Publications by authors named "Kenji Kikuchi"

In Japan, the hinotori™ surgical robot system (Medicaroid Corporation, Kobe, Japan) was approved for gastrointestinal surgeries in October 2022. This report details our initial experience performing liver resection using the hinotori™ system. Ten patients, who were assessed as cases that would benefit from the robot-assisted procedure, underwent liver resections using the hinotori™ system at Fujita Health University, Okazaki Medical Center, between August 2023 and October 2024.

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Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected lives and dental treatment. Aerosols and droplets generated during dental treatment present a risk of infection for dental care workers. However, detailed elucidation of the conditions under which those are generated has yet to be presented, and no clear countermeasures for protection have been established.

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  • * It presents a case study of a woman in her 70s who experienced sudden weakness on one side of her body, ultimately diagnosed with a type of stroke linked to her APL.
  • * Despite treatment efforts including recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin and all-trans retinoic acid, her condition worsened due to complications from APL, leading to her death; highlighting the importance of assessing arterial health before initiating treatment.
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  • - This study focused on 111 patients with advanced gastric cancer who were treated with nivolumab to monitor their disease progression and evaluate treatment response using serum inflammatory markers like CRP-to-albumin ratio (CAR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR).
  • - Results indicated an overall response rate of 11.7% and a disease control rate of 44.1%, with median overall survival of 14 months and progression-free survival of 4.1 months.
  • - Changes in the inflammatory markers after therapy proved to be useful in predicting treatment response, with specific cutoff values identified for CAR, PLR, and NLR that correlated
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Background: The da Vinci™ Surgical System, recognized as the leading surgical robotic platform globally, now faces competition from a growing number of new robotic surgical systems. With the expiration of key patents, innovative entrants have emerged, each offering unique features to address limitations and challenges in minimally invasive surgery. The hinotori™ Surgical Robot System (hinotori), developed in Japan and approved for clinical use in November 2022, represents one such entrant.

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  • Adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas (ASCP) is a rare and serious type of cancer, making up only 1-4% of pancreatic cancers, and it doesn't respond well to treatment.
  • A 76-year-old woman with stomach pain was found to have a tumor in her pancreas that was originally deemed inoperable due to its involvement with important blood vessels.
  • After receiving chemotherapy for several months, the tumor shrank enough to allow for surgery, which was successful, and the patient had a good recovery without major issues.
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  • Hypochlorous acid (HP-HAW) is a special water that can help fight germs and was tested in mice to see how it affects their health.
  • When mice took HP-HAW, it helped lower their blood sugar levels and changed the types of good bacteria in their stomachs.
  • HP-HAW also seemed to help with memory problems in overweight mice and showed promise as a way to improve their overall health.
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Vertical "half-and-half" syndrome, characterized by contralateral upward and ipsilateral downward gaze palsy, is a rare variant of vertical eye movement disturbance. Similarly, pseudoabducens palsy, manifesting as abductive palsy despite no lesion to the pons, constitutes another rare type of eye movement disturbance. Both conditions have been associated with lesions in the thalamo-mesencephalic junction.

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Background: The gut microbiota, vital for host health, influences metabolism, immune function, and development. Understanding the dynamic processes of bacterial accumulation within the gut is crucial, as it is closely related to immune responses, antibiotic resistance, and colorectal cancer. We investigated Escherichia coli behavior and distribution in zebrafish larval intestines, focusing on the gut microenvironment.

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  • - The study investigated how new lithotomy stirrups (type 2) affect pressure distribution on lower limbs during laparoscopic and robot-assisted rectal surgery, aiming to minimize the risk of well-leg compartment syndrome (WLCS) and deep venous thrombosis (DVT).
  • - Researchers tested 30 participants by measuring pressure on different leg muscles in various positions using both conventional stirrups (type 1) and the new stirrups (type 2) with a specialized sensor.
  • - Results showed that the new stirrups significantly reduced pressure on key leg muscles, particularly shifting from the proximal to the more distal soleus muscle, which may lower the likelihood of WLCS and DVT after surgery; however
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Revealing the mechanisms of glucose transport is crucial for studying pathological diseases caused by glucose toxicities. Numerous studies have revealed molecular functions involved in glucose transport in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a commonly used model organism. However, the behavior of glucose in the intestinal lumen-to-cell remains elusive.

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  • Hydrocele of the canal of Nuck (HCN) is a rare condition, and there's limited understanding of when laparoscopic surgery is needed for it.
  • A case study of a 53-year-old woman showed successful laparoscopic treatment for a hydrocele that extended from her abdominal cavity down to the inguinal area, with the surgery involving dissection and mesh reinforcement.
  • The laparoscopic approach was deemed effective and safe, reducing risks of injury to surrounding blood vessels compared to traditional methods, highlighting its potential benefits for similar cases.
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  • Using hypochlorous acid (HClO) can help stop the spread of viruses during a pandemic.
  • A special kind of HClO called Hp-SA-HAW was found to be effective against many viruses, like the flu and COVID-19.
  • The way it works is by making viral proteins clump together, which stops the viruses from being able to infect people.
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In mechanically ventilated severe acute respiratory distress syndrome patients, spontaneous inspiratory effort generates more negative pressure in the dorsal lung than in the ventral lung. The airflow caused by this pressure difference is called pendelluft, which is a possible mechanisms of patient self-inflicted lung injury. This study aimed to use computer simulation to understand how the endotracheal tube and insufficient ventilatory support contribute to pendelluft.

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Background: Although most duodenal carcinomas are pathological adenocarcinomas, a small number of cases have been reported of adenosquamous carcinoma, characterized by variable combinations of two malignant components: adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. However, owing to the small number of cases of non-ampullary duodenal adenosquamous carcinoma, there have been no reported cases of emergency pancreaticoduodenectomy for gastrointestinal hemorrhage due to non-ampullary duodenal adenosquamous carcinoma.

Case Presentation: A 66-year-old Japanese male presented to the referring hospital with a chief complaint of abdominal pain, diarrhea, and dark urine that had persisted for 1 month.

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Bing-Neel syndrome, a rare neurological complication of Waldenström macroglobulinemia, is caused by the direct infiltration of malignant lymphoplasmacytic cells into the central nervous system. We report a patient who presented with back pain, weakness, lower extremity numbness, and gait disturbance accompanied by immunoglobulin M paraproteinemia and lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma in the bone marrow. Thoracic and lumbar magnetic resonance imaging revealed a long paravertebral mass around the spinal column, but the direct infiltration could not be proven.

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The endotracheal tubes (ETTs) used for children have a smaller inner diameter. Accordingly, the resistance across ETT (R) is higher. Theoretically, shortening the ETTs can decrease total airway resistance (R), because R is sum of R and patient's airway resistance.

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  • Inflammatory pseudotumor (IPT) is a rare condition that can be mistaken for cancer, necessitating careful diagnosis.
  • A 61-year-old woman presented with a large liver lesion and enlarged lymph nodes, leading to a series of diagnostic and surgical procedures.
  • Ultimately, she was diagnosed with IPT after laparoscopic surgery, which allowed for both diagnosis and treatment, and she has remained healthy two years post-surgery.
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Purpose: The hazards of aerosols generated during dental treatments are poorly understood. This study aimed to establish visualization methods, discover conditions for droplets/aerosols generated in simulating dental treatments and identify the conditions for effective suction methods.

Methods: The spreading area was evaluated via image analysis of the droplets/aerosols generated by a dental air turbine on a mannequin using a light emitting diode (LED) light source and high-speed camera.

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Recurrence of liver cancers after liver resection (LR), such as recurrences of hepatocellular carcinoma and colorectal liver metastases, is often treated with repeat LR (RLR) as the only curative treatment. However, RLR is associated with an increased risk of complications. The indications for the currently emerging laparoscopic LR and its advantages and disadvantages for repeat treatment are still under discussion.

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  • The study explores the feasibility of telesurgical robotic gastrectomy using the hinotori™ Surgical Robot System, particularly for complex procedures like D2 lymphadenectomy.
  • Researchers first assessed suturing times in a virtual model before conducting actual surgeries with a surgeon and patient unit connected by a high-speed 10-Gbps fiber optic network.
  • Results showed a minimal latency time of 27 ms during actual telesurgeries, leading to the successful completion of two robotic gastrectomies without complications, indicating that short-distance telesurgical surgery can be safely conducted.
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Background:  Intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia (IPEH), also known as Masson's tumor, is a benign, non-neoplastic vascular lesion that is characterized by reactive proliferation of papillary endothelial cells associated with a thrombus. These lesions typically develop in the vascular regions of the head and neck, oral cavity, or extremities; however, other organ systems have been affected. IPEH in the gastrointestinal tract is rare, with only a few cases reported to date.

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Despite its physiological and pathological importance, the mechanical relationship between glucose uptake in the intestine and intestinal flows is unclear. In the intestine of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the defecation motor program (DMP) causes reciprocating intestinal flows. Although the DMP is frequently activated in the intestines, its physiological function is unknown.

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  • The study investigates a new method called the keyhole procedure in circular-stapled esophagogastrostomy to reduce postoperative anastomotic stricture after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer.
  • A review of 70 patients showed that those who underwent the keyhole procedure had a significantly lower incidence of anastomotic stricture (0%) compared to those who did not (18.8%).
  • The findings suggest that the keyhole technique is effective, particularly with smaller-sized circular staplers, offering a promising alternative for surgical treatment.
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