ABSTRACT
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is a rare inherited connective disease. Among several subgroups, type IV EDS is frequently associated with spontaneous catastrophic bleeding from a vascular fragility. We report on a case of carotid-cavernous fistula (CCF) in a patient with type IV EDS. A 46-year-old female presented with an ophthalmoplegia and chemosis in the right eye. Subsequently, seizure and cerebral infarction with micro-bleeds occurred. CCF was completely occluded with transvenous coil embolization without complications. Thereafter, the patient was completely recovered. Transvenous coil embolization can be a good treatment of choice for spontaneous CCF with type IV EDS. However, every caution should be kept during invasive procedure.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Cerebral Infarction , Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome , Embolization, Therapeutic , Fistula , Hemorrhage , Ophthalmoplegia , SeizuresABSTRACT
In adults, eosinophilic granuloma of the spine is a rare, benign osteolytic lesion. In a case of a 33-year-old man with neurologic deterioration, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed an osteolytic lesion of the T4 vertebra with spinal cord compression. Involvement of the left pedicle of T4 and paravertebral soft tissue was also observed. On the second day after a fluoroscopic percutaneous needle biopsy, the patient abruptly developed paraplegia. He underwent an emer- gency operation with posterior decompression, followed by anterior stabilization and corpectomy several days later. Histological examination of the tissue, including the paravertebral soft tissue, showed features of eosinophilic granuloma. After surgery, the patient returned to full activity. Eosinophilic granuloma of the spine is a rare disease in adults and may affect all the vertebral structures. Surgical treatment seems necessary for cases specifically involving progressive neurologic deficits.
Subject(s)
Adult , Humans , Biopsy, Needle , Decompression , Eosinophilic Granuloma , Eosinophils , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Neurologic Manifestations , Paraplegia , Rare Diseases , Spinal Cord Compression , SpineABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of unilateral decompression and pedicle screw fixation for the unilateral symptomatic foraminal stenosis. METHODS: The study group comprises consecutive 16 patients who underwent unilateral decompression and bone cement augmented pedicle screw fixation from May 2003 to January 2006. The patients were evaluated by visual analog scale (VAS) for pain and the scoring system of the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) for low back pain. The result of surgery was also evaluated with McNab's classification. Excellent or good outcome was considered as successful. The patients were followed at postoperative 1 month, 3 month, 6 month, and 1 year with standing AP and lateral films. RESULTS: The average VAS and JOA score of the 16 patients were 7.8 (range, 6-9) and 5.8 (range, 3 - 10) before surgery and 2.2 (range, 0 - 5) and 12.3 (range, 9 - 15) at the time of last follow up. Both VAS and JOA score improved significantly after the surgery (p < 0.05, t-test). All patients improved after the operation and no revision surgery was required. No metal failure or pseudoarthrosis was observed during the follow-up. The success rate was 87.5%. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that unilateral decompression and pedicle screw fixation for the unilateral symptomatic foraminal stenosis is an effect method for obtaining satisfactory clinical outcome. Its possible advantage is shorter operation time and reduced surgical extent. We believe that the reduced stiffness of unilateral fixation was compensated by pedicle screw augmentation and interbody fusion.
Subject(s)
Humans , Asian People , Constriction, Pathologic , Decompression , Follow-Up Studies , Imidazoles , Low Back Pain , Nitro Compounds , Orthopedics , PseudarthrosisABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To evaluate the results of adriamycin-based adjuvant chemotherapy with or without high dose chemotherapy (HDC) with stem cell transplantation (SCT) in breast cancer with 10 or more positive axillary nodes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-one breast cancer patients who had undergone surgery and had 10 or more positive axillary nodes were included in this study held between January 1997 and December 1999. The pathologic and clinical records were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients were treated with adriamycin followed by 8 courses of CMF (group I); 22 patients received 4 courses of adriamycin and 7 patients received 3 courses of adriamycin. Twenty-six patients received median 6 courses of CAF (group II) and 16 patients underwent HDC and autologous SCT (group III). With a median follow-up of 27.1 months, relapses were observed in 24 patients (33.8%) and the 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate was 57.1%; group I/II 55.4%, and group III 62.7%. The three-year overall survival (OS) rate was 86.1%; group I/II 83.0%, group III 93.8%. There were no difference in the 3-year DFSs or in the OSs of group I and group II. However, patients who received only 3 courses of the sequential adriamycin in group I showed a significantly poorer 3-year OS than those that received 4 courses of adriamycin (42.9% vs. 95.5%). CONCLUSION: Our study shows that adriamycin-containing combination chemotherapy is as effective as HDC with SCT in patients with 10 or more positive axillary lymph nodes judging by 3-year DFS and OS, and shows that three courses of adriamycin seems to be inadequate.
Subject(s)
Humans , Breast Neoplasms , Breast , Chemotherapy, Adjuvant , Disease-Free Survival , Doxorubicin , Drug Therapy , Drug Therapy, Combination , Follow-Up Studies , Lymph Nodes , Recurrence , Retrospective Studies , Stem Cell TransplantationABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Though the therapy using regimens similar to western countries has been done by medical oncologists in several different centers in Korea, there is no large scale study about the results of those adjuvant chemotherapy as in western country and it is not clear whether the results are same in Korean population as in western countries not only in overall outcome but also depending on various prognostic categories. It is important to review whether Korean patients would have equivalent results as in western countries or not when they were treated with the same standardized regimens. We examined the effect of adjuvant systemic chemotherapy on survival and analyzed prognostic factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of survival and prognostic factors was done in 341 consecutive breast cancer patients who received curative operation followed by systemic conventional adjuvant chemotherapy between 1989 and 1996. The survival rate was compared using Kaplan-Meier method and Log-rank method. To evaluate an independent prognostic factors, Cox proportional hazard model was used. RESULTS: After median follow up of 56 months (range 28 118 months), the mean disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) was 81.0+/-2.7 and 91.5+/-2.6 months respectively. The 5-year DFS and OS rate was 61% and 77%, respectively. On univariate analysis, prognostic factors significant for DFS were tumor size ( 2 cm), hormonal receptor status, and histologic grade. Prognostic factors affecting both DFS and OS are as follows: age ((pound)40 vs 41-50 vs. (3)51), number of axillary node involvement, .and stage. Multivariate analysis showed that the number of axillary node involvement was the strongest adverse predictor. CONCLUSION: The effect of adjuvant chemotherapy in Korean patients is not different from western countries and this report emphasizes the prognostic importance of number of axillary node involvement in breast cancer patients and necessity of intensive management of those with four or more positive nodes.