• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.381-383
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• 2006

Spinal extradural arachnoid cyst is uncommon and rarely cause neural compression. We report a rare case of severe cord compression due to septated spinal extradural arachnoid cyst. A 35-year-old woman has developed back pain 3 months prior to her visit, but recently motor weakness and urinary incontinence occurred. Magnetic resonance images showed an extradural cyst posterior to the cord, which was flattened and displaced from T12 to L2. Urgent decompressive laminectomy and cyst removal was performed. Histopathological examination confirmed that cyst wall was formed by nonspecific fibrous connective tissue without a single-cell layer of inner arachnoid lining. Motor weakness and voiding difficulty were recovered completely after operation.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.157-161
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• 2019

In this paper, the researcher investigated whether strengthening the back muscles affects the quality of chest compressions during cardiopulmonary resuscitation by university students. A total of 50 students majoring in healthcare were included from September 2018 to November. The participants performed chest compressions during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for 2 min after back muscle strength was measured. Then, after adequate rest, the participants repeated the back muscle strength measurements and chest compressions after taping the erector spinae muscle. The paired t-test was performed to analyze changes in chest compression quality after taping. As results, taping enhanced back muscle strength and positively affected the depth of chest compressions and the compression to recoil ratio. Taping also increased confidence and lowered fatigability during chest compressions, so the participants preferred being taped while performing chest compressions. Based on these results, taping could help emergency room medical personnel specialized in CPR to enhance the quality of CPR and relieve back pain and fatigability by strengthening the back muscles.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.178-185
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• 2014

Epidural adhesions cause pain by interfering with the free movement of the spinal nerves and increasing neural sensitivity as a consequence of neural compression. To remove adhesions and deliver injected drugs to target sites, percutaneous epidural adhesiolysis (PEA) is performed in patients who are unresponsive to conservative treatments. We describe four patients who were treated with a newly developed inflatable balloon catheter for more effective PEA and relief of stenosis. In the present patients, treatments with repetitive epidural steroid injection and/or PEA with the Racz catheter or the NaviCath did not yield long-lasting effects or functional improvements. However, PEA and decompression with the inflatable balloon catheter led to maintenance of pain relief for more than seven months and improvements in the functional status with increases in the walking distance. The present case series suggests that the inflatable balloon catheter may be an effective alternative to performing PEA when conventional methods fail to remove adhesions or sufficiently relieve stenosis.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.315-321
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• 2021

Background: Pillar pain may develop after carpal tunnel release surgery (CTRS). This prospective double-blinded randomized trial investigated the effectiveness of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in pillar pain relief and hand function improvement. Methods: The sample consisted of 60 patients with post-CTRS pillar pain, randomized into two groups. The ESWT group (experimental) received three sessions of ESWT, while the control group received three sessions of sham ESWT, one session per week. Participants were evaluated before treatment, and three weeks, three months, and six months after treatment. The pain was assessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS). Hand functions were assessed using the Michigan hand outcomes questionnaire (MHQ). Results: The ESWT group showed significant improvement in VAS and MHQ scores after treatment at all time points compared to the control group (P < 0.001). Before treatment, the ESWT and control groups had a VAS score of 6.8 ± 1.3 and 6.7 ± 1.0, respectively. Three weeks after treatment, they had a VAS score of 2.8 ± 1.1 and 6.1 ± 1.0, respectively. Six months after treatment, the VAS score was reduced to 1.9 ± 0.9 and 5.1 ± 1.0, respectively. The ESWT group had a MHQ score of 54.4 ± 7.7 before treatment and 73.3 ± 6.8 six months after. The control group had a MHQ score of 54.2 ± 7.1 before treatment and 57.8 ± 4.4 six months after. Conclusions: ESWT is an effective and a safe non-invasive treatment option for pain management and hand functionality in pillar pain.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.407-411
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• 1996

Stereotactic radiofrequency dorsal root ganglionotomy can be very useful procedures for the treatment of pain emanating from the lumbar segmental nerves. This procedure is reserved for patients who have failed conservative interventional treatments and in whom open surgical intervention is not an option. The advantages of the radiofrequency lesion method are presented, excellent control of the lesion process using temperature monitoring to quantify the lesion size, prevent boiling, and to produce differential destruction of neural tissue. The afferent fibers in the ventral root which are spared by dorsal rhizotomy but nerve fibers with their cells in the ganglion from either dorsal or ventral root can be destructed with stereotactic radiofrequency ganglionotomy. This technique is performed using a 100 mm cannula with a 5 mm active tip. Repeated lateral fluoroscopic view should be taken to make sure that cannlua still resides within the superior, dorsal quadrant or the foramen. With the cannula in this position, electrostimulation is performed and good paresthesia on the leg should be noted with 0.3 and 0.5 volt at 50 Hz stimulation. At 2Hz stimulation distinct dissociation between motor and sensory should be shown. Percutaneous lumbar ganglionotomy have carried out under local anesthesia on inpatient basis in 6 patients. A series of 5 patients with metastatic cancer pain and a patient with compression fracture have been relieved of pain without serious complications.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.124-126
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• 1997

Stellate ganglion block is the most widely practiced procedure in the pain clinics due to its wide range of indications. We experienced a rare case who exhibited severe hematoma in neck following stellate ganglion block. A 58-year-old female patient injured by a traffic accident was admitted to the department of negro surgery for the treatment of cerebral contusion, cervical and lumbar sprain and left arm paresis. Because left sensory neural hearing loss occurred, the patient was referred to the pain clinic for treatment with stellate ganglion block due to her left sensory neural hearing loss. The next day stellate ganglion block was done with a negative aspiration for blood. Three hours later, hematoma in neck was found and the patient complained of pain in the neck and dyspnea. The symptoms and signs of respiratory difficulty were progressively aggravated. The hematoma was removed and ruptured muscular branch of vertebral artery was ligated under surgical exploration. In this case, the needle was apparently in the branch of vertebral artery during or after injection in spite of the negative aspiration for blood. Authors recommend that compression of the injected site over 5 minutes should be necessary to prevent a hematoma formation despite of a negative aspiration for blood.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.226-228
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• 2005

Zoster sine herpete (ZSH) is a varicella zoster virus (VZV) reactivation without a zoster that is difficult to diagnose early after onset. This study examined 12 patients who presented with intercostal neuralgia, had no history of trauma, cutaneous eruption and no scar of a herpes zoster on the lesion. Two patients had a vertebral compression fracture. Two patients had a history of a zoster in the other site. No other suspicious findings were observed. Ten of the twelve patients were checked for the IgG and IgM varicellar zoster virus antibody. All the patients tested positive to the Ig G antibody test and only one patient tested positive to the IgM antibody test. One patient was confirmed to have ZSH and the other patients were suspected of having ZSH. All the patients were treated for postherpetic neuralgia, resulting in a significant decrease in the intercostal neuralgia.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.284-286
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• 2011

Glossopharyngeal neuralgia is a relatively rare condition characterized by severe, paroxysmal episodes of lancinating pain in the tongue, throat, ear, and tonsil. This disorder is assumed to be due to compression of the glossopharyngeal nerve by vascular structures. A 47-year-old woman complaining of sharp and lancinating pain in the right periauricular and submandibular areas visited our hospital. Swallowing, chewing, and lying on her right side triggered the pain. Her neurologic examination revealed no specific abnormalities. The results of routine hematologic and blood chemistry studies were all within normal limits. Carbamazepine and gabapentin were given, but her symptoms persisted. Her pain was temporarily relieved only by narcotic pain medication. MRI showed an arachnoid cyst located in the right cerebellomedullary cistern extending to the cerebellopontine cistern. Cyst removal was performed via a right retrosigmoid approach. Lateral suboccipital craniotomy was performed using the right park-bench position. After opening the dura and cerebellopontine angle, the arachnoid cyst was exposed. The arachnoid cyst was compressing the flattened lower cranial nerves at the right jugular fossa. Her symptoms resolved postoperatively. Two months after the operation, she was completely free from her previous symptoms.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.30-35
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• 1989

Two hundred patients with acute and chronic pain were treated with a low power laser and 115 patients among them were divided into several groups by their pathology and evaluated their response rate to the laser therapy was evaluated through follow-up study. 1) The ages of patients were between the early twenties and late sixties, and there was no differences between sexes. 2) Degenerative spondylosis and chronic lumbar sprain were the most common diseases among those patients. 3) The average duration of therapy was about 16 days and response to the therapy appeared from the fourth day of laser therapy. 4) Acute lumbar sprain and acute spinal compression fracture showed rapid response to laser therapy. 5) The spinal pathology group was the most common at 37.5% of cases and the response rate to laser therapy was the lowest at 58.7%. 6) The articular pathology group occupied 24.6% and the response rate was the highest at 81.3%. 7). The response rate of the posttraumatic and postsurgical pathology group was 76.5%. 8) The response rate of the tendinous and sports pathology group was 75%. 9) The response rate of the miscellaneous group was 66.7%. 10) The mean response rate of all patients was 71.6%.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.222-226
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• 1991

In advant of high-resolutional CT and MRI, it is not so difficult to detect the lumbar synovial cyst, however the unusual disease should be included in the differential diagnosis of cauda equina compression syndromes. The case of a 55-year-old man who had a low back pain and severe radiating pain on both legs showed a retrolisthesis at L3-4 and L4-5 and epidural enhansing mass just around L4-5 facet joint on MRI. Microscopically a lining of synovial tissue was demonstrated. After surgery of the total resection of synovial cyst and stabilization, the patient's presenting symptoms were improved.