Doo Yun Lee

Needle thoracic sympathectomy for essential hyperhidrosis: intermediate-term follow-up.

BACKGROUND Essential hyperhidrosis is a condition with excessive sweating localized to certain part of the body. A definitive cure can be obtained by upper thoracic sympathectomy. METHOD Between June and October 1997, 117 patients with essential hyperhidrosis underwent needle thoracoscopic sympathectomy. Of the 94 patients, 42 were men and 52 women. Their ages ranged from 14 to 63 years, with a mean age of 23 years. RESULTS There were no mortality or life-threatening complications. Symptomatic improvement was found in 95.7%. Compensatory hyperhidrosis was found in 71.2% of the patients, but in these compensatory hyperhidrosis were mostly tolerable. CONCLUSIONS This therapeutic procedure is minimally invasive and very effective. Further development of the new device and surgical technique are expected to follow.

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. After the localization of the presumed bleeding focus, surgical resection was performed. Results: The CT scans obtained during menstruation revealed a well-demarcated area of consolidation (n = 4) and ground-glass opacity (n = 5), whereas CT scans obtained after menstruation demonstrated ground-glass opacity (n = 4) or complete resolution of the previously noted lesion (n = 1). Fiberoptic bronchoscopy exhibited trails of blood clot at the orifice of the involved bronchi unilaterally (n = 4) or a thin bloody secretion in the bronchi bilaterally. Histopathologic examination of the resected specimens showed typical findings of pulmonary endometriosis. Conclusion: Computed tomography scans during and after menstruation were useful for the precise preoperative localization of parenchymal pulmonary endometriosis.

Air-trapping zone surrounding sclerosing hemangioma of the lung.

We present two cases of sclerosing hemangioma of the lung with a peculiar radiologic finding: an air-trapping zone surrounding the tumor. On microscopic examinations, the tumor was of the hemangiomatous subtype, and the radiolucent zone corresponded to enlarged alveoli with septal destruction. A possible mechanism in the production of an air-trapping zone around a sclerosing hemangioma is bleeding from the highly vascular tumor followed by expectoration in communication with an airway. We reviewed the literature on the air meniscus sign in sclerosing hemangioma and concluded that although it is not a common finding, it could be of help in the confident diagnosis of sclerosing hemangioma and in differentiating it from other benign tumors of the lung.

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. Reconstruction of sympathetic nerve was performed by thoracoscopic surgery except in 1 patient with severe pleural adhesion. The median interval between the initial sympathetic surgery and sympathetic nerve reconstruction was 47.2 (range: 3.5-110.7) months. Compensatory sweating after the reconstruction surgery improved in 9 patients, and 3 out of them had markedly improved symptoms. Sympathetic nerve reconstruction using intercostal nerve may be one of the useful surgical options for severe compensatory hyperhidrosis following 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. Results: Computed tomography revealed suggestive findings of pulmonary hamartoma (fat or popcorn calcification) in only 3. All MRI revealed cleftlike structures particularly evident on T2-weighted images with same detectability as its specimen MRI: peripheral linear or curvilinear inclusions with sometimes intratumoral cleftlike space (n = 3), variable signal intensity, and frequent enhancement (3 in 4) pathologically correlated with the variable mesenchymal tissue components and amount arrayed along respiratory epithelial cells lining the cleft and richer vascularity than main portion of pulmonary hamartoma. Conclusions: Magnetic resonance imaging study is a useful diagnostic tool, when a discrete pulmonary nodule demonstrates neither fat nor calcification on CT, for detecting the quite typical cleftlike structure in a pulmonary hamartoma and could provide diagnostic confidence.

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. The BPFs were successfully occluded without complications, and the stent-graft occluders remained stable in position for 1 year and 6 months of follow-up, respectively.

Comparative analysis of T3 selective division of rami communicantes (ramicotomy) to T3 sympathetic clipping in treatment of palmar hyperhidrosis.

Abstract.Compensatory sweating is a major complaint following endoscopic thoracic sympathetic surgery in treatment of palmar hyperhidrosis. T3 ramicotomy was applied in order to decrease compensatory sweating. From Oct 1999 to June 2002, forty patients underwent T3 sympathetic clipping (group I), and 68 patients underwent T3 ramicotomy (group II) to treat palmar hyperhidrosis. We retrospectively analyzed the rate of satisfaction, result of operation, and grade of compensatory sweating. In group I, 36 patients (90%) showed decreased sweating on both hands, 4 patients (10 %) persistent sweating on both hands. In group II, 46 patients (67.6%) had decreased sweating on both hands, 14 patients (23.5 %) had persistent sweating on both hands, and 8 patients (8.9 %) had persistent sweating in one hand. The rate of satisfaction was 82.5 % (33/40) in group I and 67.6 % (46/68) in group II with no significant statistic difference (p = 0.067). Excluding patients with persistent sweating postoperatively, the rate of compensatory sweating in group II was 67.4%, which was significantly lower than in group I 94.1%, with a p value of 0.003. Although the rate of persisting sweating after operation was high, T3 ramicotomy resulted in lower rate of compensatory sweating compared to T3 sympathetic clipping.

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. Exclusion criteria for this study were age >25 or secondary, traumatic or iatrogenic pneumothorax, and a total of 517 patients were included. Patients were classified into three groups according to age at the first episode of primary spontaneous pneumothorax: Group A: ≤16 years; Group B: 17-18 years and Group C: ≥19 years. RESULTS The study group was composed of 470 male and 47 female patients. There were 234 right-sided, 279 left-sided and 4 bilateral primary spontaneous pneumothoraces. Wedge resection by video-assisted thoracic surgery was performed in 285 patients, while 232 were managed by observation or closed thoracostomy. In the wedge resection group, 51 patients experienced recurrence. The recurrence rates after wedge resection were 27.9% in Group A, 16.5% in Group B and 13.2% in Group C (P = 0.038). The recurrence rates after observation or closed thoracostomy were 45.7% in Group A, 51.9% in Group B and 47.7% in Group C (P = 0.764). CONCLUSIONS In the present study, postoperative recurrence rates were higher than those in the literature. Intense and long-term follow-up was probably one reason for the relatively high recurrence rate. The recurrence rate after wedge resection in patients aged ≤16 years was higher than that in older patients. There was no difference between the recurrence rates after observation or closed thoracostomy, regardless of age. These results suggest that wedge resection might be delayed in children.

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. Her mental status eventually recovered by postoperative day 90. Paraneoplastic encephalopathy associated with thymoma is very rare, and symptoms can be improved by thymectomy. We report a case of paraneoplastic encephalopathy associated with a thymoma.

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. METHODS We evaluated patients with NSCLC who, between 1992 and 2009, underwent complete resection and were pathologically diagnosed as T2 or T3 according to the 7th edition of the TNM classification. To evaluate the effect of the T-stage only, the patients with nodal- and distant metastasis were excluded. RESULTS Among 837 patients, 499 (59.6%) were pathologically staged as T2a, 91 (10.9%) as T2b and 201 as T3 (24.0%). Forty-six (5.5%) patients had NSCLC with a direct invasion of the adjacent lobe. The mean age (P = 0.102) and sex distribution (P = 0.084) were not statistically significant, but there were more adenocarcinomas in the T2 group than that in the T3 group. The overall survival of the patients with adjacent lobe invasion was statistically worse than that of T2 patients (P = 0.042), but was not statistically different from that of T3 (P = 0.368) patients. There was no difference between the disease-free survival of patients with adjacent lobe invasion and T3 patients (P = 0.306), but disease-free survival of the patients with adjacent lobe invasion was worse than that of T2 (P = 0.003) patients. CONCLUSIONS Considering that the overall survival and disease-free survival of patients with direct adjacent lobe invasion are similar to those of T3, NSCLC with direct invasion to the adjacent lobe should be classified as T3 rather than T2.