sharpness of the SBH images. No significant differences in scores between MBH-CR and SBH-DLR were detected. SBH-DLR had the highest SNR (p < 0.001). The inter-reader agreement for inflammatory parameters was good to excellent (κ = 0.76-0.95) and the inter-sequence agreement was nearly perfect (κ = 0.92-0.94). Misalignment artifacts were observed more frequently in the MBH images than in the SBH images (p < 0.001). Conclusion SBH-DLR demonstrated equivalent quality and performance compared to MBH-CR. Furthermore, it can be acquired in less than half the time, without multiple BHs and reduce slice misalignments.