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Robotic bariatric surgery renders it unnecessary for surgeons to manually apply torque while simplifying intracorporeal suturing. Surgeons can comfortably manipulate instruments. Also, the three-dimensional operative field is very clear. Unfortunately, robotic bariatric surgery is still not the first choice for morbidly obese patients in Korea because it currently is not covered by the National Healthcare Insurance system. In this video, we show the totally robotic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass conducted using robotic staplers, in a morbidly obese patient with diabetes mellitus and private medical insurance.
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Purpose@#To evaluate the long-term outcome and prognostic factors according to the degree of obstruction after silicone tube intubation in patients with nasolacrimal duct obstruction (NLDO). @*Methods@#From March 2016 to July 2020, the medical records of 145 eyes of 107 patients with NLDO who underwent silicone tube intubation and had been followed for more than 6 months were analyzed retrospectively. The preoperative lacrimal irrigation and degree of obstruction were classified into three groups, and the surgery outcome was also evaluated. Successful surgery was defined as a case in which the epiphora improved, the height of the tear meniscus decreased, and there was no reflux in the postoperative lacrimal irrigation. Risk factors for recurrence were analyzed using a Cox proportional hazards model and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. @*Results@#Surgery was successful in 99 eyes (68.3%), while recurrence occurred in 46 eyes (31.7%) after silicone tube removal. The average follow-up period was 23.09 months. The recurrence rate was 30.4%, 29.3%, and 50.0% for functional, partial, and total NLDO, respectively, and did not differ significantly (p = 0.300). The risk of recurrence was higher at older age (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.079, p < 0.001) and with a history of facial palsy (aHR = 4.031, p = 0.019), and was lower in the functional NLDO group than in the total NLDO group (aHR = 0.368, p = 0.040). In the Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, the total NLDO group differed significantly from the functional NLDO group (log-rank, p = 0.011). @*Conclusions@#Age, a history of facial palsy, and the degree of preoperative obstruction were associated with the prediction of recurrence after silicone tube intubation in patients with NLDO.
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Purpose@#We report the process of treating persistent corneal epithelial defects due to limbal deficiency in a patient who underwent surgery for ptosis, recurrent pterygium, and senile cataract for 3 weeks.Case summary: A 65‐year‐old male patient underwent cataract surgery 4 months ago and visited this hospital with persistent inflammation of the left cornea that started 2 months ago. The patient underwent blepharoplasty and pterygium surgery at the same time 3 weeks before cataract surgery. At the first visit, severe conjunctival injection and an oval‐shaped corneal epithelial defect with a size of 3 × 5 mm in the center of the cornea were seen. As the result of the eyelid eversion test, fibrotic scar tissue due to the non‐absorbable suture used during the upper eyelid blepharoplasty was observed and surgically removed. The corneal epithelial defect site became smaller, but the atrophy of the corneal stroma was sustained, and the amniotic membrane was tripled and permanent amniotic membrane transplantation was performed. Corneal epithelial defects have improved with postoperative best‐corrected visual acuity of 0.15. @*Conclusions@#Sufficient recovery period between serial multiple surgeries is required to reduce the occurrence of complications like persistent epithelial defects.
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Objectives@#. This study was conducted to evaluate the user satisfaction, efficacy, and safety of round window (RW) vibroplasty using the Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) in patients with persistent mixed hearing loss after mastoidectomy. @*Methods@#. The study included 27 patients (mean age, 58.7 years; age range, 28–76 years; 11 men and 16 women) with mixed hearing loss after mastoidectomy from 15 tertiary referral centers in Korea. The VSB was implanted at the RW. The Korean translation of the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) questionnaire and the Korean version of the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids (K-IOI-HA) questionnaire were used to evaluate user satisfaction as the primary outcome. The secondary outcome measures were audiological test results and complication rates. @*Results@#. The mean scores for ease of communication (61.3% to 29.7% to 30.2%), reverberation (62.1% to 43.1% to 37.4%), and background noise (63.3% to 37.7% to 34.3%) subscales of the APHAB questionnaire significantly decreased after VSB surgery. The mean K-IOI-HA scores at 3 and 6 months after surgery were significantly higher than the mean preoperative score (18.6 to 27.2 to 28.1). The postoperative VSB-aided thresholds were significantly lower than the preoperative unaided and hearing aid (HA)-aided thresholds. There was no significant difference between preoperative unaided, preoperative HA-aided, and postoperative VSB-aided maximum phonetically balanced word-recognition scores. None of the 27 patients experienced a change in postoperative bone conduction pure tone average. One patient developed temporary facial palsy and two developed surgical wound infections. @*Conclusion@#. RW vibroplasty resulted in improved satisfaction and audiological test results in patients with mixed hearing loss after mastoidectomy, and the complication rate was tolerable.
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Purpose@#To investigate the clinical and pathological classification of eyelid and conjunctival tumors in Korean patients. @*Methods@#We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 284 patients with eyelid skin tumors and 158 with conjunctival tumors between January 2011 and June 2020. Demographic, clinical, and histopathological data were analyzed. @*Results@#In total, 260 (91.5%) and 24 (8.5%) patients had benign and premalignant/malignant eyelid tumors, respectively. The mean age was 54.7 ± 20.1 and 72.0 ± 13.5 years, respectively and the most common benign and malignant tumors were intradermal nevus (21.5%) and basal cell carcinoma (4.2%), respectively. The second most common malignant tumor was sebaceous gland carcinoma (1.4%). The conjunctival tumors included 133 (84.2%) benign tumors and 25 (15.8%) premalignant/malignant tumors, in patients with an average age of 47.9 ± 22.2 and 60.7 ± 18.3 years, respectively. The most common benign and malignant conjunctival tumors were subepithelial nevus (13.3%) and lymphoma (10.1%), respectively. The patients with premalignant/ malignant eyelid tumors were significantly older than those with premalignant/malignant conjunctival tumors (p = 0.01). @*Conclusions@#The incidence of sebaceous gland carcinoma was higher in our study than in Western ones, which showed similar results to other East Asian studies. The most common conjunctival malignant tumor was lymphoma in our study and malignant melanoma in Western studies. It is necessary to consider the possibility of lymphoma when the tumor is in the palpebral conjunctiva, where mucosal lymphoid tissue is abundant. This study provides useful data on the incidence and characteristics of eyelid and conjunctival tumors in Korean patients. Further investigations in larger patient populations are required to better understand the epidemiology of eyelid and conjunctival tumors.
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Purpose@#To investigate the clinical and pathological classification of eyelid and conjunctival tumors in Korean patients. @*Methods@#We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 284 patients with eyelid skin tumors and 158 with conjunctival tumors between January 2011 and June 2020. Demographic, clinical, and histopathological data were analyzed. @*Results@#In total, 260 (91.5%) and 24 (8.5%) patients had benign and premalignant/malignant eyelid tumors, respectively. The mean age was 54.7 ± 20.1 and 72.0 ± 13.5 years, respectively and the most common benign and malignant tumors were intradermal nevus (21.5%) and basal cell carcinoma (4.2%), respectively. The second most common malignant tumor was sebaceous gland carcinoma (1.4%). The conjunctival tumors included 133 (84.2%) benign tumors and 25 (15.8%) premalignant/malignant tumors, in patients with an average age of 47.9 ± 22.2 and 60.7 ± 18.3 years, respectively. The most common benign and malignant conjunctival tumors were subepithelial nevus (13.3%) and lymphoma (10.1%), respectively. The patients with premalignant/ malignant eyelid tumors were significantly older than those with premalignant/malignant conjunctival tumors (p = 0.01). @*Conclusions@#The incidence of sebaceous gland carcinoma was higher in our study than in Western ones, which showed similar results to other East Asian studies. The most common conjunctival malignant tumor was lymphoma in our study and malignant melanoma in Western studies. It is necessary to consider the possibility of lymphoma when the tumor is in the palpebral conjunctiva, where mucosal lymphoid tissue is abundant. This study provides useful data on the incidence and characteristics of eyelid and conjunctival tumors in Korean patients. Further investigations in larger patient populations are required to better understand the epidemiology of eyelid and conjunctival tumors.
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Purpose@#We report a case of visual loss caused by occlusion of multiple branches of the ophthalmic artery after triamcinolone injection into the nasal septum.Case summary: A 62-year-old male was referred to our ophthalmology clinic because of marked loss of vision in the right eye immediately after triamcinolone injection into the nasal septum. His corrected visual acuity was hand motion in the right eye and the intraocular pressure was 20 mmHg. His pupil was mid-dilated, fixed, and did not respond to light. Fundus examination revealed multiple, white steroidal emboli in the terminal retinal artery and capillaries. Fundus photography revealed macular edema, ischemic retinal whitening, and a cherry-red spot in the posterior pole of the retina. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) revealed inner-layer whitening and swelling and OCT-angiography revealed reduced numbers of terminal capillaries and a low vascular density. Anterior chamber paracentesis and ocular massage were immediately performed. Wide fluorescein angiography revealed diffuse choroidal hypofluorescence in the early phase and fluorescein leakage around the posterior pole in the late phase. Visual acuity improved to 1.0, but retinal whitening was still evident below the macula on fundus examination 3 months after symptom onset. @*Conclusions@#Multiple branches of the ophthalmic artery may become occluded after an intranasal, septal triamcinolone injection. The condition improves with immediate management.
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Background and Objectives@#Several drugs which can improve blood flow have been used as treatment options for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) based on the theory that improvement of perfusion into the inner ear will help restore hearing. Lipo-prostaglandin E1 (lipo-PGE1) is a well-known vasodilator that increases peripheral blood flow. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of lipo-PGE1 on the recovery of the SSNHL patients with hypertension or diabetes.Subjects and Method We retrospectively analyzed 801 patients who were diagnosed with SSNHL from January 2007 to December 2018. All patients were treated with 48 mg of methylprednisolone for 5 days; some patients received lipo-PGE1, depending on the attending physician. They were divided into four groups according to the presence or absence of hypertension and diabetes. Hearing test was performed again one month after treatment and compared with the test results at the time of diagnosis. @*Results@#As a result of comparing the hearing thresholds before and after the treatment in each group, there was a significant improvement in hearing thresholds in all groups (p<0.001). However, when comparing the effect of lipo-PGE1 for hearing change, there was a significant difference only in the group without any underlying diseases (p=0.016). @*Conclusion@#In this study, we show that lipo-PGE1 was helpful in hearing recovery when used in patients without underlying diseases rather than patients with hypertension or diabetes. Further studies will be needed to determine the therapeutic effects of lipo-PGE1 as an adjuvant treatment in SSNHL patients.
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Purpose@#To report the clinical features of patients with opacification of hydrophilic acrylic intraocular lens (IOL) after cataract surgery in neovascular glaucoma. @*Methods@#This retrospective case series included 11 eyes of 10 patients with IOL opacification and neovascular glaucoma (NVG) between January 2006 and December 2010. We included and analyzed cases with opacification of hydrophilic acrylic IOL. An IOL exchange was performed in three cases, and the explanted IOLs were examined grossly and evaluated by light microscopy. Sagittal sections of the optics of the IOLs were evaluated by Von Kossa staining, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). @*Results@#All 11 eyes of 10 patients were implanted with hydrophilic acrylic IOLs. In addition, there were no cases of hydrophobic acrylic IOL opacification. Nine patients of the 10 patients had diabetic retinopathy and one patient had central retinal artery occlusion. The mean period of IOL opacification after IOL implantation was 19.45 ± 8.52 months and the mean period of IOL opacification after the occurrence of NVG was 14.37 ± 8.51 months. The deposits of the explanted IOLs were shown to consist of calcium by von Kossa staining. The explanted IOLs showed fine whitish irregular granular deposits on the entire anterior surface of the optics by SEM and the presence of calcium deposition was confirmed by EDX analysis. @*Conclusions@#Care is required when using hydrophilic acrylic IOLs in patients with risk of neovascular glaucoma, such as those with diabetic retinopathy or central retinal artery occlusion.
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Purpose@#We report a rare case of injected silicone oil migration into the upper eyelid, accompanied by lipogranulomatous inflammation and ptosis, after vitrectomy using a silicone oil tamponade.Case summary: An 83-year-old female presented to our clinic with left upper eyelid swelling and ptosis 2 months in duration. Five months prior, she had undergone 23-gauge pars plana vitrectomy combined with Ahmed valve implantation to treat neovascular glaucoma. Four months prior, only about half the original volume of intraocular silicone oil remained, and a second oil injection was thus administered after removal of the remaining original oil. We found a mass in front of the left orbital septum; this was associated with gradual progression of the left upper eyelid swelling and ptosis. We resected the mass via a left upper eyelid skin incision 2 months after presentation. Histological examination of the excised tissue revealed necrotic fat consistent with lipogranulomatous inflammation. One week after excision, the ptosis disappeared. At the 4-month follow-up, the left upper eyelid was normal with no sign of recurrence. @*Conclusions@#To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in South Korea of lipogranulomatous inflammation and ptosis induced by migration of injected silicone oil into the upper eyelid. Clinicians should be aware that swelling of the upper eyelid and a substantial decrease in the silicone oil level in the vitreous cavity, reflecting silicone oil leakage, maybe one of complications of vitrectomy.
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Purpose@#Few studies have analyzed the effects of preoperative pain education on the postoperative decision to discharge. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of pain education and management on the decision to discharge patients after single-incision laparoscopic appendectomy (SILA). @*Methods@#We analyzed 135 patients who had undergone SILA for acute appendicitis between March 2017 and April 2018 in a single medical center. Of these, 72 patients (53.3%) had received preoperative pain education (group 1), and 63 (46.7%) had not (group 2). We compared perioperative outcomes and complications between the groups. @*Results@#Baseline characteristics of sex, age, body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologist score, and systemic inflammation factors (neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, C-reactive protein level) did not differ significantly between the groups. There were no postoperative complications for patients in either group. Perioperative consequences and pathologic findings were not significantly different between the groups; however, length of hospital was significantly shorter in group 1. @*Conclusion@#Preoperative pain education in relation to postoperative pain management influenced the decision to shorten the postoperative hospital length of stay after SILA.
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Purpose@#We report a rare case of injected silicone oil migration into the upper eyelid, accompanied by lipogranulomatous inflammation and ptosis, after vitrectomy using a silicone oil tamponade.Case summary: An 83-year-old female presented to our clinic with left upper eyelid swelling and ptosis 2 months in duration. Five months prior, she had undergone 23-gauge pars plana vitrectomy combined with Ahmed valve implantation to treat neovascular glaucoma. Four months prior, only about half the original volume of intraocular silicone oil remained, and a second oil injection was thus administered after removal of the remaining original oil. We found a mass in front of the left orbital septum; this was associated with gradual progression of the left upper eyelid swelling and ptosis. We resected the mass via a left upper eyelid skin incision 2 months after presentation. Histological examination of the excised tissue revealed necrotic fat consistent with lipogranulomatous inflammation. One week after excision, the ptosis disappeared. At the 4-month follow-up, the left upper eyelid was normal with no sign of recurrence. @*Conclusions@#To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in South Korea of lipogranulomatous inflammation and ptosis induced by migration of injected silicone oil into the upper eyelid. Clinicians should be aware that swelling of the upper eyelid and a substantial decrease in the silicone oil level in the vitreous cavity, reflecting silicone oil leakage, maybe one of complications of vitrectomy.
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Purpose@#Few studies have analyzed the effects of preoperative pain education on the postoperative decision to discharge. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of pain education and management on the decision to discharge patients after single-incision laparoscopic appendectomy (SILA). @*Methods@#We analyzed 135 patients who had undergone SILA for acute appendicitis between March 2017 and April 2018 in a single medical center. Of these, 72 patients (53.3%) had received preoperative pain education (group 1), and 63 (46.7%) had not (group 2). We compared perioperative outcomes and complications between the groups. @*Results@#Baseline characteristics of sex, age, body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologist score, and systemic inflammation factors (neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, C-reactive protein level) did not differ significantly between the groups. There were no postoperative complications for patients in either group. Perioperative consequences and pathologic findings were not significantly different between the groups; however, length of hospital was significantly shorter in group 1. @*Conclusion@#Preoperative pain education in relation to postoperative pain management influenced the decision to shorten the postoperative hospital length of stay after SILA.
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Background and Objectives@#The purpose of this study was to figure out the clinical effectiveness of the bluetooth wireless streaming when used with a hearing aid during cell phone conversation for hearing-impaired listeners.Subjects and Method Twenty-four adults with hearing loss participated (mild: 3, moderate: 13, moderately severe: 8) in the study. The following three objective tests and one subjective questionnaire were administered to all participants; 1) consonant and Monosyllabic test in an noisy environment, 2) speech recognition test in quiet and noisy conditions, 3) listening effort test, and 4) questionnaire about sound quality and preference. Each objective test was conducted in three different cell phone conversation environments as follows; 1) unaided condition, 2) aided condition, with the bluetooth function off, and 3) aided condition, with the bluetooth function on. @*Results@#In the aided condition with the bluetooth function off, performance on consonant and monosyllabic tests was the lowest (p＜0.05). However, when the bluetooth function was turned on, the result showed statistically significant superior performance (p＜0.05). For the words and sentences test in noisy conditions, using wireless streaming feature with the hearing aids were beneficial compared to not using the feature (p＜0.05). However, no significant difference was found between the bluetooth off and on conditions in quiet conditions. Listening effort was significantly lower in noisy background for aided bluetooth on condition (p＜0.05). There was no significant difference in sound quality according to each condition, but the preference of Bluetooth feature was overwhelmingly high. @*Conclusion@#Bluetooth wireless streaming is beneficial during phone conversation in noisy environments for users of hearing aids.
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to examine the effect of early cochlear implantation (CI) performed in infants less than 12 months of age. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Twenty-five children who received their first CI before 12 months of age were included in this study (infant group). The speech perception and language outcomes of these children were compared with those of 14 children who received their first CI between 13 and 24 months of age (older group). All children received sequential bilateral CI with the inter-stage interval of less than 2 years. Speech perception was measured using Categories of Auditory Performance, monosyllabic word test and sentence test, and language ability was measured using Sequenced Language Scale for Infants, Preschool Receptive-Expressive Language Scale, or Receptive & Expressive Vocavulary Test, depending on the age at the time of testing. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in speech perception abilities between the infant group and the older group. The mean expressive language score of infant group was higher than that of the older group, but the difference was not statistically significant. However, the receptive language score of infant group was significantly higher than that of the older group. CONCLUSION: Children who received CI before 12 months of age achieved better receptive language ability than those who received it after 12 months of age. Thus CI should be performed as early as before 12 months of age to achieve better language ability.
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Child , Humans , Infant , Cochlear Implantation , Cochlear Implants , Language , Methods , Speech PerceptionABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To present a rare case of tear drainage since birth from a lacrimal ductule fistula, which is the first report in the Republic of Korea. CASE SUMMARY: 3-month-old female who presented with discharge of clear fluid from a small skin opening lateral to the right upper eyelid since birth visited the outpatient clinic. The patient was healthy and was receiving no medication. She was born on gestation age 35 weeks and 3 days. No other specific history or other ophthalmic abnormality was found. On examination, a small skin orifice approximately 2 mm diameter and no sign of infection or discoloration was observed. To relieve this symptom, the patient underwent a fistulectomy under general anesthesia. Histopathological examination of the surgical specimen was performed. The patient's symptom subsided postoperatively without recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report in the Republic of Korea of tears draining from a lacrimal ductule fistula since birth and the subsequent clinical treatment procedures.
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Female , Humans , Infant , Pregnancy , Ambulatory Care Facilities , Anesthesia, General , Congenital Abnormalities , Drainage , Eyelids , Fistula , Lacrimal Apparatus , Parturition , Recurrence , Republic of Korea , Skin , TearsABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To determine the amount of additional surgery required for patients with consecutive esotropia, who had an esodeviation angle similar to their pre-operative exodeviation angle, following bilateral lateral rectus recession surgery for intermittent exotropia. METHODS: The medical records of 29 patients who underwent surgery for intermittent exotropia from 1998 through 2013 were reviewed. These patients had consecutive esotropia with an unchanged postoperative esodeviation angle. Thirteen patients underwent esotropia surgery with the aim of full correction (Group A), while 16 patients underwent esotropia surgery with the aim of partial correction (Group B). The postoperative ocular alignment and stereopsis of both groups were compared. RESULTS: A total of 29 patients were evaluated including 13 patients in Group A and 16 patients in Group B. At the final follow-up visit, at least 24 months post procedure, Group B had a significantly greater success rate than Group A (62.5% vs. 23.1%, p = 0.039). Over-correction rates were higher in Group A than Group B (76.9% vs. 37.5%, p = 0.039). The changes during the follow-up period (6 months to their last follow-up) showed that the over-correction rate had increased from 30.8% to 76.9% in Group A (p = 0.034) and from 12.5% to 37.5% in Group B (p = 0.046). CONCLUSIONS: Consecutive esotropia surgery with the aim of partial correction showed favorable motor and sensory outcomes in patients who had a postoperative esodeviation angle similar to that of their pre-operative exodeviation. This strategy may also be helpful in preventing long-term postoperative over-correction in patients presenting with consecutive esotropia.
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Humans , Depth Perception , Esotropia , Exotropia , Follow-Up Studies , Medical RecordsABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical characteristics of intraorbital foreign bodies as well as the treatment outcomes. METHODS: This was a noncomparative interventional case series. Clinical data and radiographic images were gathered via retrospective chart reviews of 14 patients who underwent surgical removal of intraorbital foreign bodies by an oculoplastic surgeon at the Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea between July 2012 and November 2015. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 45.1 years and 13 patients (92.9%) were male. There were 9 metallic; 3 nonmetallic, inorganic; and 2 organic intraorbital foreign bodies in this series. The most common orbital complication was orbital wall fracture (8, 57.1%), and one patient had orbital cellulitis associated with a wooden foreign body. Six patients (42.9%) underwent surgical removal of foreign bodies in a delayed setting, and 4 of them needed surgery to allow for the brain magnetic resonance image tests to evaluate neurologic problems. There were 6 patients (42.9%) who had a postoperative corrected visual acuity worse than 20/200, and all of them had poor visual acuity at the time of injury due to associated eyeball or optic nerve injuries. Four patients (28.6%) had eyeball movement limitations from the initial trauma, but only 1 patient had persistent limitations postoperatively. There were no other complications associated with surgical removal. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of patients with intraorbital foreign bodies were male who had periorbital traumas. The most common foreign body was metal, and orbital wall fractures were common. The poor visual prognosis was related to the eyeball or optic nerve injuries from the initial trauma. The urgent surgical removal should be performed for organic foreign bodies or associated orbital/ocular injuries. Metallic foreign bodies may also be considered for removal to allow for possible brain magnetic resonance image evaluations in the future.
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Humans , Male , Brain , Foreign Bodies , Korea , Optic Nerve Injuries , Orbit , Orbital Cellulitis , Prognosis , Retrospective Studies , Seoul , Visual AcuityABSTRACT
Pancreatic surgery remains the only curative treatment for pancreatic neoplasms, and plays an important role in the management of medically intractable diseases. Since the original Whipple operation in the 20th century, surgical techniques have advanced, resulting in decreased postoperative complications and better clinical outcomes. Normal postoperative imaging findings vary greatly depending on the surgical technique used. Radiologists are required to be familiar with the normal postoperative imaging findings, in order to distinguish from postoperative complications or tumor recurrence. In this study, we briefly review a variety of surgical techniques for the pancreas, and present the normal postoperative computed tomography findings.
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Pancreas , Pancreatic Neoplasms , Postoperative Complications , RecurrenceABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the prognostic impact of ultrasonography (US) features and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) uptake in patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC). METHODS: This study included 74 patients with a single PTMC diagnosed pathologically. Patients underwent total thyroidectomy, or near-total thyroidectomy and staging thyroid US and positron emission tomography (PET) were performed prior to surgery. US features of thyroid nodules were reviewed retrospectively and the maximum standard uptake value (SUV) of nodules was semiquantitatively analyzed on 18F-FDG PET/computed tomography (CT). Patients were followed-up for recurrence, which was defined as PTC on cytology results, elevated serum thyroglobulin (Tg) or anti-Tg antibody levels, or uptake on whole-body scintigraphy. We used univariate and multivariate analyses to evaluate whether poor prognostic outcomes were associated with US features or SUV values derived from PET/CT of nodules. In addition, subjects were divided into 2 groups for subgroup analyses: one with nodules equal to or larger than 5 mm and one with nodules smaller than 5 mm. RESULTS: Among the 74 patients, there was no recurrence. Thus we evaluated the correlation between SUV value and US features with poor prognostic factors of PTMC which included extrathyroid extension, central and lateral lymph node (LN) metastasis. However no clinicopathologic factors were associated with extrathyroid extension, central LN metastasis, or lateral LN metastasis. CONCLUSION: In patients with PTMC, US features and SUV values on FDG-PET were not related to extrathyroid extension or LN metastasis. However, future studies with a larger sample size and longer follow-up should be performed to verify the results of this study.