• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.249-252
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• 2009

Spinal epidural lipomatosis (SEL) is a rare condition of pathological overgrowth of fat tissue in the vertebral canal. SEL leads to back pain, radiculopathy or paraparesis. Glucocorticoids seem to play a major role in the development of SEL. SEL is best diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging. The treatment of SEL is directed at reducing the body weight and decreasing the excess glucocorticoid. In severe cases, decompressive laminectomy with removal of the excess epidural fat might become necessary to alleviate the neurological symptoms caused by spinal cord compression.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.1291-1299
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• 2001

Objectives : The authors present a retrospective analysis of 14 patients treated for spinal cord hemangioblastoma (SCH) between Dec. 1986 and Mar. 2000. This study was conducted to evaluate and compare the difference of the functional outcomes associated with the extent of surgical removal of SCH. Methods : Eleven patients were male and three patients were female. Their mean age was 37.2 years that ranged from 19 to 62 years. Preoperative magnetic resonance(MR) imaging of the spine was performed in all cases, and preoperative angiography in eleven cases. They were followed from 15 months to 161 months(median follow-up period, 47 months), and we investigated the change of neurological symptoms and functional outcomes with radiological features, especially on MR imaging. Results : Six patients were accompanied by von Hippel-Lindau disease, and three of them had multiple CNS tumors. Thirteen patients had intramedullary tumor, and the remaining one had extradural. Syringomyelia around the tumor was observed in ten cases. All patients underwent surgical removal, and gross total removal(GTR) was achieved in ten cases. Preoperative embolization was performed in four cases. In four patients who were treated with preoperative embolization, intraoperative loss of blood was minimal and GTR was possible. One patient developed a transient swallowing difficulty postoperatively without permanent postoperative neurological deficits. In three of four patients in whom GTR was not possible, their functional outcomes were worsened postoperatively. The functional status at discharge was improved in seven patients, stationary in four patients, and worse in three. At the last follow-up(15-161 months), one of four patients who had been stationary at discharge showed improvement but, the rest did not show any change. All patients who showed neurological improvement were patients with GTR, and the patients with GTR had significant better outcome than those without GTR(p=0.015). Conclusion : Surgical treatment, and especially, GTR is considered as treatment of choice for spinal cord hemangioblastoma. Preoperative embolization may prevent intraoperative bleeding and improve surgical outcome.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.427-431
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• 2012

Conventional laminectomy is the most popular technique for the complete removal of intradural spinal tumors. In particular, the central portion intramedullary tumor and large intradural extramedullary tumor often require a total laminectomy for the midline myelotomy, sufficient decompression, and adequate visualization. However, this technique has the disadvantages of a wide incision, extensive periosteal muscle dissection, and bony structural injury. Recently, split-spinous laminectomy and tubular retractor systems were found to decrease postoperative muscle injuries, skin incision size and discomfort. The combined technique of split-spinous laminectomy, using a quadrant tube retractor system allows for an excellent exposure of the tumor with minimal trauma of the surrounding tissue. We propose that this technique offers possible advantages over the traditional open tumor removal of the intradural spinal cord tumors, which covers one or two cervical levels and requires a total laminectomy.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.463-471
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• 2001

Objective : The authors reviewed 51 patients of spinal cord tumor located at the craniovertebral junction and high cervical area to determine which factors influenced resectability, complications, and postoperative outcomes. Methods : Radiological examinations, clinical data, and operation notes were evaluated, and additional follow-up information was obtained from outpatient examinations. The mean follow-up period was 3.5 years Results : The most common neurological findings were motor deficit(72.5%) and sensory change(47.1%). There was no clinical finding that is considered as pathognomic. Meningioma(18 cases, 35.3%) was the most common tumor in this region. Total removal was achieved in 45 patients. There was no surgical mortality. Immediate postoperative motor weakness were encounted in 11 cases(21.6%) which improved in long term followup except two patients. Conclusions : The location and relationship of the tumor to surrounding struncture determine its resectability. Postoperative results were related to the preoperative neurological status and pathological findings.

• Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
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• v.1997 no.05
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• pp.398-401
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• 1997

The EMG signal of spinal cord injured patient is very feeble because that the information from central nervous system is not sufficiently transmitted to molter neuron or muscle fiber. Therefore the observer can not observe contraction and relaxation movement of muscle from the raw EMG signal. In this paper, we propose the muscle contraction and relaxation pattern analysis method of spinal cord injured patient whose EMG signal is composed of the sum of motor unit action potential train with additive white Gaussian noise and impulsive noise. From the EMG model, we denoise impulsive noise using median filter which is a kind of nonlinear filter and the output of median filter is transformed to wavelet transform domain for denoising additive white Gaussian noise using threshold level removal technique. As a result, we can obtain the clear contraction and relaxation pattern.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.71-74
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• 2015

Penetrating neck trauma involving spinal cord injury is relatively uncommon, but can be life-threatening. We report a case of 59-year-old female who presented with hypotension after stab injury self-inflicted with a scissor to her neck. Although Open removal of the scissor and control of bleeding were successfully done, penetration of spinal cord resulted in a neurologic impairment.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.400-403
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• 2001

Extradural meningiomas are relatively rare and those arising from spinal root are even rarer. Recently, a case of extradural meningioma arising from a spinal nerve root was surgically treated in our institution. This patient was a 19-year-old female presented with paraparesis and paresthesia. The mass was compressing the spinal cord at the level of fourth thoracic spine, and it was extended to the nerve root. At operation it was found to be originated from the fourth thoracic spinal nerve root. After removal of the tumor, the neurologic symptom and sign were recovered completely. Histoligic examination of tumor revealed as transitional type of meningioma.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.64 no.4
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• pp.592-607
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• 2021

Objective : Few studies exist on primary spinal cord tumors (PSCTs) in pediatric patients. The purpose of this study was to perform descriptive analysis and detailed survival analysis for PSCTs. Methods : Between 1985 and 2017, 126 pediatric patients (male : female, 56 : 70) with PSCTs underwent surgery in a single institution. We retrospectively analyzed data regarding demographics, tumor characteristics, outcomes, and survival statistics. Subgroup analysis was performed for the intramedullary (IM) tumors and extradural (ED) tumors separately. Results : The mean age of the participants was 6.4±5.04 years, and the mean follow-up time was 69.5±46.30 months. The most common compartment was the ED compartment (n=57, 45.2%), followed by the IM (n=43, 34.1%) and intradural extramedullary (IDEM; n=16, 12.7%) compartments. Approximately half of PSCTs were malignant (n=69, 54.8%). The most common pathologies were schwannomas (n=14) and neuroblastomas (n=14). Twenty-two patients (17.5%) died from the disease, with a mean disease duration of 15.8±15.85 months. Thirty-six patients (28.6%) suffered from progression, with a mean period of 22.6±30.81 months. The 10-year overall survival (OS) rates and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 81% and 66%, respectively. Regarding IM tumors, the 10-year OS rates and PFS rates were 79% and 57%, respectively. In ED tumors, the 10-year OS rates and PFS rates were 80% and 81%, respectively. Pathology and the extent of resection showed beneficial effects on OS for total PSCTs, IM tumors, and ED tumors. PFS was affected by both the extent of removal and pathology in total PSCTs and ED tumors; however, pathology was a main determinant of PFS rather than the extent of removal in IM tumors. The degree of improvement in the modified McCormick scale showed a trend towards improvement in patients with IM tumors who achieved gross total removal (p=0.447). Conclusion : Approximately half of PSCTs were malignant, and ED tumors were most common. The most common pathologies were schwannomas and neuroblastomas. Both the pathology and extent of resection had a decisive effect on OS. For IM tumors, pathology was a main determinant of PFS rather than the extent of removal. Radical excision of IM tumors could be a viable option for better survival without an increased risk of worse functional outcomes.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.136-140
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• 2005

The authors describe two cases of Brown-Sequard syndrome associated with cervical disc herniation. In both cases, magnetic resonance images of the cervical spine showed a large paramedian disc herniation at C5-C6 with ipsilateral severe spinal cord compression. Microsurgical removal of the herniated disc via anterior foraminotomy was performed and complete decompression of the spinal cord was achieved. Postoperatively, the neurological symptoms recovered rapidly and both patients experienced a complete remission of their symptoms. Although Brown-Sequard syndrome is rarely associated with degenerative cervical spine disease, cervical disc herniation should be kept in mind and prompt evaluations are mandatory. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first reported case of Brown-Sequard syndrome produced by cervical disc herniation which was treated by anterior foraminotomy.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1238-1242
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• 2000

Spinal schwannomas are usually extramedullary intradural tumors and their intramedullary localizations are thought to be extremely rare. A 60-year-old woman complaining spastic quadriparesis, voiding difficulty and dyspnea was admitted. Her cervical MRI revealed an intramedullary mass in the cervicomedullary junction with multiple cyst which extended from lower cervical to C3 spinal cord. The mass showed a low signal on T1WI, high signal on T2WI with an wall enhancement. The patient underwent a suboccipital craniectomy and C1-2 laminectomy and the cystic tumor was totally removed through a midline myelotomy. The tumor was proved as an intramedullary schwannoma by pathologic examination. The Intramedullary presence of a tumor arising from the cells of the nerve sheath is unusual, because the central nervous system fibers do not contain the Schwann cell. There have been several hypotheses, but none has been accepted universally. This rare tumor is considered as a curable benign neoplasm, and an accurate intraoperative diagnosis and surgically total removal are essential.