• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.37-41
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• 2010

Background and Objectives : Transient minor voice changes after thyroidectomy are not infrequent complaints even in cases without any evidence of recurrent laryngeal nerve damage. However, clinical course, diagnosis and management of such voice changes are not fully understood. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics of minor voice changes after thyroidectomy. We also tried to assess the significance and feasibility of superior laryngeal nerve monitoring and to find out the optimal evaluation tools for such voice changes after thyroidectomy. Materials and Method : Nine adult patients who received total thyroidectomy without evidence of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury were enrolled for this prospective study. Voice evaluations were performed preoperatively and 3 months postoperatively ; acoustic analyses including voice range profile, aerodynamic study, stroboscopic evaluation and subjective voice assessment with questionnaires. The external branch of superior laryngeal nerve was monitored by nerve stimulator after ligation of superior thyroidal vessels. Results: Four of nine patients complained their voice change at 3 months after the surgery. Three of them reported complete recovery of their voice at 6 months after the surgery. Acoustic analysis revealed significant decrease in their phonatory range especially with high tone loss. Questionnaires related to singing was more sensitive than previously well-known "voice handicap index". Stimulation of the superior laryngeal nerve was feasible in most of the cases (94.4%), but it failed to show any correlation with minor voice changes after thyroidectomy. Conclusion : Minor voice changes were not rare events during the first 6 month after thyroidectomy. Decrease in phonatory range with high tone loss and therefore, discomfort in singing was the most common finding. Superior laryngeal monitoring was feasible but it was not a sensitive tool for the prediction of minor voice change after thyroidectomy.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.164-170
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• 2005

Purpose: The present study attempted to find subjective musculoskeletal symptoms of operating room nurses (OR nurses) and then to use them as basic data for prevention and management of musculoskeletal symptoms of OR nurses. Method: This study was an exploratory research, and data were collected from OR nurses working in 8 polyclinics in Korea from July 26 to August 19, 2004, using a self-report questionnaire. The questionnaire contains items concerned with subjective musculoskeletal symptoms include ones with the presence of symptoms and with the degree of discomfort, in the joints such as neck, shoulder, arm/elbow, hand/wrist/finger and waist. For data collection, the aim of the study was explained to the operating room managers to obtain their help, and these questionnaires were sent to hospitals, and were retrieved by post. 271(90.3%) questionnaires were returned among those sent to 300 nurses. 249 questionnaires excluding 22 insufficient ones such as no response were used for data analysis. Data were analyzed using SPSS WIN 12.0. Subjective musculoskeletal symptoms were analyzed in the number and percentage. Result: 187(75.1%) nurses said they 'had' subjective musculoskeletal symptoms and 62 (24.9%) said they had 'nothing'. 130(52.2%), 125 (50.2%), 113 (45.4%), 86(34.5%), and 42 (16.9%) nurses had subjective musculoskeletal symptoms in waist, shoulder, hand/wrist/finger, neck, and arm/elbow, respectively. 51(27.3%) and 136 (72.7%) nurses complained of the pain in one site, and in two or more sites, respectively. In particular, 51% and 47.4% nurses said that they were 'discomforted' due to the pain in waist and in shoulder, respectively. Conclusion: Subjective musculoskeletal symptoms which OR nurses complained of were significant. This may cause difficulty in nursing tasks in the operating room. So various arrangements have to be made for OR nurse with subjective musculoskeletal symptoms at an early stage.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.584-593
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• 1983

Esophageal reconstruction was performed in 344 patients with irreversible stricture of the esophagus resulting from caustic burns at National Medical Center from 1959 to 1982.There were 113 males and 231 females, and ranging from 2.5 to 58 years of age, and mean age was 26.5 years, and 25 cases were less than 10 years old. Caustic materials were 286 [83.2%] alkali and 50[14.5%] acid. The most frequent stricture site was upper thoracic esophagus as 56.7%, and the next was cervical as 31.4%, and lower, 11.9%. The stomach was involved in 10.8% totally, and hypopharyngeal stricture was also noticed in 3.2%, and in 3 cases, hypopharyngeal reconstruction was needed due to extensive scar change. In 329 of total 344 cases, colon interposition was performed without resection of the strictured esophagus except 4 cases which were complicated T-E fistula or perforation, and most of them, about 10-15 cm of terminal ileum with right half of the colon was used as the graft. The left colon with anti-peristalsis was used as graft only in 30 cases. The most common postoperative complication was anastomotic leak as 16.7% of total cases, and it was 12.5% from neck, 3.3% from ileocolostoma and 0.9% from cologastrostoma. Next common complication was neck stenosis [8.8%], aspiration pneumonia [6.4%], and graft necrosis [3.9%] in order. Overall operative mortality was 5.5% [14/329], and main causes of death were graft necrosis, sepsis due to anastomotic leak, gastric bleeding, and intestinal obstruction. Besides of colon interposition, according to shape or level of the stricture, plastic repair or segmental resection and direct anastomosis was done in 9, and 1 of them were complicated stenosis at the anastomotic site. In lower stricture, esophagogastrostomy was done in 10 cases, and 1 case expired due to hepatitis, and anastomotic stenosis was occurred in 2 cases at 1.5 months and 2.4 years later. During follow-up of 298 cases colon interposition from 6 months to 22 years, 82.6% was excellent, and 2.9% was complained of mild discomfort, and 4 cases were dead laterly, but 3 of them were not related to reconstruction.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.174-182
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• 2020

Objectives: Joint injuries frequently lead to progressive joint degeneration that causes articular disc derangement, joint inflammation, and osteoarthritis. Such arthropathies that arise after trauma are defined as post-traumatic arthritis (PTA). Although PTA is well recognized in knee and elbow joints, PTA in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) has not been clearly defined. Interestingly, patients experiencing head and neck trauma without direct jaw fracture have displayed TMJ disease symptoms; however, definitive diagnosis and treatment options are not available. This study will analyze clinical aspects of PTA in TMJ and their treatment outcomes after joint arthrocentesis and lavage. Materials and Methods: Twenty patients with history of trauma to the head and neck especially without jaw fracture were retrospectively studied. Those patients developed TMJ disease symptoms and were diagnosed by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. To decrease TMJ discomfort, arthrocentesis and lavage with or without conservative therapy were applied, and efficacy was evaluated by amount of mouth opening and pain scale. Statistical differences between pre- and post-treatment values were evaluated by Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: Patient age varied widely between 20 and 80 years, and causes of trauma were diverse. Duration of disease onset was measured as 508 post-trauma days, and 85% of the patients sought clinic visit within 2 years after trauma. In addition, 85% of the patients showed TMJ disc derangement without reduction, and osteoarthritis was accompanied at the traumatized side or at both sides in 40% of the patients. After arthrocentesis or lavage, maximal mouth opening was significantly increased (28-44 mm on average, P<0.001) and pain scale was dramatically decreased (7.8-3.5 of 10, P<0.001); however, concomitant conservative therapy showed no difference in treatment outcome. Conclusion: The results of this study clarify the disease identity of PTA in TMJ and suggest early diagnosis and treatment options to manage PTA in TMJ.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.205-211
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• 2001

Objective : There was no report on traumatic pneumothorax associated with acupuncture in korea yet, although many people guess at its possibility. In order to make known that acupuncture can cause pneumothorax in reality and to prevent more acupuncture-related adverse effect cases in future, this report was made. Methods : Close observation was done on clinical symptoms & radiologic examination of acupuncture-related traumatic pneumothorax patient. Results : During acupuncture therapy on neck stiffness & shoulder pain, a acupuncture needle was inserted too deeply into upper part of thorax unintentionally, patient showed dyspnea, chest pain & discomfort, cough, sweating and mild rupture of right lung in chest radiologic findings, and recovered after 2 weeks of conservative treatment. Conclusion : In order to prevent traumatic pneumothorax during acupuncture therapy, needling into thorax sometimes requires tilted acupuncture needle inserting under consideration of needle width & length. At least 0.40mm width of needle is generally considered appropriate in needling into taut band of thoracic muscles, because too thin and long needle sometimes can be bent and inserted into wrong way, which can cause adverse effects like pneumothorax.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.786-789
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• 2001

Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma(ASPS) is a rare entity that invariably ends in death from the disseminated disease. Although the most common site of metastasis is the lung, the central nervous system is also the third common site. Its histogenesis remains to be unknown and the gold standard treatment is radically surgical removal of the mass. However, adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy are known to be less effective. The authors present a 24-year-old man who was admitted with headache and neck discomfort. Magnetic resonance( MR) imaging scans demonstrated multiple masses in the left frontal lobe, parietal lobe, and right cerebellum. The patient underwent surgery to remove multiple masses in the staged fashion. The postoperative course was uneventful, but the patient committed suicide 5 months later. The authors reviewed the pertinent literature and discussed this clinical entity with references.

• Journal of Korean Institute of Industrial Engineers
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.236-241
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• 2006

Monitor height is one of the key factors in the VDT workstation design. Most of the previous studies have focused on traditional VDT workplace where the operators performed data entry or word processing tasks using single monitor. This study aimed to suggest proper monitor height when the main task was monitoring information from different number of information sources. Twelve male students participated in three experiments: single information source (one monitor), two information sources (one monitor and one CCTV), and three information sources (one monitor, one CCTV and a window). Subjects performed monitoring tasks for 10 minutes with 3 different monitor center heights : 89.0 cm (Low), 111.3 cm (Middle), and 124.8 cm (High). Surface EMG signals of five neck muscles, subjective discomfort ratings, preference, and working postures were recorded. Results indicated that the middle height was proper for one monitor condition, but the low monitor height was recommended for more than two information sources.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.32-35
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• 2014

The pipeline embolization device (PED) is a new endovascular device for treatment of complex, fusiform and wide-neck intracranial aneurysms. The main mechanism of this stent is to divert the flow in the parent artery with reduction of inflow in the aneurysm leading to thrombosis. We treated a 40-year-old woman who had left facial pain and orbit discomfort. Angiography showed a giant fusiform aneurysm located in the cavernous segment of the left internal carotid artery. A PED was successfully deployed across the aneurysm. The procedure and post-procedural course were uneventful. After 3 months, angiography showed complete obliteration of the aneurysm with good patency of the branching vessels originating from the deployed segment. The patient's symptoms improved completely without complications.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.200-205
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• 1996

Radiofrequency thermocoagulation(RF) techniques are safe and effective methods as compared to neurodestructive procedure. Other advantages are: ability to perform RF lesions under local or sedative anesthesia, rapid recovery period, low incidence of morbidity and mortality, ability to repeat RF lesions, and leaves no significant scarring. We performed C2 ganglionotomy by RF lesion generator on a patient, suffering post-traumatic occipital neuralgia, as the patient did not respond to conservative therapies such as: trigger point injection, TENS, cryotherapy and stretch, occipital nerve block, C2 ganglion block. Prognostic nerve block was performed usng local anesthetics. Excellent effect was conformed before C2 ganglionotomy. This procedure was performed under fluoroscopy. Type RCK-2A Rosomoff Cordotomy kit was used to stabilize the head and neck. Postoperatively, the patient was free of occipital pain and head motions no longer triggered pain. To date, the patient remains symptom free except for some cervical discomfort.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.51-56
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• 1975

The typical traction diverticulum of the mid-thoracic esophagus is conical or funnel shaped with a wide orifice, is small (rarely exceeding 2cm in length), and is situated horizontally or extends superiorly. It is a true diverticulum, having a complete investment by the esophageal muscle coats. Each of these characteristics promotes easy emptying of the diverticulum. Since food accumulation is presented, there is no tendency to progressive enlargement of the sac, and no associated dysphagia. The diverticula of mid-esophagus rarely develop and rarely produce symptoms. When symptoms develop, they are usually caused by granulomatous infections of the mediastinal lymph nodes. And also such diverticula only rarely give rise to significant complications, the most serious of which is a tracheobronchial fistula. Generally when such complications develop or a diverticulum itself produces symptoms, moderate or severe, surgery intervenes. A case of mid-esophageal diverticulum, traction type, which surgically treated with good results, was experienced at the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Kyung-Pook University. School of Medicine. In this case, there were substernal discomfort, acid regurgitation, and back pain for about 6 months. On the operative findings, it was noticed that the diverticulum was developed by traction and adhesion of perihilar nodes to the esophageal wall. The diverticulum was a small finger tip size and the neck of it was obscure. The surrounding inflammatory change was minimal.