• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.11
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• pp.842-846
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• 2002

A rare case of acute descending necrotizing mediastinitis(DNM) secondary to spontaneous rupture of hypopharynx is reported. Due to the right lower cervical abscess the patient had undertaken limited right anterior cervical drainage at other department. After transferring to our department he undertook combined wide cervical mediastinal drainage and mediastinal drainage via right thoracotomy. However mediastinal drainage was ineffective. So the second operation was performed and chest tubes were relocated. He had an uneventful postoperative course. As far as the cause of acute descending necrotizing mediastinitis was concerned, we couldn't find any literature in Korean or English except one case that dealt with spontaneous rupture of the hypopharynx.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.1180-1184
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• 1992

The use of computed tomography of the chest in mediastinal staging of lung carcinoma lies the premiss that malignant lymph nodes are larger than benign ones. We have studied the size of mediastinal lymph nodes & the malignancy rate in 55 lung carcinomas from March 1990 to July 1992 at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Yongdong Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of medicine. The lack of relationship between the size of mediastinal lymph node and the probability of malignancy helps to clarify the limitations of the use of computed tomography in the staging of the mediastinum in lung carcinoma. There was no tendency for all malignant lymph nodes to be larger than benign nodes. To allow comparison with our data, malignancy rates for all lymph nodes larger than 10mm are 24.8% in sensitivity & benign rates for all lymph nodes less than 10mm are 96% in specificity. But all mediastinal lymph nodes larger than 30mm are metastatic lymph nodes in our cases. We are going to try to have thoracotomy for complete resection of lung carcinoma as possible as we can if there no evidence of contralateral mediastinal metastases of lymph nodes, even though there are large mediastinal lymph nodes in lung carcinoma.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.1286-1291
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• 1992

We have experienced 456 cases of spontaneous pneumothorax from January, 1981 to December, 1991 at the department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Chonbuk National University Hospital. Of these, 102 cases were recurrent pneumothorax. These 102 cases were based on the retrospective clinical analysis, and the results were as follows: The ratio of male to female was 6.2: 1 in male predominance and the old aged patients, over 50 years old, occupied 46.8%a of all patients. Primary spontaneous pneumothorax was 43 cases[42.6%] and secondary spontaneous pneumothorax was 59 cases. The underlying pathology in secondary spontaneous pneumothorax was tuberculosis: 31 cases[30.4%], emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: 27 cases[26.1%], Most frequent operative and pathologic findings in the primary and the secondary spontaneous pneumothorax was bullae and blebs at apex. The employed managements were only closed thoracostomy in 41 cases, open thoracot-omy in 61 cases. The operative procedures at thoracotomy were bullectomy or bullae ligation in 37 cases, bullae resection with wedge resection in 8 cases, bullae resection with segmentectomy in 6 cases, bullae resection with decortication in 3 cases, lobectomy in 5 cases, decortication in 2 cases. Complications were subcutaneous emphysema[5 cases], wound infection[1 case], and temporary pulmonary insufficiency[1 cases]

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.336-339
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• 2010

We successfully performed bleeding control using roll-gauze packing in a patient with Type IV Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and this patient was suffering from spontaneous hemothorax. Thoracotomy for controlling ongoing bleeding in a patient with Type IV Ehlers-Danlos syndrome should be performed as a last resort after due consideration.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.208-211
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• 2010

An occurrence of hemangioma in the mediastinum is a very rare, accounting for less than 0.5% of mediastinal tumors. Capillary hemangiomas and cavernous hemangiomas consists of over 90% of mediastinal hemangiomas. However, venous hemangioma has never been reported in South Korea and has also very rarely been reported worldwide. We found mediastinal solid mass, as an incidental finding during a follow-up chest CT scan of a 44-year-old female patient who had undergone colon cancer surgery. We performed a mediastinoscopic biopsy. We did a thoracotomy to remove this mass because hemorrhage and found a totally resected venous hemangioma.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.542-545
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• 2010

Extramedullary hematopoiesis is a common compensatory mechanism of chronic anemia, but an asymptomatic posterior mediastinal mass is rarely diagnosed as an extramedullary hematopoiesis after surgical resection. The differential from neurogenic tumors is important, but fine needle aspiration biopsy is not recommended because of the difficulty of approach and risk of bleeding. Although diagnosis and treatment can involve resection via thoracotomy, video-assisted thoracic surgery may also be a useful strategy. We performed video-assisted thoracic surgery on a 59-year-old man for posterior mediastinal extramedullary hematopoiesis, with no evidence of recurrence or related hematologic diseases.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.221-223
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• 2005

Congenital pleural effusions are uncommon. The majority of cases are due to chylothorax, hydrops fetalis, and infection. Effusions of this nature are, for the most part, self-limited. We experienced a rare case of a congenital unilateral pleural effusion due to an extralobar sequestraion with pulmonary lymphangiectasia. Pleural effusion was found by antenatal ultrasonography and confirmed by CT scans and CT angiography of the chest in the neonatal period. The patient underwent an open thoracotomy where extralobar sequestraion located between the diaphragm and the left lower lobe was removed. His postoperative course was uncomplicated and there was complete resolution of the pleural effusion.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.934-939
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• 1993

Mediastinal lymph node involvement [N2 disease] is generally accepted as an important factor influencing the outcome of patients with lung cancer.The long-term survival rates of completely resected patients with N2 disease are frequently reported from 15% to 30%.To improve the management and the outcome of patients with resectable N2 disease, we analyzed the survival rates and the prognostic factors for resected N2 lung cancer. Between August 1989 and September 1993, we experienced 27 patients with N2 disease of 115 surgically treated lung cancer at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Asan Medical Center, Ulsan University Medical School. Of these 27 N2 disease 4 had only an exploratory thoracotomy, and 23 underwent pulmonary resection by pneumonectomy[15], bilobectomy[3], lobectomy[4] and sleeve lobectomy[1].All of resected 23 patients received postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy[3], radiotherapy[2] or combined chemo-radiotherapy[18].Complete follow-up was obtained in 23 patients and median survival was 22 months and overall 1-year and 2-year survival rates by Kaplan-Meir method were 65 % and 45 %, respectively. Survival differences according to histology, tumor location, number of positive nodal station and operative method were not significant, statistically. Conclusively, we think that in resectable N2 lung cancer, complete tumor resection and mediastinal lymph node dissection, and postoperative adjuvant therapy should be done to improve the survival.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.8-14
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• 1991

Methods for the operative management of patent ductus arteriosus are now well established, and in the vast majority of children the circulatory shunt can be safely and effectively abolished by dividing the ductus or by closing it in continuity with ligatures and transfixing sutures. In adults, however, closure of patent ductus arteriosus may pose important technical problems, particularly when there are associated pulmonary hypertension, calcification, aneurysm and infective endocarditis. Under these circumstance, division or ligation is unusually hazardous because the diseased vessels often fracture or tear when sutures are placed in them. Then we closed the patent ductus arteriosus by use of cardiopulmonary bypass in 18 patients and ligated the ductus via thoracotomy in 18 patients from Jan. 1986 to May 1990. And we compared the results between two different methods. We concluded that ligation of ductus had a problem of rupture and transpulmonary internal suture closure of PDA had a problem of injury of recurrent laryngeal nerve.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.1185-1191
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• 1991

The clinical and pathological analysis of solitary pulmonary nodules were estimated in 35 patients with nodules who were surgically resected at the Dept. of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery of Chonnam National University Hospital from July 1978 to Aug. 1989. The results were as follows: 1. Mean age of patients was 43.5 years extending from 11 years to fi7 years old and male to female ratio was 6: l. 2. Preoperative symptoms were complained of dull pain in the chest, cough, hemoptysis and general weakness in 69% of patients. 3. The histopathologic findings of surgically resected nodules showed benign nodule in 51% and malignancy 49%. The most frequent diseases were granuloma[67%] in benign nodules and squamous cell carcinoma[76%] in malignancy. In topographical region of nodules in the lung, benign granuloma was more prevalent in upper lobes, while malignancy was slightly more frequent in lower lobes. 4. The incidence of malignancy by age was extremely rare in patients with less than 35 years old, but in greater than 35 years of age, malignancy comprised up to 67% of patients. 5. Complications of thoracotomy were minor bleedings, wound infections and chest pain not to be required any reoperation except one patient died of sudden onset of arrhythmia after pneumonectomy.