• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.391-395
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• 2010

Purpose: Given that the critical nature of the microvascular anastomosis to what is often a long and difficult reconstructive operation, trainees need to have a high level of microsurgical competence before being allowed to perform microsurgery on patients. Some artificial substitutes and dead or live animal models have been used to improve manual dexterity under the operating microscope. Yet, most surgeons are not equipped with such models, so search for easy available and appropriate microsurgical practice model have been an issue. Umbilical artery, placental vessels and gastroepiploic arteries have been previously suggested as a microsurgical training model, which involves other surgical departments. The purpose of this article is to introduce that saphenous vein specimen obtained from varicose vein surgery is useful and has many advantages as training model for the practice of microvascular anastomosis. Methods: The conventional technique using perforation/inversion method with a metallic stripper is widely performed for varicose vein patients. The stripper is inserted through disconnected safeno-femoral junction and retrieved at the knee or the medial side of ankle. The length of saphenous vein specimens removed is about that of one's leg and inversed from inside out. Obtained saphenous vein specimens are re-inversed and cleansed with normal saline, to be readily available for microsurgical practice. Preserved in a squeezed wet saline gauze and refrigerated, frozen or glycerated specimens were investigated into their comparative quality for microsurgical practice. Results: Varicose vein surgery remains one of the common operations performed in the field of plastic surgery. Convenient informed consent regarding the vessel donation can be easily signed. The diameter of the obtained saphenous vein is as variable as 1.5 to 6 mm, which is already stripped, and is in sufficient length corresponding to that of patient's leg. Vessels specimens were available for microsurgical practice within 1 week period when preserved with squeezed wet saline gauze, and the preservation period could be extended monthly by freezing it. Conclusion: Saphenous vein obtained from varicose vein patients provide with variable size of vessel lumen with sufficient length. The practice can be cost effective and does not require microsurgical laboratory. Additionally there is no need of involving other surgical departments in acquiring vessel specimens. Furthermore, simple preservation method of refrigerating for a week or freezing with squeezed wet saline gauze for a month period, allow the saphenous vein obtained after varicose vein surgery as an excellent model for the microsurgical practice.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.26-33
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• 2010

Purpose: We wanted to evaluate the technical feasibility and safety of totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy (TLTG) for treating early gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: The medical records of 11 consecutive patients who underwent TLTG after being diagnosed with early gastric cancer at Incheon St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea from February 2005 to September 2009 were retrospectively reviewed and their clinicopathologic characteristics and the surgical results wereinvestigated. Results: The mean operation time was $385.6{\pm}94.1$ minutes, the mean time for creating an intracorporeal anastomosis was $97.5{\pm}60.0$ minutes and the mean number of the harvested lymph nodes was $46.6{\pm}15.4$ The mean number of days after operation until starting a liquid diet was the $6.1{\pm}7.6^{th}$ postoperative day and the mean hospital stay after surgery was $14.2{\pm}11.9$ days. There was no case of open conversion, but there were 2 cases of intraoperative complication and 3 cases of postoperative complication. There was one case of postoperative mortality. The patient suffered from thrombocytopenia of an unknown cause, which was refractory to platelet transfusion, on $4^{th}$ postoperative day and the patient died of intraabdominal bleeding on the $6^{th}$ postoperative day. Conclusion: TLTG was a technically feasible and relatively safe procedure. However, a long time for creating the intracoproeal anastomosis and a long operation time are still problems to be solved.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.177-180
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• 2004

Objectives: To completely excise a malignant tumor which invades carotid artery walls, the resection and reconstruction of the carotid artery is essentially required. In most of the cases, interposition graft using a saphenous vein has been performed, however the vessel caliber discrepancy between a common carotid artery and the saphenous vein can result in a problem on surgical technique. We have introduced and evaluated a new titanium hemoclip tailing method to overcome vessel caliber discrepancy in interposition saphenous vein graft for carotid artery resection in the treatment of head and neck cancers. Method: After carotid artery resection, the calibers of the proximal common carotid artery and the vein were compared, and an orifice of the common carotid artery was gradually reduced to a little larger than or the same size as the orifice of the vein by using the titanium hemostatic clip. Subsequently, the common carotid artery was connected to the vein through anastomosis. The same method was also applied to the distal anastomosis site. There after, the vessels were connected through the anastomosis, and a circulation was restored by releasing a vascular clamp. Then, a titanium hemostatic clip-applied redundant portion on the outside of carotid artery was sutured by the blanket edge suture method, using 6-0 Prolene. Results: We have experienced this method in two patients with recurrent squamous cell carcinoma and neuroblostoma, respectively. The interposition saphenous vein graft of these patients was found to maintain good patency on the follow up angiography after one year, and they had no specific vascular complication, such as atherosclerosis. Conclusion: This method made it possible to simply perform the interposition saphenous vein graft (ISVG) within a short time and, therefore, was very useful for shortening the duration to block circulation.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.48-54
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• 1997

Between 1987 and 1995, eleven patients with severe chronic corrosive stenosis of the hypopharynx and esophagus underwent surgical restoration of digestive continuity at Inje University Seoul Palk Hospital. There were 7 male and 4 female patients aged from 21 to 47 years (mean, 34 years). The caustic material was acid in 6 patients and alkali in 5 patients. The esophagus was reconstructed using the right colon In 9 and left colon in 2. The cervical approach and the side of proximal anastomosis depended on the status of the pyriform slnus of the hypopharynx. In the neck, J-formed incision was made along the sternocleidomastoid muscle. The sternohyoid and thyrohyoid muscles were divided transversely to expose the thyroid cartilage. Hypopharyngeal opening for proximal anastomosis was made by reverse triangular formed resection of the thyroid cartilage after elevation of perichondrium. Immediately after operation, dysphagia and aspiration into trachea were common, so training of swallowing was required. Feeding gastrostomy was usually maintained for 3 months until restoration of swallowing function was confirmed . There was graft necrosis in 3 patients, who were treated with jejunal free graft. Revisional procedures for stenosis of cervical anastomosis in B patients consisted of widening of pharyngocecostomy site in 2 and resection of adhesive band in one. Return of normal swallowing assuring normal nutrition was obtained in 10 of 11 cases.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.924-929
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• 1999

Background: The use of the stapler n esophageal reconstruction after esophageal resection for benign or malignant esophageal diseases has become popular because it has less leakage at the anastomotic site and shorter operation time than manual sutures. However, the use of classic circular stapler has some complications such as stenosis and dysphagia that requires additional treatment. Such complications are closely related to the inner diameter of the anastomotic sites. In this study, the diameter of anastomotic site was compared after the use of circular stapler(EEA) and straight endoscopic stapler(endo GIA). Material and Method: The patients who received esophageal reconstruction by stapler from August 1995 to September 1997 were reviewed. The patients were divided into 2 groups. One group need the circular stapler, and the other group the straight endo GIA(14 cases with endo GIA 30mm, 24 with endo GIA 45mm). After a cervical esophago-enteric anastomosis, the stricture of anastomotic site and the incidence of dysphagia were compared between the 2 groups using an esophagography and the patient's symptoms. The follow-up period was 12months in average. Result: In the former group in which the circular stapler was used, 2 cases of anastomotic stenosis were reported. In comparison, none were reported in the latter group. Dysphagia were reported in 8 cases of the former group, and in 3 cases of the latter group(1 case in endo GIA 30 mm, 2 cases in endo GIA 45 mm). Conclusion: The use of endo GIA in esophago-enteric anastomosis resulted in a wider diameter of the anastomotic site, lesser stricture, and lesser incidence of dysphagia compared to the use of former circular stapler. Therefore, it is thought to be a better method in esophageal reconstructions.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.87-96
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• 1972

Studies of blood gas and lung histopathology were done in 10 dogs after intrapericardlal aorto-right pulmonary arterial anastomosis with proximal ligation of the right pulmonary antery. Among the 5 expired during or after operation, in 3 cases, the causes of the death were due to surgical bleeding and, in 2 cases, acute cardiopulmonary insufficiency because of large anastomosis stoma measured respectively 7mm and 10mm. In the 5 of survivals, one was sacrificed because of empyema at postoperative 7 days and 2 were at postoperative one month and remained 2 at postoperative 3 month respectively. The following observations were made. 1.In every survival, continuous machinary murmur was auscultated and the angiograms of all long term survivals showed the good patency of the anastomosis stoma. 2.After the ligation of the right pulmonary artery, the values of $PO_2$ and $PCO_2$ in arterial and venous blood were generally decreased comparing with the preoperative values. The mean value of $P_aO_2$ noted $83.30{pm}11.875$[p<0.01]. After the shunts operation with ligation of the right pulmonary artery, the immediate values of PH, $PO_2$ and $PCO_2$showed no significant changes comparing with that of right pulmonary artery ligation only. In the cases of survivals more than one month, the values of $PO_2$ and $PCO_2$ in the arterial and venous blood were generally higher than that of ligation of the right pulmonary artery only. The $P_aO_2$ value noted $103.750{pm}7.395$[p<0.01]. The mean values of $P_aO_2$, $PCO_2$ and PH in the arterial and venous blood almost returned to that of preoperative studies. 3.In the specimens of lung from the cadavors expired due to acute cardiopulmonary insufficiency after the operation, there were massive congestion, hemorrhage in the alveolar spaces and bronchioles. In specimens obtained at postoperative one month, there were dilatation of alveolar spaces with partial rupture, slight congestion, and alveolar wall thickening in the lung parenchyme, but there was no significant changes in pulmonary vasculature except dilation of pulmonary capillaries. In the specimens obtained at postoperative three months, the alveolar walls were more thickened in the lung parenchyme than the finding of the specimens obtained at postoperative one month. In the wall of pulmonary capillaries, there was only slight thickening with connective tissue proliferatlon.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.37 no.9
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• pp.774-780
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• 2004

Although traumatic thoracic aortic rupture is potentially a fatal condition requiring surgical attention, the presence of concomitant injury involving other parts of the body may greatly increase the risk of cardio-pulmonary bypass. We report our experience of treating associated injuries prior to the thoracic aortic rupture in these patients. Material and Method: From 1997 to 2003, the medical records of 24 traumatic aortic rupture patients were retrospectively reviewed and checked for the presence of associated injury, surgical method, postoperative course, and complications. Surgical technique comprised thoracotomy with proximal anastomosis under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest followed by side arm perfusion to reestablish cerebral circulation. CSF drainage was performed to prevent lower extremity paraplegia. Result： Major concomitant injuries (n=83) were noted in all of the reviewed patients, Of these, there were 49 thoracic injuries, 18 musculoskeletal injuries, and 13 abdominal injuries, Operations for associated injuries (n=16) were performed in 12 patients on mean 7.6$\pm$12.6 days following the injury. The diagnosis of aortic rupture at the time of injury was detected in only 18 patients. Delayed surgery of the thoracic aorta was performed on average 695$\pm$1350 days after injury and there were no deaths or progression of rupture in any of these patients during the observation period. There were no operative deaths and no major postoperative complications. Conclusion: Treating concomitant major injuries prior to the aortic injury in traumatic aortic rupture may reduce surgical mortality and morbidity.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.57-62
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• 2009

Purpose: The use of automatic circular staplers for gastroduodenostomy after distal gastrectomy is now widely accepted. We compared the clinical outcomes of two different methods. Materials and Methods: Between March 2005 and February 2008, 134 patients with gastric cancer underwent distal gastrectomies. Seventy-six consecutive patients received end-to-side gastroduodenostomies (ES) between March 2005 and September 2006. The remaining 58 consecutive patients received end-to-end gastroduodenostomies (EE) between November 2006 and February 2008. We analyzed the surgical outcomes between the two groups (ES versus EE) on the basis of prospectively collected data. Results: Among the clinical factors, there were no differences between the two groups. The overall complication rates were 19.7% in the ES group and 13.8% in the EE group (P=0.489). With respect to anastomosis-related complications, 2 cases had bleeding and 2 cases had stenoses in the ES group, while 2 cases in the EE group had bleeding. Re-operation was needed in the case of intraluminal bleeding in the ES group. There were no mortalities in our study. Conclusion: The two methods for gastroduodenostomy were safe and technically feasible. Although there was no statistical difference in the overall complications, including anastomosis-related complications, we demonstrated better outcomes with respect to anastomotic stenosis in the EE group.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.36 no.12
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• pp.921-927
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• 2003

Arterial switch operation (ASO) has been the most effective surgical option for transposition of the great arteries. But, the inappropriate dilation of the neoaortic root has been reported and its effect on neoaortic valve function and growth of aorta has not been well documented. Material and Method: Forty-eight patients who underwent cardiac catheterization during follow up after arterial switch operation were included in this study. Arterial switch operation was performed at a median age of 18 days (range 1∼211 days). Preoperative cardiac catheterization was performed in 26 patients and postoperative catheterization was performed in all patients at 15.8$\pm$9.6 months after ASO. Postoperative ratios of the diameters of neoaortic annulus, root and aortic anastomosis against the descending aorta were compared to the size of preoperative pulmonary annular, root and sinotubular junction. Preoperative and operative parameters were analyzed for the risk factors of neoaortic insufficiency. Result: There were two clinically significant neoaortic insufficiencies (grade$\geq$II/IV) during follow up, one of which required aortic valve replacement. Another patient required reoperation due to aortic stenosis on the anastomosis site. Post-operatively, neoaortic annulus/DA ratio increased from 1.33$\pm$0.28 to 1.52$\pm$.033 (p=0.01) and neoaortic root/DA ratio increased form 2.02$\pm$0.40 to 2.56$\pm$0.38 (p<0.0001). However, the aortic anastomosis/DA ratio showed no statistically significant difference (p=0.06). There was no statistically significant correlation between the occurrence of neoaortic insufficiency and neoaortic annulus/DA ratio and neoaortic root/DA ratio. Non-neonatal repair (age>30days) (p=0.02), preopeative native pulmonaic valve stenosis (p=0.01), and bisuspid pulmonic valve (p=0.03) were the risk factors for neoaortic insufficiency in univariate risk factor analysis. Conclusion: After ASO, aortic anastomosis site showed normal growth pattern proportional to the descending aorta, but neoaortic valve annulus and root were disproportionally dilated. Significant neoaortic valve insufficiency rarely developed after ASO and neoaortic annulus and root size do not correlate with the presence of postoperative neoarotic insufficiency. ASO after neonatal period, preoperative native pulmonary valve stenosis, and bicuspid native pulmonic valve are risk factors for the development of neoaortic insufficiency.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.146-151
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• 2007

Purpose: Pledget is a PTFE felt that is usually used for suture reinforcement in cardiovascular surgery. In order to minimize the difficulty in intracorporeal continuous gastrointestinal suturing by reducing the number of tied knots, we have used pledget as substitute for a knot (pledget suturing). Materials and Methods: Thirty-two consecutive patients who underwent totally laparoscopic uncut Roux-en-Y gastrojejunostomy after distal gastrectomy in our institution were enrolled in this study, and the patients were divided into three groups according to the method of intracorporeal anastomosis. Basically, intracorporeal anastomosis was performed by several firings of linear staplers; however, the entry holes for the stapler at the jejunojejunostomy and the gastrojejunostomy were closed by pledget suturing in group A (8 patients), the entry hole for the stapler at jejunojejunostomy was closed by conventional suturing in group B (8 patients), and all of the entry holes for the stapler were closed by stapling in group C (16 patients). The surgical outcomes of each group were compared to each other. Results: The anastomotic time in group A was not longer than in group B, although there were more sutures used in group A, but it was longer than in group C. The number of stapler cartridges used in group A was the smallest among the three groups. In group B, there were two cases of a break of suture material during anastomosis, there were no such cases in group A. There was no complication related to anastomosis in all of the groups. Conclusion: Pledget was found to be useful for minimizing the difficulty in intracoproreal continuous gastrointestinal suturing and reducing the number of stapler cartilages used in intracorporeal anastomosis.