• Korean Journal of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
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• v.61 no.11
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• pp.580-587
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• 2018

Background and Objectives We evaluated the clinical characteristics and vestibular function of patients with direction changing vibration induced nystagmus (DC VIN) and unilateral vestibular hypofunction and suggest clinical implication and a proposed mechanism of DC VIN. Subjects and Method The records of 315 patients who underwent the VIN test were reviewed retrospectively. Among these, 18 patients (5.7%) showed DC VIN, and out of whom, 15 patients (4.8%) were diagnosed as unilateral vestibular hypofunction by caloric, rotation chair (RCT), and video head impulse test (vHIT). We analyzed the relationship between DC VIN and the dizziness characteristics, duration of disease, and the outcome of the vestibular function test. Results The mean age of 15 patients was $67.4{\pm}10.7years$ and the mean duration of dizziness was $13.6{\pm}29.7months$. The caloric test revealed 25% of the patients to have significant canal paresis [Caloric vestibular neuritis (VN)], while 75% showed normal caloric response. However, unilateral vestibular hypofunction was observed by abnormal results in RCT or vHIT (Non-caloric VN). Seven patients showed ipsilateral DC VIN (nystagmus to vibrated side) and eight patients contralateral DC VIN (nystagmus to opposite side of vibration). Patients with ipsilateral DC VIN were shown to have a significant longer duration of dizziness than those with contralateral DC VIN. Conclusion Although rare, DC VIN can also be found in patients with unilateral vestibular hypofunction. Patients with DC VIN had a mild vestibular asymmetry with Non-caloric VN or Caloric VN in the process of compensation. The mechanism of ipsilateral DC VIN seems to be due to the small amount of vestibular asymmetry, which is smaller than the interaural attenuation of vibration.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.501-509
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• 2022

Background Acute facial nerve iatrogenic or traumatic injury warrants rapid management with the goal of reestablishing nerve continuity within 72 hours. However, reconstructive efforts should be performed up to 12 months from the time of injury since facial musculature may still be viable and thus facial tone and function may be salvaged. Methods Data of all patients who underwent facial nerve repair following iatrogenic or traumatic injury were retrospectively collected and assessed. Paralysis etiology, demographics, operative data, postoperative course, and outcome were examined. Results Twenty patients underwent facial nerve repair during the years 2004 to 2019. Data were available for 16 of them. Iatrogenic injury was the common category (n = 13, 81%) with parotidectomy due to primary parotid gland malignancy being the common surgery (n = 7, 44%). Nerve repair was most commonly performed during the first 72 hours of injury (n = 12, 75%) and most of the patients underwent nerve graft repair (n = 15, 94%). Outcome was available for 12 patients, all of which remained with some degree of facial paresis. Six patients suffered from complete facial paralysis (50%) and three underwent secondary facial reanimation (25%). There were no major operative or postoperative complications. Conclusion Iatrogenic and traumatic facial nerve injuries are common etiologies of acquired facial paralysis. In such cases, immediate repair should be performed. For patients presenting with facial paralysis following previous surgery or trauma, nerve repair should be considered up to at least 6 months of injury. Longstanding paralysis is best treated with standard facial reanimation procedures.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.648-654
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• 2010

Background: This study assessed the early results of endovascular repair of acute type B aortic dissection and the aortic wall changes following endovascular repair. Material and Method: From July 2008 to May 2009, the preoperative and follow-up computed tomography (CT) scans of 5 patients with acute type B aortic dissection were evaluated, and these patients had underwent stent graft implantation within 13 days of the onset of dissection (mean: 7 days; range: 3~13). The whole lumen (WL), true lumen (TL) and false lumen (FL) diameters were measured at the proximal (p), middle (m) and distal (d) third of the descending thoracic aorta. Result: The study included four men and one woman with an average age of $59.4{\pm}20.1$ years (age range: 37~79 years). The follow-up CT was performed and evaluated at 7 days and 6 months. The primary tear was completely sealed in all the patients. No paraplegia, paresis or peripheral ischemia occurred and none of the patients died. No endoleaks developed in any of the patients during follow-up. The TL diameters increased from 20.4 to 33.5 mm in the proximal third (p/3), from 19.5 to 29.8 mm in the middle third (m/3) and from 15.2 to 23.5 mm in the distal third (d/3). The FL diameters decreased from 18.7 to 0 mm in the p/3, from 15.4 to 0 mm in the m/3 and from 21.4 to 8.7 mm in the d/3. The changes in the TL diameter were statistically significant in the middle and distal aorta, and those changes in the FL diameter were not statistically significant. There was a decrease in the WL after repair, but this was not statistically Significant. In three patients, the false lumen disappeared completely on follow-up CT at 6 months. Two patients had patent false lumens and no thrombosis. Conclusion: The early results showed that endovascular repair was effective in treating acute type B aortic dissection, and endovascular repair promoted positive aortic wall changes.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.152-155
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• 2014

An 11-year-old castrated Schnauzer presented with paraplegia for the last two weeks, initially developed pelvic limb ataxia 6 months ago and left pelvic limb paresis 3 months ago. On neurological examination, paraplegia and postural reaction deficits were noted in the pelvic limbs with no deep pain sensation, and the dog showed exaggerated spinal reflexes and involuntary urination. Magnetic resonance (MR) images of thoracolumbar spinal cord were obtained with a 0.3 Tesla magnet. A mass with a broad base to the dorsal and left dural margins was identified at the level of L2, causing marked spinal cord compression. The mass showed isointensity to the spinal cord on T1-weighted (T1W) precontrast images, hyperintensity on T2-weighted images, marked homogeneous contrast enhancement with well-defined margins and the "dural tail" sign on T1W postcontrast images. An intradural-extramedullay tumor was considered, most likely, meningioma was highly suggestive. Left-sided hemilaminectomy and dorsal laminectomy were performed. An intradural mass partially adherent to dura mater was compressing the spinal cord, and the mass was completely removed with the attached dura mater. A histopathologic diagnosis of angiomatous subtype meningioma was made.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.34 no.11
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• pp.823-830
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• 2001

Background: Paraplegia is a serious complication of thoracic or thoracoabdominal aortic operations, which is related to ischemic injury of the spinal cord induced by low perfusion pressure during cross clamping of the aorta. Ischemic preconditioning of heart or brain with reversible sublethal ischemic injury induces resistance to subsequent lethal ischemia. The aim of this study is to investigate whether ischemic tolerance could be induced by the preconditioning of the spinal cord using swine model. Material and Method: The animals were randomly assigned to three groups: sham group(n=3), control group(n=6) and pre-conditioning group(n=8). In the sham group, we performed the left thoracotomy only without any ischemic injury. In the preconditioning group, the swine received reversible spinal cord ischemic injury by aortic clamping for 20 minutes, whereas control group had no previous aortic cross- clamping. Forty-eight hours later, the aorta was clamped for 30 minutes in both groups. Neurological examination was done 24 hours later, then the animals were euthanized for histopathology and malonedialdehyde(MDA) spectrophotometry assay of the spinal cord. Result: Statistically significant difference in neurological outcome was observed between the control and preconditioning groups at 24 hours after ischemic injury. The incidence of paraplegia and severe paresis was 100% in the control group, and 62.5% in the preconditing group(p=0.028). There was no statistically significant difference in histopathology and MDA assay of the ischemic spinal cord between these two groups with borderline statistical difference in MDA assay(p=0.0745). Conclusion: In the present swine study, ischemic preconditioning could induce tolerance against 30 minute ischemic insult of the spinal cord, although the animals did not completely recover(stand-up or walk). We expect that combining this preconditioning with other currently existing protection methods might lead to a synergistic effect, which warrants further investigation.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.2 s.66
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• pp.36-43
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• 2006

Objectives : Acupuncture has been widely applied to rehabilitation after stroke by Oriental medical doctors in Korea. It has been reported that acupuncture increased cerebral blood supply and stimulated the functional activity of brain nerve cells. In addition, a correlation between activation of specific areas of brain cortices and corresponding acupuncture stimulation at the therapeutic points had been well illustrated. rill now, however, there were few studies which evaluated a correlation between activation of specific areas of brain and frequently-used acupuncture therapy for stroke, such as LI4-LI11 electro-acupuncture (EA) for paresis after stroke. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of LI4-LI11 EA on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in normal volunteers using Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT). Methods : In the resting state, $^{99m}Tc-ECD$ brain SPECT scans were performed on 10 normal volunteers (8 males, 2 females, mean age $25.6{\pm}2.3$years; age range from 24 to 31 years). 7 days after the resting examination, 15 minutes of electro-acupuncture were applied at LI 4 and LI 11 on the right side of the subjects. Immediately after LI4-LI11 EA, the second SPECT images were obtained in the same manner as the resting state. Significant increases and decreases of regional cerebral blood flow after LI4-LI11 EA were estimated by comparing their SPECT images with those of the resting state using paired t statistics at every voxel, which were analyzed by Statistical parametric mapping with a threshold of p=0.001, uncorrected (extent threshold: k=100 voxels). Results : EA applied at right LI4-LI11 increased rCBF in right frontopolar area (Brodmann area 10) and left middle frontal area (Brodmann area 46). Interestingly, all the areas showing increased rCBF corresponded to the territories of both anterior cerebral arteries. However, LI4-11 EA decreased rCBF in the left occipital lobe (peristriate area, Brodmann area 19). Conclusions : The results demonstrated a correlation between LI4-11 EA and rCBF increase in the frontal lobes. It is also suggested that there may be a correlation between LI meridian and the territory of the anterior cerebral arterties.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.221-232
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• 1982

This paper dealt with the pathological and clinical findings on the experimentally induced rodenticide (fluoroacetate, zinc phosphide, thallium sulfate, coumarin) and NaCN poisoning of ruminants (Holstein cattle and/or Korean native goat) for the purpose of the diagnosis in the accidental rodenticide poisoning of cattle. The results observed are summarized as follows: Fluoroacetate poisoning (cattle and goat): in the clinical signs, there were depression, convulsion, dyspnea, groan, grinding of the teeth, vomiting, opisthotonus and post-mortem tympany. In the macroscopical findings, the blood was more or less poor coagulative and dark red, bloody fluid with foam in the trachea, hyperemia and hemorrhage of tracheal mucosa and lung, cloudy swelling and hyperemia of kidney, epicardial hemorrhage(cattle), and hyperemia of abomasum, intestine and brain were observed. In the microscopical findings, there were pulmonary edema and hemorrhage, necrosis of convoluted tubular epithelium and interstitial hemorrhage of kidney, focal coagulative necrosis of myocardium, hemorrhage of pancreas and spleen, dilatation of Virchow-Robin space and hyperemia of brain, and necrosis with desquamation of mucosal epithelia of abomasum and upper small intestine. In the histological lesions of the liver, lobular peripheral hyperemia, centrilobular necrosis and cytoplasmic inclusion bodies of the hetatic cells were observed. The cytoplasmic inclusion body of the hepatic cells was not seen in the affected goat, but hydropic degeneration of the hepatic cells was marked. Zinc phosphide poisoning (cattle and goat): clinically, the affected animals died in recumbent position after ataxia, dyspnea and convulsion. In the macroscopical findings, hyperemia and hemorrhage of lung, cloudy swelling and hyperemia of liver and kidney, hemorrhage of spleen (cattle), and catarrh of abomasum and small intestine were observed. In the microscopical findings, necrosis of the convoluted tubular epithelium and hyperemia of kidney, hemorrhage of spleen, hyperemia of lung, hyperemia or hemorrhage of heart, cloudy. swelling and fatty changes of hepatic cells, dilatation of hepatic central vein, hyperemia of brain, and catarrh of abomasal and small intestinal mucosae were observed. Thallium sulfate poisoning (cattle): in the macroscopical findings dark red color of blood, hyperemia and hemorrhage of lung, bloody fluid with foam in the tracheal mucosa, petechiae of tracheal mucosa, cloudy swelling and hemorrhage of liver, necrotic lesions and hemorrhage of renal cortex and epicardial hemorrhage were observed. In the microscopical findings, severe hemorrhages of the lung, cloudy swelling and necrosis of hepatic cells, hyperemia and hemorrhage of liver, focal coagulative necrosis of mycordium, necrosis of the convoluted tubular epithelium and hyperemia of kidney, hyperemia and hemorrhage of spleen and dilatation of Virchow-Robin apace in brain were observed. Coumarin poisoning (goat): the poisoned animals died in the state of groan and depression. In the macroscopical findings, poor coagulation of blood, hemorrhage of lung, cloudy swelling and severe hemorrhages of liver, cloudy swelling and hemorrhage of kidney, abomasal hemorrhage, catarrh of small intestine, and hyperemia and hemorrhage of the other organs were observed, In the microscopical findings, hyperemia and hemorrhage of lung and kidney, cloudy swelling of the convoluted tubular epithelium of kidney, severe hepatic hyperemia, cloudy swelling and hydropic degeneration of heptatic cell, and hyperemia and hemorrhage of brain and spleen were observed. NaCN poisoning (cattle and goat): clinically, there were convulsion, severe dyspnea, paresis of hind limb, depression and then rigor of four limbs. In the macroscopical findings, bright red color of blood, hyperemia and bright and red tinge of lung cloudy swelling of kidney and liver, and hyperemia of abomasum were observed. In the microscopical findings, cloudy swelling and hydropic degeneration of hepatic cell, hyperemia and edema of lung, necrosis and degeneration of the convoluted tubular epithelium and hemorrhage in kidney, dilatation of Virchow-Robin space of brain and hemorrhage of spleen were observed.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.299-346
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• 2016

There were also various decisions made in medical area in 2015. In the case that an inmate in a sanatorium was injured due to the reason which can be attributable to the sanatorium and the social welfare foundation that operates the sanatorium request treatment of the patient, the court set the standard of fixation of a party in medical contract. In the case that the family of the patient who was declared brain dead required withdrawal of meaningless life sustaining treatment but the hospital rejected and continued the treatment, the court made a decision regarding chargeable fee for such treatment. When it comes to the eye brightening operation which received measure of suspension from the Ministry of Health and Welfare for the first time in February, 2011, because of uncertainty of its safety, the court did not accept the illegality of such operation itself, however, ordered compensation of the whole damage based on the violation of liability for explanation, which is the omission of explanation about the fact that the cost-effectiveness is not sure as it is still in clinical test stage. There were numerous cases that courts actively acknowledged malpractices; in the cases of paresis syndrome after back surgery, quite a few malpractices during the surgery were acknowledged by the court and in the case of nosocomial infection, hospital's negligence to cause such nosocomial infection was acknowledged by the court. There was a decision which acknowledged malpractice by distinguishing the duty of installation of emergency equipment according to the Emergency Medical Service Act and duty of emergency measure in emergency situations, and a decision which acknowledged negligence of a hospital if the hospital did not take appropriate measures, although it was a very rare disease. In connection with the scope of compensation for damage, there were decisions which comply with substantive truth such as; a court applied different labor ability loss rate as the labor ability loss rate decreased after result of reappraisal of physical ability in appeal compared to the one in the first trial, and a court acknowledged lower labor ability loss rate than the result of appraisal of physical ability considering the condition of a patient, etc. In the event of any damage caused by malpractice, in regard to whether there is a limitation on liability in fee charge after such medical malpractice, the court rejected the hospital's claim for setoff saying that if the hospital only continued treatments to cure the patient or prevent aggravation of disease, the hospital cannot charge Medical bills to the patient. In regard to the provision of the Medical Law that prohibit medical advertisement which was not reviewed preliminarily and punish the violation of such, a decision of unconstitutionality was made as it is a precensorship by an administrative agency as the deliberative bodies such as Korean Medical Association, etc. cannot be denied to be considered as administrative bodies. When it comes to the issue whether PRP treatment, which is commonly performed clinically, should be considered as legally determined uninsured treatment, the court made it clear that legally determined uninsured treatment should not be decided by theoretical possibility or actual implementation but should be acknowledged its medical safety and effectiveness and included in medical care or legally determined uninsured treatment. Moreover, court acknowledged the illegality of investigation method or process in the administrative litigation regarding evaluation of suitability of sanatorium, however, denied the compensation liability or restitution of unjust enrichment of the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service and the National Health Insurance Corporation as the evaluation agents did not cause such violation intentionally or negligently. We hope there will be more decisions which are closer to substantive truth through clear legal principles in respect of variously arisen issues in the future.