What are Risk Factors Associated with Conversion to Open Appendectomy in Laparoscopic Appendectomy? / 대한내시경복강경외과학회지

PURPOSE: Laparoscopic appendectomy has recently been performed more frequently than open appendectomy because of its advantages. Yet laparoscopic appendectomy has the risk of converting to open appendectomy. We evaluated the preoperative evaluation factors that can influence the rate of conversion to open appendectomy. METHODS: For the 255 patients admitted to our hospital, we reviewed their medical history, their clinical and laboratory examination etc. and the final diagnosis was made by CT scan. The preoperative characteristics of the patients who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy and the patients who were converted to open appendectomy were compared using univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Out of 255 patients who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy, 15 patients (5.8%) were converted to open appendectomy. The main reasons were adhesion and periappendiceal abscess formation. Periappendiceal fat infiltration (p=0.030) seen in the CT scan and perforation (p=0.019) were significant risk factors associated with converting to open appendectomy. CONCLUSION: Periappendiceal fat infiltration and perforation seen on preoperative CT scanning are important when considering performing laparoscopic appendectomy. Identifying the potential preoperative factors for conversion may assist surgeons when making decisions concerning the management of patients with appendicitis and for the judicious use of LA.

Bilaterality of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: Analysis of Clinicopathologic Factors and the Value of Preoperative Ultrasonography / 대한내분비외과학회지

PURPOSE: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common endocrine malignancy. The extent of the initial surgical treatment for PTC is still controversial and the bilaterality of PTC is an important factor for determining the extent of surgical resection. The aim of this study was to analyze clinicopathologic factors and the value of preoperative ultrasonography (PU) for bilateral tumor. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed clinicopathologic factors and PU findings of 91 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy for PTC at the Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital from January 2006 to April 2009. RESULTS: Of the 91 patients, 28 (30.7%) had bilateral PTC in postoperative pathology. Of these 28 patients, only 18 patients (64.3%) were checked for bilateral PTC by PU findings and fine needle aspiration cytology. Sensitivity and specificity for bilaterality of PTC were 64.3% and 85.7%, respectively. The presence of benign nodules or malignant nodules in the same lobe in PU (P=0.008) and post-operative pathology (P=0.014) were statistically correlated with bilaterality. CONCLUSION: For the surgical care of PTC, bilaterality must always be considered, even though the tumor is diagnosed unilateral small PTC. PU in PTC patients has limited diagnostic value for bilateral PTC.

Analysis of the CT and Clinical Findings of Perforated Blunt Small Bowel Injury according to the Elapsed Time since Accident

PURPOSE: The high mortality and morbidity rates associated with traumatic rupture of the small bowel have been attributed to the clinical difficulty of establishing an early diagnosis. CT scan is the most widely used tool for the diagnosis of blunt abdominal trauma, but its accuracy in diagnosing small bowel perforation is still controversial. This study was conducted to determine the overall and time-dependent diagnostic value of abdominal CT and the clinical findings of small bowel perforation. METHODS: The clinical data and CT images of 21 patients with small bowel perforation after blunt trauma were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into the early and late elapsed time groups based on the elapsed time of 8 hours from the initial trauma to the time of evaluation. RESULTS: Any changes of the vital signs, including hypotension, tachycardia or fever, were observed in only half of the patients. Signs of peritonitis were evident in 7/11 of the early lapse group and in 10/10 of the late lapse group. The most common CT finding of small bowel perforation was free peritoneal air (17 of 21 patients), followed by segmental bowel wall thickening (15/21), high density ascites (14/21), an intermesentric fluid collection (13/21) and mesentic fat obliteration (11/21). Extraluminal air and segmental bowel wall thickening were detected more frequently in the late lapse group (P=0.03 and 0.01, respectively). In the one patient, bowel perforation was not evident at the initial evaluation according to the clinical findings and CT, but the follow-up CT exam showed specific findings for bowel perforation. CONCLUSION: CT scanning is a sensitive and effective modality for the evaluation of small bowel perforation, but this is less sensitive during the earlier post traumatic period. Therefore, careful clinical and radiological follow up is necessary for suspected cases, and even when an initial evaluation shows negative findings for bowel injury.

Liver Transplantation for Alcoholic Liver Disease: An Analysis on the Posttransplant Course and Alcoholic Relapse / 대한이식학회지

PURPOSE: Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) has been one of the most common causes of cirrhosis in Western countries, and its incidence has been increasing recently in Korea. In this study, we investigated the clinical course and outcome of liver transplantation in ALD patients with special attention to specific risk of alcohol relapse. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical course, complication and survival of 18 ALD patients out of 807 liver transplants in Asan medical center from August 1992 to December 2003. Relapse of alcohol intake was investigated. The changes of liver function test were analyzed to clarify its relation with alcoholic relapse. RESULTS: Of these 18 patients, 2 (11%) died and 4 (22%) experienced alcoholic relapse. Alcoholic relapsers showed significant deterioration of serum AST, ALT and total bilirubin levels in acute stage comparing with non-relapsers, but such functional deteriorations resolved after recovery period of abstinence. Recipient age at the time of liver transplantation and abstinence not more than 6 months prior to transplantation were proven as significant risk factorsfor alcoholic relapse. CONCLUSION: ALD recipient revealed favorable outcome and survival following liver transplantation. To reduce the possibility of posttransplant alcoholic relapse, pretransplant abstinence more than 6 months is highly recommended. In addition, recipient of younger age should receive adequate education and strict surveillance for abstinence.

Biliary Reconstruction and Complications in Adult-to-Adult Living Donor Liver Transplantation / 대한이식학회지

PURPOSE: Biliary complication (BC) is known as the most common and intractable complication after adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), but there is lack of large-volume studies with long-term follow-up. To assess the patterns of BC and their treatment results in adult recipients of LDLT. METHODS: 182 adult patients who received 156 right and 26 left liver grafts from January 2001 to December 2002 were selected after exclusion of dual-graft LDLT and short-term survivors. Methods of biliary reconstruction, types of BC, and treatment results of BC were analyzed. RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 38 months. Biliary reconstruction was done as single duct-to-duct anastomosis (DD, n=109), double DD (n=22), single hepaticojejunostomy (HJ, n=31), double HJ (n=16), and combination of DD and HJ (n=4). Overall patient or graft survival rate was 96.2% at 1 year and 93.3% at 3 years. BC-free survival rate was 83.4% at 1 year and 76.5% at 3 years. BC occurred much more often in right liver grafts. There were no statistical differences of BC between DD and HJ groups, and between single and double anastomoses groups. Most of anastomotic leak occurred during the first 1 month, but anastomotic stenosis occurred till 3 years. Small right graft duct around 3 mm in diameter became a significant risk factor of BC. Anastomotic leak occurred in 8 recipients, and 7 recovered after radiological, endoscopic, and surgical treatments. Anastomotic stenosis occurred in 34, and most of them were resolved by radiological intervention. CONCLUSION: The incidence of early BC could be reduced to below 10% by technical refinements, but additional late BC occurred till 3 years. Most of BC were successfully controlled by endoscopic and radiological treatments. DD seems to be avoided in small graft duct around 3 mm in diameter. Close surveillance for BC seems to be mandatory for the first 3 years.

An Analysis on the Usefulness of Concomitant Procurement of the Caudate Lobe in Living Donor Liver Transplantation Using a Left Lobe Graft

PURPOSE: Procuring the left liver lobe plus the caudate lobe was originally done in an effort to increase the graft mass itself. However, there has been some controversy about the procedure's effectiveness. We investigated the effect of concomitant caudate lobe transplantation and fates of the implanted caudate lobe. METHODS: From January 2002 to December 2003, 290 cases of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) were performed at our institution. Among them, there was 31 case of adult-to-adult LDLT using a left lobe plus the caudate lobe. The volumes of left lobe and caudate lobe were measured separately by using computed tomogram (CT) volumetry. The operation time for the concomitant caudate lobe procurement took an average of an additional 30 minutes over the routine left lobe procurement because of the dissection of the retrohepatic vena cava. There was no separate caudate duct in the 31 consecutive grafts in this series. RESULTS: The graft weight of the left lobe plus the caudate lobe was 455+/-55 gm, yielding a mean graft-recipient weight ratio of 0.79+/-0.11. Volumetry of the preoperative donor CT scan revealed that the volume of the caudate lobe was 24+/-6 ml, which was equivalent to 5% of the left lobe volume. We prepared the largest single caudate vein with a caval patch and then reconstructed it in 24 recipients. The regeneration rate of the caudate lobe after transplantation was 116% after 1 week and 121% after 1 month. On the other hand, the regeneration rate of the left lobe was 193% after 1 week and 227% after 1 month. The regeneration rate for the left lobe was greater than that for the caudate lobe. 29 of the 31 recipients survived. CONCLUSION: We think that increasing the graft mass by 5% justifies to performing the concomitant caudate lobe procurement at the expense of 30-minute's effort.

Analysis of Relationship between Positive T Lymphocytotoxic and/or B Lympocytotoxic Cross- Match and Acute Rejection in Adult-to-Adult Living Donor Liver Transplantation / 대한이식학회지

PURPOSE: The influences of lymphocytotoxic cross-match on survival or acute rejection after adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) have not been fully studied and there have been some arguments about its influence. In this study, we retrospectively investigated the influence of lymphocytotoxic cross-match in LDLT and assessed the survival of recipients and the incidence of acute rejection. METHODS: 142 adult-to-adult LDLT were performed in adult patients in our institution between January 2003 and December 2003. Among them, HLA cross-matching tests were done in 78 cases and we analyzed their data of HLA cross-match. Recipients were 62 males and 16 females, and their mean age was 50 7 years. Most of the donors were genetically related to the recipients. Lymphocyototxic cross-match was performed according to the standard National Institutes of Health technique. The cross-match test was interpreted as positive when more than 20% of the donor lymphocytes were killed by the recipient serum, Acute cellular rejection was defined as a biopsy-proven episode and graded according to the Banff schema. RESULTS: The results of positive T and/or B cell cross-match observed in only 5 cases (6.4%). In this series, there were episodes of acute rejection in 10 recipients (13.6%) after 1~9 months, but all of 10 had revealed negative results of T and B cell cross-match. Additionally, the results of positive T and/or B cell cross-match did not change the incidence of acute rejection. All of the recipients undergone acute rejection were treated successfully using steroid bolus therapy and survive to date. CONCLUSION: According to our preliminary results, positive T and/or B cell cross-match did not give significant impact upon either the incidence of acute rejection or the survival rate in our series with 13% incidence of acute rejection and 5% mortality.

Clinical Review of Post-transplantation Diabetes Mellitus after Liver Transplantation / 대한이식학회지

PURPOSE: Liver transplantation (LT) can cure abnormality of glucose metabolism, but cause altered glucose metabolism with immunosuppressive treatment. Up to now, almost all studies have been performed in cadaveric donor liver transplantation (CDLT). We underwent study in CDLT and also living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) recipients. METHODS: Among 397 adult-to-adult LT recipients between January 1994 and August 2001, we selected 81 patients who could be followed more than 12 months by using the table of random sampling numbers. We reviewed the change of blood glucose and risk factors, complications and survival retrospectively between post-transplantation diabetes mellitus (PTDM) and no PTDM patients. RESULTS: Clinical data showed 34 : 47 in frequency of PTDM to no PTDM. Age, family history of DM, preoperative DM history over 6 months had a significant risk of PTDM. There was no difference of PTDM frequency between CDLT and LDLT and its subgroup. The worse post-transplant graft function causes the more incidence of PTDM (P=0.051). FK506 had higher relation with PTDM than cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetile (P=0.058). The incidence of DM after operation has been decreased by 6 months, but thereafter no further. There were 18 of De Novo DM among 34 PTDM patients, and only 1 preoperative DM patient improved after LT. Between PTDM and no PTDM group, there were no significant difference of complication rate and 5-year survival rate. CONCLUSIONS: The types of graft would not affect the incidence of PTDM if the graft function were preserved. Other clinical data showed similar results to previous reports.

Analysis for Influencing Factor of the Organ Procurement Rate in Brain Dead Donors / 대한이식학회지

PURPOSE: The number of patients waiting for organ transplantation continues to grow as technical and pharmacological advances increase the success rate of transplantation procedures, while organs are donated by few of the thousands of potential donors who die every year. The organ transplantation continues to be the best treatment for many end-stage diseases of the heart, liver, kidneys, and other organs. Many organ procurement failures have been attributed to a failure to identify patients with nonsurvivable central nervous system injury or disease as potential organ donors or failure to maintain a hemodynamic stability or failure to request consent for donation from next to kin. This study has been done for investigating the factors that influence the organ procurement rate in brain dead donors. METHODS: Of the 259 brain dead donors in the Asan Medical Center, from January 1991 to April 2003, 189 brain dead donors donated solid organs excluding conea. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records and the data of the transplantation center. A hemodynamic stability is defined as systolic blood pressure more than 90~100 mmHg with the use of low-dose vasopressor (dopamine less than 10microgram/ kg/min). RESULTS: From January 1991 to April 2003, the procurement rates of liver, heart, kidney and pancreas were 39% (n=75), 40% (n=76), 97% (n=184) and 17% (n=33), respectively. The procurement rates according to age were 26% in 50 years (n=11). The major. causes of death among potential organ donors were traffic accident (59%) and cerebrovascular events (33%). In traffic accident, the procurement rates of liver, heart, kidney and pancreas were 42% (n=47), 37% (n=41), 98% (n=109) and 16% (n=18), and in cerebrovascular events, 33% (n=21), 38% (n=24), 97% (n=61) and 19% (n=12). Multiple organs were donated in the hemodynamically stable donors. CONCLUSION: Aggressive resuscitation and hemodynamically stabilization of all brain dead donors are important factors that may increase procurement rates.

Treatment of the Recurrent Hemorrhoids

The incidence of recurrence and anal stricture after surgical hemorrhoidectomy were reported in about 5% and 2.5~13%, respectively Generally, complete and adequate surgery for hemorrhoids was not infrequently neglected because the treatment of hemorrhoids was based on symptoms rather than pathogenesis. This study was performed to analyze the clinical features of recurrent hemorrhoids and to assess the adequate surgical management for the prevention of recurrence. From June 1989 to December 1997, we reviewed 222 (10.6%) recurrent hemorrhoids of surgically treated at Asan Medical Center. Median follow-up period was 38 months (range, 4 months~8 years 9 months). The most common symptom was prolapse (37%). Previous treatment for hemorrhoids was surgical hemouhoidectorny in 99 cases (45%) and sclerotherapy in 111 cases (50%). The most common location and associated complication of recurrent hemorrhoids were sites of major piles (83%) and anal stricture (37%), respectively. Anal stricture was more prevalent in patients with previous sclerotherapy (P<0.05). In respect to the numbers of combined surgical procedures, one procedure was more frequently performed in the non-complicated recurrent hemorrhoids group (P<0.05) whereas over four in the complicated group (P<0.05). Internal sphincterotomy and anoplasty were frequently needed in the complicated recurrent hemorrhoids (P<0.05). Mean hospital stay and healing time were 5 days (range, 2~26 days) and 21 days (range, 6~180 days), respectively. We had excellent or satisfactory results in 175 of 197 patients (89%). Conclusively, multiple combined surgical procedures in accordance with individual status might be useful in treating the recurrent hemorrhoids. An adequate and complete surgical procedure must be applied during the initial operation of hemorrhoids, especially on major piles.