• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.121-126
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• 2020

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical outcomes of autogenous brachiocephalic arteriovenous fistulas and to investigate the factors associated with 1-year patency after initiation of hemodialysis. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 41 patients who underwent surgery to create an autogenous brachiocephalic arteriovenous fistula between January 2015 and December 2017, received hemodialysis at the same hospital for longer than 1 year, and were monitored for their vascular access status. Intraoperative flow was measured using transit-time ultrasonography. Results: The 1-year primary and secondary patency rates were 61% (n=25) and 87.8% (n=36), respectively. The functional group (subjects who required no intervention to maintain patency within the first year after hemodialysis initiation) displayed a significantly higher median intraoperative flow rate (450 mL/min) than the non-functional group (subjects who required intervention at least once regardless of 1-year patency) (275 mL/min) (p=0.038). Based on a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, all patients were additionally subdivided into a high-flow group (>240 mL/min) and a low-flow group (≤240 mL/min). The high-flow group included a significantly greater number of functional brachiocephalic arteriovenous fistulas than the low-flow group (74.2% vs. 20%, respectively; p=0.007). Conclusion: Transit-time flow, as measured with intraoperative transit-time ultrasonography, was associated with patency without the need for intervention at 1 year after initiation of hemodialysis.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.38 no.5 s.250
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• pp.389-390
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• 2005

We report a case of a 48-year-old woman with end-stage renal failure who had a Polytetrafluoroethylene graft for hemodialysis and who had developed complications of venous outflow stenosis and venous backflow. Although venous backflow is an harbinger of graft failure, it is not enough reason to abandon the graft immediately. The patient was able to utilize her graft for 6 further months.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.67 no.1
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• pp.52-58
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• 2009

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformation (PAVM) is a rare pulmonary vascular anomaly due to an abnormal communication between the pulmonary artery and vein. The most common presenting symptom is a dyspnea on exertion related to this right-to-left shunt. If left untreated, PAVM has been known to result in serious complications. Incomplete pulmonary capillary network can be the cause of cerebral abscesses and other noninfectious neurological complications, such as stroke and transient ischemic attacks due to paradoxic embolism Transcatheter embolotherapy, using coils or balloons, has replaced surgical resection as the treatment of choice for PAVM. However, the risk of device embolization has limited the use of coil embolotherapy, while the size of PAVM is huge. Recently, Amplatzer$^{(R)}$ Vascular Plug has been proposed as an alternative endovascular occlusion device for arteriovenous malformation. We report a case of 81-year-old male patient with a giant PAVM, which was successfully treated by transcatheter embolotherapy using the Amplatzer$^{(R)}$ Vascular Plug.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.415-426
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• 2020

Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are congenital anomalies of the cerebrovascular system. AVM harbors 2.2% annual hemorrhage risk in unruptured cases and 4.5% annual hemorrhage risk of previously ruptured cases. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) have been shown excellent treatment outcomes for patients with small- to moderated sized AVM which can be achieved in 80-90% complete obliteration rate with a 2-3 years latency period. The most important factors are associated with obliteration after SRS is the radiation dose to the AVM. In our institutional clinical practice, now 22 Gy (50% isodose line) dose of radiation has been used for treatment of cerebral AVM in single-session radiosurgery. However, dose-volume relationship can be unfavorable for large AVMs when treated in a single-session radiosurgery, resulting high complication rates for effective dose. Thus, various strategies should be considered to treat large AVM. The role of pre-SRS embolization is permanent volume reduction of the nidus and treat high-risk lesion such as AVM-related aneurysm and high-flow arteriovenous shunt. Various staging technique of radiosurgery including volume-staged radiosurgery, hypofractionated radiotherapy and dose-staged radiosurgery are possible option for large AVM. The incidence of post-radiosurgery complication is varied, the incidence rate of radiological post-radiosurgical complication has been reported 30-40% and symptomatic complication rate was reported from 8.1% to 11.8%. In the future, novel therapy which incorporate endovascular treatment using liquid embolic material and new radiosurgical technique such as gene or cytokine-targeted radio-sensitization should be needed.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.1285-1292
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• 2019

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the coil-protected technique for liquid embolization in neurovascular malformations. Materials and Methods: Twenty-two patients who underwent coil-protected liquid embolization for symptomatic cranial (n = 13) and spinal (n = 9) arteriovenous fistula (AVF) or arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) were identified. A total of 36 target feeder vessels were embolized with N-butyl cyanoacrylate and/or Onyx (Medtronic). This technique was used to promote delivery of a sufficient amount of liquid embolic agent into the target shunt or nidus in cases where tortuous feeding arteries preclude a microcatheter wedging techniqu and/or to prevent reflux of the liquid embolic agent in cases with a short safety margin. The procedure was considered technically successful if the target lesion was sufficiently filled with liquid embolic agent without unintentional reflux. Angiographic and clinical outcomes were retrospectively evaluated. Results: Technical success was achieved for all 36 target feeders. Post-embolization angiographies revealed complete occlusion in 16 patients and near-complete and partial occlusion in three patients each. There were no treatment-related complications. Of the six patients who showed near-complete or partial occlusion, five received additional treatments: two received stereotactic radiosurgery for cerebral AVM, two underwent surgical removal of cerebral AVM, and one underwent additional embolization by direct puncture for a mandibular AVM. Finally, all patients showed complete (n = 19) or near-complete (n = 3) occlusion of the target AVF or AVM on follow-up angiographies. The presenting neurological symptoms improved completely in 15 patients (68.2%) and partially in seven patients (31.8%). Conclusion: The coil-protected technique is a safe and effective method for liquid embolization, especially in patients with various neurovascular shunts or malformations who could not be successfully treated with conventional techniques.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.124-130
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• 2005

In the microsurgical era, replantation with microvascular anastomosis is considered as the most superior method in aspects of texture, color, shape in case of nose amputation. There are some reported cases of replantation in nose amputation historically, but most of them are composite graft cases rather than microvascular anastomosis. Only a few cases of successful nasal replantation with microvascular anastomosis have been reported due to the reason that the size of vessels is usually very small and identifying suitable vessels for anastomosis is difficult. Microanastomosis of artery and microanastomosis of vein are ideal in replantation, but identifying suitable veins is often difficult. Without venous anastomosis, resolving the venous congestion remains to be a problem. We can carry out arteriovenous shunt if we can find two arteries in amputee. However, the smaller the size of amputee is, the more difficult it is to find two arteries. Instead of arteriovenous shunt, we can try external venous drainage(frequently swab, pin-prick, stab incision, IV or local heparin injection, dropping, apply of heparin-soaked gauze, use of medical leech). Here, we present three cases of replantation with microscopical arterial anastomosis (one angular artery, two dorsal nasal arteries) and external venous drainage (stab incision, application of medical leech and heparin-soaked gauze) even though the size of amputee may be as small as $1.5{\times}1.0cm$. In all cases, surgical outcomes were excellent in cosmetic and functional aspects. This report describes successful replantation by microvasular anastomosis in case that suitable veins are not found.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.139-147
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• 2011

Objectives : The aim of this study is to research an anti-thrombus effect by Diospyros Kaki Calyx. Methods : The healthy human plasma were gained and used in vitro study such as factor X activity (FXa) inhibition, prothrombinase inhibition, prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time. Fifteen SD rats were divided into three groups ; intact control group (orally administrated with distilled water 5ml/kg) and two experimental group treated with extract of diospyros kaki calyx (EKC). Experimental rats were orally 600 mg/kg concentration of EKC and 200 mg/kg concentration of EKC. After an hour from administration, we anesthetized rats and made arteriovenous (AV) shunt rat models to study weight of thrombus, took whole blood to study content of thromboxane B2 and blood clotting time. Results : In vitro, EKC significantly increased inhibitory activity of FXa, prothrombinase compared with intact control group ($^*P$ <0.05). PT and aPTT were increased in EKC treated (600 mg/kg) group compared with intact control group ($^*P$ <0.05). In vivo, blood clotting time of experiment group treated with EKC 600 mg/kg were significantly increased compare with that of intact control group (p<0.05) and content of thromboxane B2 was significantly decreased in group treated with EKC 600 mg/kg in serum. The weight of thrombus were significantly reduced in group treated with EKC 600 mg/kg compared with intact control group (p<0.05). But in vivo experiment study, those parameters of group treated with EKC 200 mg/kg were relatively decreased compared with those of intact control group without statistical significance. Conclusions : EKC has an antithrombic activity because of inhibition internal course such as FXa and prothrombin. And EKC inhibited a hole blood clotting in vivo experiment by low content of thromboxane B2.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.236-245
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• 2021

Background: Red ginseng (RG) extract, especially ginsenoside Rg1 and Rb1 fractions has been reported to have antithrombotic activities. However, gastric instability and low intestinal permeability are considered to be obstacles to its oral administration. We hypothesized that stability, permeability, and activities of RG might be improved by encapsulation within nanoparticles (NPs) prepared with antithrombotic coating materials. Methods: RG-loaded chitosan (CS) NPs (PF-NPs) were prepared by complex ionic gelation with the antithrombotic wall materials, polyglutamic acid (PGA), and fucoidan (Fu). The concentrations of PGA (mg/mL, X₁) and Fu (mg/mL, X₂) were optimized for the smallest particle size by response surface methodology. Antithrombotic activities of RG and PF-NPs were analyzed using ex vivo and in vivo antiplatelet activities, in vivo carrageenan-induced mouse tail, and arteriovenous shunt rat thrombosis models. Results: In accordance with a quadratic regression model, the smallest PF-NPs (286 ± 36.6 nm) were fabricated at 0.628 mg/mL PGA and 0.081 mg/mL Fu. The inhibitory activities of RG on ex vivo and in vivo platelet aggregation and thrombosis in in vivo arteriovenous shunt significantly (p < 0.05) increased to approximately 66.82%, 35.42%, and 38.95%, respectively, by encapsulation within PF-NPs. For an in vivo carrageenan-induced mouse tail thrombosis model, though RG had a weaker inhibitory effect, PF-NPs reduced thrombus significantly due to the presence of PGA and Fu. Conclusion: PF-NPs contributed to improve the activities of RG not only by nanoencapsulation but also by antithrombotic coating materials. Therefore, PG-NPs can be suggested as an efficient delivery system for oral administration of RG.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.949-958
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• 2022

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of using a deep learning-based analysis of auscultation data to predict significant stenosis of arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) in patients undergoing hemodialysis requiring percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). Materials and Methods: Forty patients (24 male and 16 female; median age, 62.5 years) with dysfunctional native AVF were prospectively recruited. Digital sounds from the AVF shunt were recorded using a wireless electronic stethoscope before (pre-PTA) and after PTA (post-PTA), and the audio files were subsequently converted to mel spectrograms, which were used to construct various deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) models (DenseNet201, EfficientNetB5, and ResNet50). The performance of these models for diagnosing ≥ 50% AVF stenosis was assessed and compared. The ground truth for the presence of ≥ 50% AVF stenosis was obtained using digital subtraction angiography. Gradient-weighted class activation mapping (Grad-CAM) was used to produce visual explanations for DCNN model decisions. Results: Eighty audio files were obtained from the 40 recruited patients and pooled for the study. Mel spectrograms of "pre-PTA" shunt sounds showed patterns corresponding to abnormal high-pitched bruits with systolic accentuation observed in patients with stenotic AVF. The ResNet50 and EfficientNetB5 models yielded an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.99 and 0.98, respectively, at optimized epochs for predicting ≥ 50% AVF stenosis. However, Grad-CAM heatmaps revealed that only ResNet50 highlighted areas relevant to AVF stenosis in the mel spectrogram. Conclusion: Mel spectrogram-based DCNN models, particularly ResNet50, successfully predicted the presence of significant AVF stenosis requiring PTA in this feasibility study and may potentially be used in AVF surveillance.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.219-223
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• 2021

Background A micro-arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is a minute, short shunt between an artery and a vein that does not pass through a capillary. We investigated the association between micro-AVFs and lymphedema using computed tomography angiography (CTA) and venous blood gas analysis. Methods In 95 patients with lower limb lymphedema, the presence or absence of early venous return (EVR) was compared between patients with primary and secondary lymphedema. Furthermore, we investigated the difference in the timing of edema onset in patients with secondary lymphedema with or without EVR using CTA. In 20 patients with lower limb lymphedema with confirmed early EVR in a unilateral lower limb, the partial pressure of oxygen (PO₂) was compared between the lower limb with EVR and the contralateral lower limb. Results Secondary lymphedema with or without EVR occurred at an average of 36.0±59.3 months and 93.5±136.1 months, respectively; however, no significant difference was noted. PO₂ was 57.6±11.7 mmHg and 44.1±16.4 mmHg in the EVR and non-EVR limbs, respectively, which was a significant difference (P=0.005). Conclusions EVR and venous blood gas analysis suggested the presence of micro-AVFs in patients with lower extremity edema. Further research is warranted to examine the cause of micro-AVFs, to advance technology to facilitate the confirmation of micro-AVFs by angiography, and to improve lymphedema by ligation of micro-AVFs.