• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2007

Purpose: There has been increased the number of early gastric cancer and laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy (LAG), due to early detection through mass screening program. We started the LAG in April 2004 and performed 119 cases of gastric cancer in 2005, so we report a surgical outcome compared with that of open gastrectomy (OG). Materials and Methods: 119 patients underwent LAG in 2005, and for open group, 126 patiens of early gastric cancer were selected sequentially from January 2005 to March 2005. We compared clinicopathologic characteristics, postoperative courses and complications between two groups. Results: There was no significant difference between age, a length of hospital stay, distal resection margin and a number of retrived lymph nodes. The operation time was longer in LAG group (239.2 vs 123.3 mins, P<0.001) and a diet progression was faster in LAG group (first flatus: 3.05 vs 3.70 days, SOW: 2.86 vs 3.22 days, liquid diet: 3.87 vs 4.19 days, soft diet: 4.84 vs 5.26 days, P<0.001). But there was no difference statistically in postoperative discharge date (7.73 vs 8.25 days, P=0.229). The additional requirement of analgesic injection was less frequent in LAG group (2.97 vs 4.92 times, P<0.001). The harvested lymph nodes were similar in both groups (23.9 vs 23.1, P=0.563). A complication rate was lower in LAG group (4.9% vs 9.5%), but there was no statistical significance (P=0.179). There was no mortality in both groups and no conversion to open gastrectomy in the LAG group. Conclusion: LAG can be performed safely and accepted in view of curative procedure in treatment of early gastric cancer. But we need the follow up of long-term period to evaluate the survival rate and recurrence, and a prospective randomized controlled study should be done to establish that LAG will be a standard operation for early gastric cancer.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.334-342
• /
• 2000

Objectives . This study was conducted in order to investigate the degree of recognition, acceptability, and altitude towards day surgery of patients who were hospitalized with diseases that were candidates for day surgery; in order to analyze the average length of stay for treatment of the ailments; and to analyze the percentage of patients who could be discharged on the same day after the surgery ,using the post-anesthesia discharge scoring system. Methods : Data was collected between February 1 and March 31, 1999 from 353 patients who received surgery for cataract, adenoid hypertrophy, inguinal hernia, strabismus, ptosis, cholelithiasis, hemorrhoid, or anal fistula, at a general hospital in Daegu city. The patients were interviewed and surveyed by a post-anesthesia discharge scoring system(PADS) in order to collect data on patient condition such as vital signs, activity and mental status, pain, nausea and vomiting, surgical bleeding, intake and output after the surgery. Results : Among the 353 patients, 52.7% were after of the day surgery and 52.7% were interested in day surgery. Of the respondents, 43.1% said 'my ailment was not serious and the surgery was simple' and 30.4% said 'according to my condition rest at home was desirable' as the reasons for wanting day surgery Alternatively, 56.5% of those declining day surgery said the 'uncertainty of staying home' was the reason. The greatest concern in discharging within 24 hours after surgery was a post-op emergency situation. On the other hand, the shortened hospitalization was the largest advantage of day surgery with 39.1% responding this way, followed by the savings in hospitalization costs (25.8%) and emotional stability (13.7%). The majority of those surveyed (47.6%) believed that discharge should be determined within 1-2 days after the surgery. The average hospital stay was 3.1 days for dischargeable ailments. Pain (45.6%), nausea and vomiting (10.5%), and headache (7.9%) were the common symptoms following surgery. The percentage of patients who were able to be discharged within 24 hours after surgery revealed 95.2% were dischargeable after approximately 3 hours, 99.2% dischargeable after 12 hours, and 100% dischargeable after 24 hours. Conclusions : According to the PADS score, the cataract extract and strabismus correction patients were eligible for day surgery and the further evaluation concerning the reason for delayed recovery of the other diseases is needed.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.225-231
• /
• 2008

Purpose: Laparoscopic gastric resection (LGR) is increasingly being used instead of open gastric resection (OGR) as the standard surgical treatment for gastric submucosal tumors. Yet there are few reports on which technique shows better postoperative outcomes. This study was performed to compare these two treatment modalities for gastric submucosal tumors by evaluating the postoperative outcomes. We also provide an analysis of the learning curve for LGR. Materials and Methods: Between 2003.4 and 2008.8, 103 patients with a gastric submucosal tumor underwent either LGR (N=78) or OGR (n=25). A retrospective review was performed on a prospectively obtained database of 103 patients. We reviewed the data with regard to the operative time, the blood loss during the operation, the time to the first soft diet, the postoperative hospital stay, the tumor size and the tumor location. Results: The clinicopatholgic and tumor characteristics of the patients were similar for both groups. There was no open conversion in the LGR group. The mean operation time and the bleeding loss were not different between the LGR group and the OWR group. The time to first soft diet (3.27 vs. 6.16 days, P<0.001) and the length of the postoperative hospital stay (7.37 vs. 8.88 days, P=0.002) were shorter in the LGR group compared to the OGR group. The tumor size was bigger in the OGR group than that in the LGR group (6.44 vs. 3.65 cm, P<0.001). When performing laparoscopic gastric resection of gastric SMT, the surgeon was able to decrease the operation time and bleeding loss with gaining more experience. We separated the total cases into 3 periods to compare the operation time, the bleeding losses and the complications. The third period showed the shortest operation time, the least bleeding loss and the fewest complications. Conclusion: LGR for treating a gastric submucosal tumor was superior to OGR in terms of the postoperative outcomes. An operator needs some experience to perform a complete laparoscopic gastric resection. Laparoscopic resection could be considered the first-line treatment for gastric submucosal tumors.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.42 no.3
• /
• pp.344-349
• /
• 2009

Background: The clinical history and physical findings of the patients with spontaneous pneumothorax depend largely on the extent of the collapse of the lung and the presence of pre-existing pulmonary disease. Large primary spontaneous pneumothorax is a possible serious condition and. so more active treatment will be necessary for these patients. The therapeutic guideline for large pneumothorax remains controversial. Therefore, by assessing the clinical results of surgical treatment for large primary pneumothorax, we aim to determine the indicators of treatment. Material and Method: Among 348 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax and who underwent surgical treatment from August 2004 through December 2007, 58 patients who responded to treatment for a large primary pneumothorax were included in the current study. We then retrospectively evaluated the operative findings and the surgical results. The patients with a pneumothorax of 80% or more, including those patients with tension pneumothorax, were considered to have a "large pneumothorax". Most of these patients Should be treated with a 12F chest tube. Thoracoscopic wedge resection was considered for treating recurrent pneumothorax, continuous air leakage, controlateral pneumothorax and first episode pneumothorax with visible blebs (> 1cm) seen on the computed tomography. Result: There were 50 men and 8 women with a mean age of 28.2 years (range: $14\sim54$ years). The mean length of hospitalization was 5.3 days (range: $2\sim10$ days). Nine patients underwent chest tube drainage only. Forty-nine patients underwent thoracoscopic wedge resection. The mean follow up time was 27.8 months (range: $10\sim58$ months). The actual site of air leakage could be located in 35 patients (71.4%) and this was correlated with pleural adhesion (p=0.005). The initial air leakage tended to be more correlated with intra-operative air leakage, although this was not statistically significant (p=0.066). The recurrence rate was 11.1 % for the patients with chest tube drainage and 2.0% for the patients with thoracoscopic wedge resection. Conclusion: Large primary pneumothorax requires an early diagnosis and early treatment. Thoracoscopic wedge resection may help to prevent recurrence of large primary pneumothorax.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.38 no.5 s.250
• /
• pp.366-370
• /
• 2005

Background: In general, cardiac surgery has been performed via median sternotomy. During the past decade, improvements in endoscopic equipment and operative techniques have resulted in development of minimally invasive cardiac operation using small incisions. With the advent of a voice controlled camera-holding robotic arm (AESOP 3000, Automated Endoscope System for Optimal Positioning), cardiac surgery entered the robotic age. Material and Method: Between April 2004 and December 2004, a total of seventy eight patients underwent robotic cardiac surgery, of whom sixty four patients underwent robot-assisted minimally invasive cardiac surgery via 5cm right lateral minithoracotomy using voice controlled robotic arm, femoral vessels cannulation, percutaneous internal jugular cannulation, transthoracic aortic cross clamp. Other fourteen patients underwent MIDCAB via internal mammary artery harvesting using AESOP. Result: Robotic cardiac surgery were mitral valve repair in 37 cases, mitral valve replacement in 10 cases, aortic valve replacement in 1 case, MIDCAB in 14 cases, ASD operation in 9 cases, and isolated Maze procedure in 1 case. In mitral operation, mean CPB time was $165.3\pm43.1$ minutes and mean ACC time was $110.4\pm48.2$ minutes. Median length of hospital stay was 6 days (range 3 to 30) in mitral operation, 4 days (range 2 to 7) in MIDCAB, and 4 days (range 2 to 6) in ASD operation. For complications, 3 patients were required by reoperation for bleeding. There was no hospital mortality. Conclusion: Our experience of robot cardiac surgery suggests that many cardiovascular surgeons will be able to perform minimally invasive cardiac operations through small incisions with robot-assisted video-direction. Well-designed studies and close long-term follow-up will be required to analyze the benefits of robot-assisted operation.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.26-33
• /
• 2010

This study was performed to investigate the changes of oral diet intake during the admission period and identify the factors related with nutritional status in discharging of leukemia patients. This is a retrospective cross sectional study on 46 leukemia patients receiving chemotherapy at the Catholic University of Korea Seoul St. Mary's Hospital from July to September 2009. The patients' charts were surveyed on the general characteristics and factors relating chemotherapy. The calorie count method was used to investigate diet intake during admission period. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify possible confounding factors. A p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The mean age was $42.8\;{\pm}\;14.6$ years and the average length of stay was $30.4\;{\pm}\;7.0$ days. The incidence of malnourished patients was 60.9% in discharging. There was a significant difference in chemotherapy sessions and chemotherapy period between well-nourished and malnourished patients. The average energy intake was 1,525.9 kcal in well-nourished patients and 1,143 kcal in malnourished patients, which was significant different. From repeated measures ANOVA test, the changes of oral intake during admission period were significant by groups. In addition, there were significant differences in oral intake according to each period between well-nourished and malnourished patients. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, both the ratio of total oral energy intake to recommended energy intake and chemotherapy sessions were significantly associated with nutritional status in discharging. The results of this study could be used to establish a protocol of nutritional management for leukemia patients receiving chemotherapy.

• Physical Therapy Korea
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.81-96
• /
• 2002

The purpose of this research was to determine the effects on the healing of fibular fractures in rabbits of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (50 $mW/cm^2$ and 500 $mW/cm^2$) applied for periods of 4, 14 and 24 days following fibular osteotomy. Thirty-six male Japanese white rabbits were randomly divided into three groups of twelve for three treatment protocols: (1) ultrasound treatment at intensities of 50 $mW/cm^2$ and 500 $mW/cm^2$ until the 4th day following fibular osteotomy, (2) ultrasound treatment at intensities of 50 $mW/cm^2$ and 500 $mW/cm^2$ until the 14th day following fibular osteotomy, and (3) ultrasound treatment at intensities of 50 $mW/cm^2$ and 500 $mW/cm^2$ until the 24th day following fibular osteotomy. The low-intensity pulsed ultrasound was applied to only one fibula of each rabbit (these served as the experimental group). The other fibula of each rabbit served as the control group. The selection of which fibula was to be treated was made randomly. The animals were sacrificed on the 4th, 14th and 24th day after the start of ultrasound treatments. Percent of trabecular bone area and fibular radiography were carried out to compare the degree of fibular bone healing. A microscope was also used to determine any histologic changes. For statistical differences in radiological changes due to length of treatment period (4, 14 and 24 days respectively), the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test was used to compare the experimental and control groups. For statistical differences in fracture healing due to differences in ultrasound intensity, radiological studies were compared using the Mann-Whitney Test. And, to compute percentage differences in areas of trabecular bone, Two-way analysis of variance (ultrasound intensity x each group) was used. Experiment results were as follows: 1. In animals sacrificed on the 4th day, no difference was found in the radiological studies of the fibulae in the experimental and control groups (p>.05). However, experimental groups showed more rapid bone repair than control group. 2. Both radiographic and percent of trabecular bone area studies showed significant differences in rabbits sacrificed after 14 days. Fracture healing was significantly increased in the experimental group (p<.05) 3. In the animals sacrificed on the 24th day, histologic study showed rapid bone repair but fibular radiologic studies did not show statistical differences between the two groups (p>.05). 4. On the 14th day, bone union on radiograph was significantly more rapid in the treatment group with pulsed ultrasound of 50 $mW/cm^2$ than the group with 500 $mW/cm^2$ (p<.05). Histologic studies showed that both the 14 and 24 days groups had more rapid bone repair in animals treated with 50 $mW/cm^2$ ultrasound intensity than those treated with 500 $mW/cm^2$ intensity. In conclusion, it has been shown that the low-intensity pulsed ultrasound has a positive effect on bone fracture healing in the early stage and the range of pulse ultrasound from 50 $mW/cm^2$ to 500 $mW/cm^2$ is effective for fracture healing. Further study is needed to investigate the influence of pulsed ultrasound on delayed union and non-union in bone fractures and also for the clinical use of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound for bone healing in humans.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.42 no.6
• /
• pp.732-737
• /
• 2009

Background: Many video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomies are performed as a potential alternative to thoracotomy despite the controversy about the safety and the associated morbidity/mortality rates. Material and Method: Between November 2006 and August 2008, we performed 87 lobectomies (VATS 36, Thoracotomy 51) and we retrospectively reviewed the surgical treatment results. A VATS lobectomy was performed by a 4~5 cm thoracotomy without rib spreading and this included anatomic hilar dissection, individual vessel and bronchus stapling and lymph node dissection. Result: We studied 52 male and 35 female patients whose age ranged from 6 to 79 (average age: $59.8{\pm}15.0$ years). The cases were diagnosed with lung cancer (66) (SQC 24, ADC 38, others 4), pulmonary metastasis (2), carcinoid (2) and benign diseases (17). There was no intraoperative death. Postoperative complications were seen in 5 (15.6%) VATS and 33 (64.7%) thoracotomies, and perioperative death caused by adult respiratory distress syndrome occurred in 1 (2.8%) VATS and 3 (5.9%) thoracotomies. Three patients Underwent conversion to thoracotomy (8.3%). The mean time to chest tube removal was 6 days for VATS and 9.4 days for thoracotomy (p<0.001), and the mean length of the hospital stay was 8 days for VATS and 12.8 days for thoracotomy (p<0.001). Conclusion: VATS lobectomy can be performed safely with low morbidity/mortality rates. Furthermore, all the patients benefited from earlier postoperative rehabilitation and less pain and they were candidates for an earlier return to normal activities.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.57 no.4
• /
• pp.329-335
• /
• 2004

Background : The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score can help to assess organ failure over time and is useful to evaluate morbidity. The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of SOFA score as a descriptor of multiple organ failure in critically ill patients in a local unit hospital, and to compare with APACHE III scoring system. Methods : This study was carried out prospectively. A total of ninety one patients were included who admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU) in Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital from May 1 through June 30, 2000. We excluded patients with a length of stay in the ICU less than 2 days following scheduled procedure, admissions for ECG monitoring, other department and patients transferred to other hospital. The SOFA score and APACHE III score were calculated on admission and then consecutively every 24 hours until ICU discharge. Results : The ICU mortality rate was 20%. The non-survivors had a higher SOFA score within 24 hours after admission. The number of organ failure was associated with increased mortality. The evaluation of a subgroup of 74 patients who stayed in the ICU for at least 48 hours showed that survivors and non-survivors followed a different course. In this subgroup, the total SOFA score increased in 81% of the non-survivors but in only 21% of the survivors. Conversely, the total SOFA score decreased in 48% of the survivors compared with 6% of the non-survivors. The non-survivors also had a higher APACHE III score within 24 hours and there was a correlation between SOFA score and APACHE III score. Conclusion : The SOFA score is a simple, but effective method to assess organ failure and to predict mortality in critically ill patients. Regular and repeated scoring enables patient's condition and clinical course to be monitored and better understood. The SOFA score well correlates with APACHE III score.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.41 no.6
• /
• pp.742-746
• /
• 2008

Background: The surgical treatment of pectus carinatum is usually a modified Ravitch operation that consists of complete costal cartilage resection and sternal wedge osteotomy. We tried a simple and easy technique that is resection of only deformed, protruded costal cartilage and pre-sternal compression with using a stainless steel bar and this is done without sternal osteotomy. Therefore, we performed partial cartilage resection and pre-sternal compression with a stainless steel bar and we observed the effects and the efficiency of treatment. Material and Method: From July, 2006 to June, 2008, 10 patients with pectus carinatum underwent our modified technique of pectus carinatum surgery. The effects of surgery and the complications were reviewed. Result: 5 patients with only pectus carinatum underwent our modified technique of pectus carinatum surgery. 5 patients with pectus carinatum and pectus excavatum underwent our modified technique of pectus carinatum surgery and Nuss surgery. The mean patient age was 13.4+3.3 years old. The mean operation time was 137.6+22.9 minutes for the pectus carinatum patients and 234.0+36.5 minutes for the pectus carinatum and pectus excavatum patients. The mean length of hospitalization was 11.8+1.0 days. The Haller pectus index of pectus carinatum was $2.10{\pm}0.21$ preoperatively and this was increased to $2.53{\pm}0.07$ postoperatively. The only complication was simple partial wound disruption in 1 patient. Conclusion: We performed partial cartilage resection and pre-sternal compression with a stainless steel bar in 10 patients with pectus carinatum and its effects were good. Our modified technique of pectus carinatum is easy and simple as compared with the Ravitch operation. But removal of the stainless steel bar has not yet been performed for these patients and long-term follow up is needed to accurately evaluate the. effects of this surgery in many surgical cases.