• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.169-174
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• 1998

Background: To avoid the major mobidity associated with bilateral radical neck dissection, modified radical neck dissection has become established as an effective adjunctive procedure in the management of head and neck cancer. But several studies reported early postoperative internal jugular vein(IJV) occlusion in patients who underwent modified radical neck dissection. Objectives: To determine internal jugular vein patency following modified radical neck dessection performed in various head and neck cancer and to identify factors associated with venous occlusion. Materials and Methods: From Aug. 1996 to Oct. 1997, twenty three patients underwent either unilateral or bilateral modified radical neck dissection; 19 males and 4 females, ranging in age from 28 to 75 were retrospectively examined. All patients had a preoperative doppler imaging or CT or both for their initial evaluation. A follow-up examination was obtained(after a minimum postoperative period of 2 months and a maximum one of 4 months). Results: Thirty-four IJVs were examined. All but six IJVs examined were found patent postoperatively. The preservation rate of patency of the IJV in modified radical neck dissection was found to be high(28 of 34 IJVs or 82%). Conclusion: The preservation rate of patency of the IJV in modified radical neck dissection was found to be high. These results favor the use of modified radical neck dissection for IJV preservation, particularly in bilateral neck dissection. A retrospective chart review revealed that trauma of the vessel and extrinsic compression of the vein by the musculocutaneous flap or recurrent carcinoma in the neck may be the cause of the vein occlusion.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.57-62
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• 2005

Microvascular anastomosis with suture technique is a basic skill but there are several problems such as stenosis, thrombosis and long operating time. Recently plastic surgeons have developed non-suturing mechanical coupling devices for microvascular anastomosis. The authors applied non-penetrating vascular clips (VCS clips) in the field of free flap surgery of head and neck area. Between August of 2004 and January of 2005, we performed 9 free flaps (16 vessels) using small-sized VCS clips. Four stay sutures were applied first and then VCS clips were placed between sutures about 1 mm apart. Vascular pedicle of free flap included the descending branch of lateral circumflex femoral vessel, thoracodorsal vessel, deep inferior epigastric vessel and cephalic vein. The recipient vessels were the superior thyroid artery, superficial temporal artery, internal jugular vein, external jugular vein, and superficial temporal vein. We performed 13 end-to-end (4 arteries and 9 veins) and 3 venous end-to-side anastomoses. No flap related complication occurred but we applied additional clips or sutures in two cases due to blood leakage after completion of anastomosis. Primary patency rates seemed to be good and more rapid anastomosis could be done than conventional suture technique. Advantages of VCS technique are high patency rate, low thrombogenecity and rapidity. Although the high cost of VCS instrument may be a problem, this clip could be applied safely in microvascular free tissue transfer.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.423-429
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• 2008

Background: The interest in robotic cardiac surgery has recently grown but there has not been much clinical research reported on this. The aim of this study is to examine our initial experience, since August 2007, with robotic cardiac surgery using the da $Vince^{TM}$ surgical system and to evaluate the feasibility and safety of it. Material and Method: Between August and December 2007, a total of 20 patients underwent robotic cardiac surgery using the da Vinci surgical system. For mitral valve repair (n=11), tricuspid valve repair (n=1), and ASD repair (n=1), cannulation, antegrade cardioplegia and transthoracic aortic cross-clamping were conducted for the right femoral vessels and the right internal jugular vein. For minimally invasive direct CABG (MIDCAB) (n=7), the internal thoracic artery (ITA) was harvested with the da Vinci surgical system. Result: The mean age of the patients was 50.1 (range: $26{\sim}78$) years. Three concomitant Maze procedures and one tricuspid annuloplasty were combined with mitral valve repair. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was $208.0{\pm}61.3$ minutes and the aortic cross clamp time was $158.8{\pm}40.6$ minutes. No patients showed more than mild mitral regurgitation after repair and the median hospital stay was 4 days. The robotic-harvested ITA was used for either left ITA (n=6) or bilateral ITA (n=1). The mean harvest time was $43.2{\pm}12.0$ minutes. The harvested ITA showed good flow and it was anastomosed under direct vision after left anterolateral thoracotomy. The patency of all the grafts was 100% (18/18) in MIDCAB. Conclusion: Robotic cardiac surgery using the da Vinci surgical system was variously adapted to areas such as mitral and tricuspid valve repair, ASD repair and ITA harvest for MIDCAB. The early results of the robotic cardiac surgery showed its safety and feasibility. With this primary report, we anticipate that clinical applications and further studies on robotic cardiac surgery using the da Vinci surgical system will be actively conducted in Korea.