Comparison of Billroth I and Billroth II reconstructions after laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy: a retrospective analysis of large-scale multicenter results from Korea.

Background: Since reconstruction after laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) is performed through a small minilaparotomy window, the clinical course and complication rate are influenced by clinical technical expertise and experience. The aim of this study was to compare postoperative complications and survival rates of Billroth I and Billroth II reconstructions after LADG.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively collected data from 1,259 patients who underwent LADG performed by ten surgeons at ten hospitals between April 1998 and December 2005.

miR-130 suppresses adipogenesis by inhibiting peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma expression.

Adipose tissue development is tightly regulated by altering gene expression. MicroRNAs are strong posttranscriptional regulators of mammalian differentiation. We hypothesized that microRNAs might influence human adipogenesis by targeting specific adipogenic factors.

Abscess transformation of intracardiac hematoma and ventricular rupture after double-patch repair of postinfarction ventricular septal defect.

A 69-year-old male patient underwent double-patch repair for a postinfarction ventricular septal defect (VSD). He returned five months later with an abscess in the area of a postoperative hematoma between the patch and the left ventricle. The abscess was drained and the ventricles were successfully reconstructed.

Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation in patients with inhospital cardiac arrest: A comparison with conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Objective: We investigated whether the survival of patients with inhospital cardiac arrest could be extended by extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation compared with those of conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Design: : A retrospective, single-center, observational study.

Setting: A tertiary care university hospital.

Two cases of mirror-image eye anomalies in monozygotic twins.

We report two cases of mirror image anomalies in two different pairs of monozygotic twins. In case 1, the twins exhibited mirroring of strabismus and refractive errors. Twin 1 had 35 prism diopters (PD) right intermittent exotropia at distant fixation and myopic anisometropia that was spherical 2.

The efficacy of preoperative PET/CT for prediction of curability in surgery for locally advanced gastric carcinoma.

Background: The benefits of preoperative 18FDG-PET/CT for gastric cancer remain uncertain. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of preoperative 18FDG-PET/CT on the surgical strategy for locally advanced gastric cancer retrospectively.

Methods: From January 2007 to November 2008, 18FDG-PET/CT was performed in 142 patients who had been diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer by computed tomography or gastrofiberscope findings.

Ghrelin is produced in taste cells and ghrelin receptor null mice show reduced taste responsivity to salty (NaCl) and sour (citric acid) tastants.

Background: The gustatory system plays a critical role in determining food preferences, food intake and energy balance. The exact mechanisms that fine tune taste sensitivity are currently poorly defined, but it is clear that numerous factors such as efferent input and specific signal transduction cascades are involved.

Methodology/principal Findings: Using immunohistochemical analyses, we show that ghrelin, a hormone classically considered to be an appetite-regulating hormone, is present within the taste buds of the tongue.

The effects of sevoflurane with propofol and remifentanil on tracheal intubation conditions without neuromuscular blocking agents.

Background: Propofol and remifentanil are used for tracheal intubation in the absence of neuromuscular blocking agents. We hypothesized that the addition of sevoflurane to propofol and remifentanil would improve intubation conditions and provide hemodynamic stability.

Methods: Seventy-six patients scheduled for elective surgery were randomly allocated to be ventilated with either 4% (group I) or 7% sevoflurane (group II) after propofol injection (2 mg/kg).

Simultaneous laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy and right hemicolectomy for synchronous advanced gastric and colon cancer.

Purpose: Concurrent laparoscopic surgery for the synchronous gastric and colon cancer in one patient is not only a rare procedure, but also has some demerits such as longer operation time, more blood loss, and the use of additional laparoscopic ports. Moreover, laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy with extraperigastric lymph node dissection is still controversial in the case of advanced gastric cancer.

Methods: We report the successful laparoscopic surgery of a 78-year-old patient with synchronous advanced gastric and right colon cancers.

Y chromosome homogeneity in the Korean population.

The distribution of Y-chromosomal variation from the 12 Y-SNP and 17 Y-STR markers was determined in six major provinces (Seoul-Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Chungcheong, Jeolla, Gyeongsang, and Jeju) to evaluate these populations' possible genetic structure and differentiation in Korea. As part of the present study, a 10-plex SNaPshot assay and two singleplex SNaPshot assays were developed. Based on the result of 12 Y-SNP markers (M9, M45, M89, M119, M122, M174, M175, M214, RPS4Y, P31, SRY465, and 47z), almost 78.

Incidental vesicocolic fistula on routine bone scintigraphy: Value of additional delayed images and direct radionuclide cystography.

An unexpected vesicocolic fistula can be detected incidentally on routine bone scintigraphy. A 55-year-old man who had a radical colectomy for carcinoma of the sigmoid colon 1 year previously underwent bone scintigraphy to evaluate bone metastasis. Whole-body images showed an abnormal accumulation of radioactivity in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen, but the radioactivity did not precisely define a structure.

Clinical/pathological analysis of gallbladder adenomyomatosis; type and pathogenesis.

Background/aims: The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical/pathological outcomes of patients that underwent surgery for gallbladder adenomyomatosis, to clarify the characteristics of the type and pathogenesis of adenomyomatosis.

Methodology: From May 1997 to March 2008, 4704 consecutive patients underwent cholecystectomy at Ajou University Medical Center. Among them, 113 (2.

Aortic false lumen patency following the adventitial inversion technique for acute DeBakey type I aortic dissection.

Background: We determined the beneficial effect of the adventitial inversion technique on reducing the patency rate of false lumens in acute aortic dissection (AAD) compared with the sandwich technique using Teflon felts.

Methods: Between 2003 and 2008, 65 consecutive patients with DeBakey type I AAD underwent emergent surgery. To obliterate a false lumen, the sandwich technique was used in 35 patients (group TS) before October 2006 and the adventitial inversion technique was used in 30 patients (group AIT) subsequent to October 2006.

Clinical analysis of thoracic ossified ligamentum flavum without ventral compressive lesion.

The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical characteristics of thoracic ossified ligamentum flavum (OLF) and to elucidate prognostic factors as well as effective surgical treatment modality. The authors analyzed 106 thoracic OLF cases retrospectively from January 1999 to December 2008. The operative (n = 40) and the non-operative group (n = 66) were diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or computed tomography (CT) imaging.

Can intraoperative motor-evoked potentials predict all the spinal cord ischemia during moderate hypothermic beating heart descending thoracic or thoraco-abdominal aortic surgery?

Background And Aim Of The Study: Paraplegia is a serious complication of descending thoracic or thoraco-abdominal aortic aneurysm (DTAA or TAAA, respectively) surgery. The functional integrity of the spinal cord can be monitored with intraoperative motor-evoked potentials (MEPs). Herein, we evaluated the results and adequacy of MEP monitoring.

Single-port laparoscopic repair of a perforated duodenal ulcer: intracorporeal "cross and twine" knotting.

Background: Single-port laparoscopic surgery is increasingly used to treat various types of diseases requiring surgical intervention. We present the technique and the results of our simple "cross and twine" intracorporeal knotting approach for treatment of a perforated duodenal ulcer.

Methods: From January 2009 to October 2009, 13 patients with perforated duodenal ulcers underwent single-port laparoscopic repair.

Expressional diversity of wheat nsLTP genes: evidence of subfunctionalization via cis-regulatory divergence.

Previously, the wheat non-specific lipid transfer proteins (TaLTP), members of a small multigene family, were reported to evidence a complex pattern of expression regulation. In order to assess further the expression diversity of the TaLTP genes, we have attempted to evaluate their expression profiles in responses to abiotic stresses, using semi-quantitative RT-PCR. The expression profiles generated herein revealed that the TaLTP genes in group A evidenced highly similar responses against abiotic stresses, whereas differential expression patterns among genes in each group were also observed.

Temozolomide for malignant primary spinal cord glioma: an experience of six cases and a literature review.

Malignant primary spinal cord gliomas (PSCGs) are rare, and the optimal treatment for these lesions remains controversial. We report herein treatment outcomes of six malignant PSCGs managed with temozolomide (TMZ)-based multidisciplinary treatment. TMZ was administered concomitantly with fractionated radiotherapy for two newly diagnosed primary spinal cord glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), followed by adjuvant chemotherapy with TMZ.

Midterm results of size-reduced cryopreserved homografts for right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction.

Background: Size reduction of valved homografts has been investigated for right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction because of limited supply of small-sized grafts. However, follow-up results are lacking.

Methods: From 1997 to 2007, 45 patients underwent placement of 34 pulmonary and 11 aortic, size-reduced bicuspid homografts for right ventricle to pulmonary artery connection, which was part of a Rastelli-type operation (n = 35; 78%), redo right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction (n = 5; 11%), double-switch operation (n = 3; 7%), or palliative right ventricle to pulmonary artery connection (n = 2; 4%).

Mid-term results of the Cox maze III procedure combined with open mitral commissurotomy for the treatment of rheumatic mitral stenosis.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the mid-term results of the Cox maze III procedure (CM-III) combined with open mitral commissurotomy (OMC) for the treatment of rheumatic mitral stenosis (MS) associated with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods And Results: Cardiac rhythm was determined before and after surgery in 50 patients with MS presenting with AF who underwent OMC with modified CM-III using cryoablation between May 2001 and April 2009. At late follow up among 50 patients, 45 patients (90%) maintained sinus rhythm (SR) for 6-97 months after surgery.

Outcome of in-hospital adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation assisted with portable auto-priming percutaneous cardiopulmonary support.

Background: Outcome from in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is still unsatisfactory. CPR assisted with percutaneous cardiopulmonary support (PCPS) is expected to improve the outcome of in-hospital CPR.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 83 consecutive cases of adult in-hospital CPR assisted by a portable pre-assembled auto-priming PCPS system (EBS, Terumo, Japan) from January 2004 to December 2007.

Management of patients who return to the hospital with a bile leak after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Introduction: Bile leaks after laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) can be difficult to diagnose early. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical features of minor bile leaks and to discuss how to manage patients who revisit the hospital with minor bile leaks after LC.

Patients And Methods: From January 2001 to September 2007, 2219 LCs were performed at the Ajou University Medical Center.

The role of percutaneous cardiopulmonary support in the treatment of native coronary spasm after coronary artery bypass grafting.

Postoperative coronary artery spasm following off-pump coronary artery bypass is a rare and unpredictable complication. The clinical manifestations following spasm vary, depending on the severity or the affected vessels. In serious cases, it can proceed to circulatory collapse and cardiac arrest.

Improved long-term quality of life in patients with laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy with jejunal pouch interposition for early gastric cancer.

Background: Although laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) for early gastric cancer (EGC) offers more advantages than open distal gastrectomy, it does not eliminate the postgastrectomy syndrome, which can negatively impact quality of life (QoL). In this paper, we investigate jejunal pouch interposition (JPI) during LADG and evaluate its potential for long-term use.

Materials And Methods: Between April, 2004 and April, 2005, 28 patients underwent LADG with JPI (LA-JPI), and an equal number underwent LADG with Billroth-II gastrojejunostomy (LA-B-II).

Laparoscopic transumbilical single-port appendectomy: initial experience and comparison with three-port appendectomy.

Purpose: Laparoscopic appendectomy usually needs 3 ports, 1 for the videoscope and 2 as working channels. The aim of this study was to compare the feasibility and postoperative outcomes of laparoscopic transumbilical single-port appendectomy with conventional three-port appendectomy.

Methods: From October 2008 to January 2009, 35 patients underwent single-port appendectomy (SA).