• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.7-16
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• 2018

Oronasal bleeding that continues despite oronasal packs or recurs after removal of the oronasal packs is referred to as intractable oronasal bleeding, which is refractory to conventional treatments. Severe craniofacial injury or tumor in the nasal or paranasal cavity may cause intractable oronasal bleeding. These intractable cases are subsequently treated with surgical ligation or endovascular embolization of the bleeding arteries. While endovascular embolization has several merits compared to surgical ligation, the procedure needs attention because severe complications such as visual disturbance or cerebral infarction can occur. Therefore, comprehensive understanding of the head and neck vascular anatomy is essential for a more effective and safer endovascular treatment of intractable oronasal bleeding.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.6-13
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• 2007

Purpose: To report the clinical results of the vascularized fibular graft in the treatment of intractable infected nonunion of femur. Materials and Methods: We reviewed 3 patients who were performed vascularized fibular graft in treated for intractable infected nonunion of femur. They had received an average of 5.6 times($4{\sim}8\;times$) surgical treatment at different hospitals. 1 case was of a infected nonunion in a fracture treated with internal fixation, the fracture having occurred after resection of a malignant tumor and transplantation of pasteurized autologous bone. 2 cases occurred after internal fixation in closed fractures. Surgical treatment was performed an average of 4 times($3{\sim}5\;times$) at our hospital and in all of the cases debridement of necrotic tissue and sequestrectomy. And vascularized fibular graft was performed. In all cases unilateral external fixation devices were used, of these, 1 case was changed into internal fixation. The final conclusion was made by assessment of functional outcomes and complications according to the standards of Paley. Results: As a result, in all of the cases bone union was achieved, and in the last follow up the functional results were excellent in 2 cases and good in 1 case. There were not presented leg length discrepancy of more than 2 cm, and further loss of knee joint motion. After previous treatment, average 23.3 months($16{\sim}30\;months$) was taken to eliminate infection and achieve complete bone union via vascularized fibular graft in our hospital. Conclusion: In treatment of intractable infected nonunion of femur, fairly good results can be expected after firm fixation, through debridement and vascularized fibular graft.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.329-332
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• 1993

Breakdown of the normal protective function of the larynx, either through primary or neurologic cause, leads to chronic aspiration, recurrent pneumonitis and possibly death. Lindemann`s tracheoesophageal diversion has three main advantages; first, it eliminates intractable aspiration in all patients who underwent the procedure, second, it preserves larynx, and third, if the underlying neurologic condition is recorved, the procedure can be reversed. We had performed tracheoesophageal diversion in two cases of intractable aspiration pneumonia patients. The postoperative courses were uneventful and they were receiving oral alimentation on the 22th and 9th postoperative days respectively, and could be discharged on 43th and 20th postoperative days respectively.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.104-107
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• 2018

While most benign hiccups can be controlled with empirical therapy, intractable hiccups lasting longer than one month tend to have significant adverse effects with obscure etiology. Treatment strategies for intractable hiccups have not been established. Only a few sporadic cases of bilateral phrenic nerve blockage have been reported. Here, we report a case of intractable hiccups that lasted five weeks in a 56-year-old male patient with a lung cancer above the right diaphragm. We hypothesized that his intractable hiccups were caused by irritation and mass effect caused by the lung cancer. We performed an ultrasound-guided right unilateral phrenic nerve pulsed radiofrequency treatment, and the patient's intractable hiccups were successfully managed without complication.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.171-176
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• 1988

It is well known that the celiac plexus block is specially useful for relieve intractable upper abdominal pain caused by upper abdominal visceral malignancy or upper abdominal metastasis from distant organs. But in cases of lower abdominal or pelvic metastasis from upper abdominal malignancy, the lower abdominal intractable pain is remained after the successful celiac plexus block. We have reported 7 cases of celiac plexus block combined with lumbar sympathetic ganglion block, among the 305 cases of the celiac plexus block from 1968 to Nov. 1987, performed in patients with lower abdominal or back pain due to carcinomatosis of lower abdominal metastatic malignancy, that their results were excellent for pain relief.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.17.1-17.4
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• 2020

The amount of content on social media platforms such as Twitter is expanding rapidly. Simultaneously, the lack of patient information seriously hinders the diagnosis and treatment of rare/intractable diseases. However, these patient communities are especially active on social media. Data from social media could serve as a source of patient-centric knowledge for these diseases complementary to the information collected in clinical settings and patient registries, and may also have potential for research use. To explore this question, we attempted to extract patient-centric knowledge from social media as a task for the 3-day Biomedical Linked Annotation Hackathon 6 (BLAH6). We selected amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis as use cases of rare and intractable diseases, respectively, and we extracted patient histories related to these health conditions from Twitter. Four diagnosed patients for each disease were selected. From the user timelines of these eight patients, we extracted tweets that might be related to health conditions. Based on our experiment, we show that our approach has considerable potential, although we identified problems that should be addressed in future attempts to mine information about rare/intractable diseases from Twitter.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.379-382
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• 2014

A case of intractable hiccup developed by cavernous hemangioma in the medulla oblongata is reported. There have been only five previously reported cases of medullary cavernoma that triggered intractable hiccup. The patient was a 28-year-old man who was presented with intractable hiccup for 15 days. It developed suddenly, then aggravated progressively and did not respond to any types of medication. On magnetic resonance images, a well-demarcated and non-enhancing mass with hemorrhagic changes was noted in the left medulla oblongata. Intraoperative findings showed that the lesion was fully embedded within the brain stem and pathology confirmed the diagnosis of cavernous hemangioma. The hiccup resolved completely after the operation. Based on the presumption that the medullary cavernoma may trigger intractable hiccup by displacing or compression the hiccup arc of the dorsolateral medulla, surgical excision can eliminate the symptoms, even in the case totally buried in brainstem.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.42-45
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• 2010

Hiccups are an involuntarily powerful spasm of the diaphragm, followed by a sudden inspiration with a closure of the glottis. Hiccups that are caused by gastric distention, spicy foods and neural dysfunction can resolve themselves without any treatment. Some hiccups are associated with certain diseases or they occur postsurgically, and life-restricting intractable hiccups should be treated. The cause of hiccups should be quickly determined so as to administer the proper treatment. Hiccups often remit spontaneously within a short period of time, but they may also occur without remission for a prolonged period in some cases. We report here on a 36-year-old man who suffered with intractable hiccups for 5 years. We administered a single oral dose of baclofen, and then the hiccups disappeared. We conclude that a single dose of baclofen is a good treatment for intractable hiccups.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.473-476
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• 2010

Sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) is an effective treatment for bladder and bowel dysfunction, and also has a role in the treatment of chronic pelvic pain. We report two cases of intractable pain associated with cauda equina syndrome (CES) that were treated successfully by SNS. The first patient suffered from intractable pelvic pain with urinary incontinence and fecal incontinence after surgery for a herniated lumbar disc. The second patient underwent surgery for treatment of a burst fracture and developed intractable pelvic area pain, right leg pain, excessive urinary frequency, urinary incontinence, voiding difficulty and constipation one year after surgery. A SNS trial was performed on both patients. Both patients' pain was significantly improved and urinary symptoms were much relieved. Neuromodulation of the sacral nerves is an effective treatment for idiopathic urinary frequency, urgency, and urge incontinence. Sacral neuromodulation has also been used to control various forms of pelvic pain. Although the mechanism of action of neuromodulation remains unexplained, numerous clinical success reports suggest that it is a therapy with efficacy and durability. From the results of our research, we believe that SNS can be a safe and effective option for the treatment of intractable pelvic pain with incomplete CES.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.85-88
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• 1989

We experienced 3 cases of continuous caudal block. The first case had suffered from severe pain of the external genitalis after urethral injury from a car accident and this was controlled by continuous caudal block. The other 2 cases were a metastaric malignant tumor of the lumbar vertebra from cancer of the cervix and histiocytoma of the breast, and both had suffered from intractable pain of the lower extremity. But lumbar epidural block was impossible because of radiation fibrosis and previous operation scar of the spine. So a continuous caudal block was performed and the pain was controlled effectively. The longest duration was 50 days and there were no problems related catheter indwelling. Pain in the area of the lumbar and sacral nerve distribution can be controlled by continuous caudal block. Here in we reported 3 cases and reviewed the literature.