Percutaneous Cryoablation of Multiple Pulmonary Endometriosis.

Minimally invasive cryoablation is often considered for lung tumor patients with high surgical risk or inoperable metastatic lung tumors. Cryoablation is a type of thermal percutaneous ablation in which argon and helium gases are delivered via a cryoprobe to induce tissue freezing and necrosis. We report the case of a 23-year-old woman who had suffered from multiple pulmonary endometriosis with frequent intermittent hemoptysis during menstruation for 6 years prior to her visit.

Alternative Surgical Methods in Patients with Recurrent Palmar Hyperhidrosis and Compensatory Hyperhidrosis.

Recurrent hyperhidrosis after thoracic sympathectomy is an uncomfortable condition, and compensatory hyperhidrosis (CH) is one of the most troublesome side effects. Here, we describe two patients with recurrent palmar hyperhidrosis (PH) and CH over the whole body simultaneously. They were treated with bilateral T4 sympathetic clipping and reconstruction of the sympathetic nerve from a T5 to T8 sympathetic nerve graft, which was transferred to the resected T3 sympathetic bed site.

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome after Pleurodesis for Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax.

A 52-year-old male patient who underwent multiple wedge resections experienced postoperative acute respiratory distress syndrome in both lungs after pleurodesis. Despite initial rapid deterioration in clinical condition and rapid progression of bilateral lung infiltration, he exhibited a relatively smooth clinical recovery with marked response to glucocorticoid treatment. Our case report suggests that care must be taken to guard against the development of acute respiratory complications in the use of for pleurodesis.

Recurrence of primary spontaneous pneumothorax in young adults and children.

Objectives: Although better nutritional support has improved the growth rates in children, the occurrence of primary spontaneous pneumothorax has also been increasing in children. The current study attempts to investigate the occurrence and recurrence of primary spontaneous pneumothorax and the efficacy of surgery for primary spontaneous pneumothorax in young adults and children.

Methods: A total of 840 patients were treated for pneumothorax at our hospital from January 2006 to December 2010.

Paraneoplastic encephalitis associated with thymoma: a case report.

A 42-year-old woman with short-term memory loss visited Gangnam Severance Hospital, and her chest X-ray and computed tomography revealed a right anterior mediastinal mass. On hospital day two, she suddenly presented personality changes and a drowsy mental status, so she required ventilator care in the intensive care unit. She underwent thymectomy, and was pathologically diagnosed with thymoma, type B1.

Treatment of intractable pneumothorax with emphysema using endobronchial watanabe spigots.

Prolonged air leakage is a major cause of morbidity in pneumothorax. When conservative management is not effective, surgery should be performed. However, surgery is not appropriate in patients with low pulmonary function.

Late respiratory infection after lung transplantation.

Background: Aiming to improve outcome of lung transplantation (LTx) patients, we reviewed risk factors and treatment practices for the LTx recipients who experienced respiratory infection in the late post-LTx period (>1 month after LTx).

Methods: We analyzed the clinical data of 48 recipients and donors from 61 LTx, who experienced late respiratory infections. Late respiratory infections were classified according to the etiology, time of occurrence, and frequency of donor-to-host transmission or colonization of the recipient prior to transplantation.

A comparison between two types of limited sympathetic surgery for palmar hyperhidrosis.

Purpose: Endoscopic thoracic sympathetic surgery is effective for treating palmar hyperhidrosis, although compensatory sweating (CS) is a significant and annoying side effect. The purpose of this study was to compare the results of limited resection at two different locations.

Methods: From May 2004 to June 2009, T3 sympathicotomy (group I) was performed in 46 patients and T3,4 ramicotomy (group II) was performed in 43 patients during the same period.

T-stage of non-small cell lung cancer directly invading an adjacent lobe.

Objectives: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) invading the visceral pleura is classified as T2 stage, and NSCLC invading the chest wall, diaphragm, phrenic nerve, mediastinal pleura or parietal pleura is classified as T3. But, there is no definition as to whether tumours directly invading an adjacent lobe beyond the fissure should be classified as T2 or T3. We assessed whether these tumours should be classified as T2 or T3.

Sympathetic nerve reconstruction for compensatory hyperhidrosis after sympathetic surgery for primary hyperhidrosis.

We performed sympathetic nerve reconstruction using intercostal nerve in patients with severe compensatory hyperhidrosis after sympathetic surgery for primary hyperhidrosis, and analyzed the surgical results. From February 2004 to August 2007, sympathetic nerve reconstruction using intercostal nerve was performed in 19 patients. The subjected patients presented severe compensatory hyperhidrosis after thoracoscopic sympathetic surgery for primary hyperhidrosis.

Diagnostic efficacy and characteristic feature of MRI in pulmonary hamartoma: comparison with CT, specimen MRI, and pathology.

Objectives: To determine the diagnostic efficacy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in pulmonary hamartoma and observe the significant MRI features, other than fat or characteristic calcification revealed by computed tomography (CT).

Methods: Six hamartomas were included and surgically resected, and we prospectively studied MRI in cases showing suggestive findings of hamartoma or indeterminate nodule on CT. We analyzed the tumor on CT and MRI (available enhancement study in 4) focusing on cleftlike structure in comparison with specimen MRI (n = 3) and histopathologic findings: presence, shape, and distribution of the cleftlike structure and signal intensity and enhancement of the cleftlike structure and main portion.

Topographical considerations under video-scope guidance in the T3,4 levels sympathetic surgery.

Introduction: Anatomical variation of the sympathetic nervous system is known to be one of the main causes of failure and dissatisfaction after sympathetic surgery. However, there are only few reports on the descriptive analysis of sympathetic nerve variants. The purpose of this study is to investigate the anatomical variations of the sympathetic trunk at the levels of T3 and T4 ganglia considered in a topographic approach for sympathetic procedures and to further improve the postoperative outcome.

Bronchopleural fistula treatment with use of a bronchial stent-graft occluder.

The purpose of this report is to describe our experience in the successful treatment of two patients with postpneumonectomy bronchopleural fistula (BPF). With use of computed tomography reformatting, the stent-graft occluders were tailored to precisely fit the fistula site and remnant bronchus stump. These were placed under fluoroscopic guidance via a preexisting chest tube tract in one case and via an open thoracostomy window site in the other.

Computed tomography findings of pathologically confirmed pulmonary parenchymal endometriosis.

Objective: To evaluate the usefulness of computed tomography (CT) in the localization of parenchymal pulmonary endometriosis and to correlate the CT findings with fiberoptic bronchoscopic and pathologic findings.

Methods: A prospective study of 5 patients presenting with catamenial hemoptysis was conducted. The CT scans and fiberoptic bronchoscopy were performed twice during and 2 weeks after menstruation.

Analysis of the Nuss procedure for pectus excavatum in different age groups.

Background: The Nuss procedure is a newly developed operative method for minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum in pediatric patients. However, the surgical indication for this procedure has been extended into adult patients. The aim of this study was to assess the surgical outcome of the Nuss procedure in different age groups and to analyze its feasibility in the adult population.

Video assisted thoracoscopic re-sympathetic surgery in the treatment of re-sweating hyperhidrosis.

Objective: The characteristics and causes of re-sweating after sympathetic surgery in hyperhidrosis patients have yet to be clearly documented due primarily to low incidence of re-sympathetic surgery. The purpose of this study is to identify the causes of re-sweating following sympathetic surgery, and to assess the outcomes of re-sympathetic surgery.

Methods: From February 1997 to July 2003, 36 patients underwent re-sympathetic surgery in order to treat re-sweating.

Anatomical variations of rami communicantes in the upper thoracic sympathetic trunk.

Objective: The aim of this study was to clearly delineate the anatomical variations of the communicating rami in the upper thoracic sympathetic nervous system and to help develop better surgical method for essential palmar hyperhidrosis.

Methods: Anatomical dissections of the upper thoracic sympathetic chains with sympathetic ganglia and communicating rami have been carried out in 42 adult Korean cadavers (male 26, female 16). The rami communicantes were classified into three types (Normal: transverse or oblique rami connected to the intercostal nerve of the same level; AR: ascending rami connected to the higher level; DR: descending rami to the lower level) based on the anatomical relationship of the thoracic sympathetic ganglia to the intercostal nerves.

Two cases of post transplant lymphoproliferative disorder in lung transplant recipients.

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) is a serious, often fatal complication after solid organ transplantation. The incidence of PTLD is greater among heart (2 approximately 13%), lung (12%) and heart/lung (5 approximately 9%) transplant recipients than among liver (2%), renal (1 approximately 3%) and bone marrow (1 approximately 2%) transplants recipients. The difference in the incidence of PTLD may be partly attributed to the higher dose of immunosuppressant therapy used for heart and lung transplantation.

Heart-lung transplantation in Korea.

Heart-lung transplantation is an effective treatment for patients with various forms of congenital heart disease or pulmonary hypertension. Since the first heart-lung transplantation in 1997, five transplants have been performed in Korea. Three cases were performed in 1997, one in 1998, and the latest one in 2002.

Lung transplantation in patients with pulmonary emphysema.

Lung transplantation is a viable option for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and emphysema is the most common indication to undergo lung transplantation. A total of seven lung and one heart-lung transplantations were performed between July 1996 and June 2004 at the Yongdong Severance Hospital, and herein, three emphysema patients who underwent single lung transplantations are reviewed. There were 2 males and 1 female, with a mean age of 50 years (35, 57 and 58 years).

Selective division of T3 rami communicantes (T3 ramicotomy) in the treatment of palmar hyperhidrosis.

Background: Compensatory sweating (CS) is the main cause of a patient's dissatisfaction after sympathetic surgery for palmar hyperhidrosis. Preservation of the sympathetic nerve trunk and limitations on the range of dissection are necessary to reduce CS.

Methods: We compared 64 patients (31 male, 33 female) (group 1) who underwent a T2 sympathicotomy between July 1998 and February 1999 and 83 patients (58 male, 25 female) (group 2) who underwent a T3 ramicotomy between August 2000 and December 2002.

Comparative analysis of T2 selective division of rami-communicantes (ramicotomy) with T2 sympathetic clipping in the treatment of craniofacial hyperhidrosis.

Objective: The main cause of dissatisfaction after sympathetic trunk blocking surgery (T2 sympathectomy, sympathetic clipping) for craniofacial hyperhidrosis is compensatory sweating. Preserving sympathetic trunk may decrease the incidence of compensatory sweating, and we introduce T2 ramicotomy, which may better preserve the sympathetic nerve trunk in order to reduce compensatory sweating.

Methods: From January 2000 to November 2002, video-assisted thoracoscopic (VAT) T2 sympathetic clipping and VAT ramicotomy were performed in 44 patients suffering from craniofacial hyperhidrosis.

Pleomorphic carcinoma of lung: comparison of CT features and pathologic findings.

Purpose: To retrospectively evaluate computed tomographic (CT) features of pleomorphic carcinoma of the lung and to compare these features with pathologic findings.

Materials And Methods: Ten patients (10 men, three women; mean age at diagnosis, 64.1 years; range, 43-75 years) with pleomorphic carcinoma treated from June 2000 to January 2003 were selected from two institutions.

Gastric ulcer perforation in heart-lung transplant patient: a successful case of early surgical intervention and management.

Gastrointestinal complications may follow organ transplantation. A patient who underwent heart lung transplantation due to patent ductus arteriosus and Eisenmenger's syndrome had an episode of acute cardiac rejection and was treated with a bolus injection of methylprednisolone followed by a high oral dose of prednisone. On the 22nd postoperative day, the patient complained of acute abdominal pain with muscular rigidity and a plain chest x-ray showed free air in the right subdiaphragmatic area.