Is the Supraspinatus Muscle Atrophy Truly Irreversible after Surgical Repair of Rotator Cuff Tears?

BACKGROUND: Atrophy of rotator cuff muscles has been considered an irreversible phenomenon. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether atrophy is truly irreversible after rotator cuff repair. METHODS: We measured supraspinatus muscle atrophy of 191 patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tears on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging and postoperative multidetector computed tomography images, taken at least 1 year after operation. The occupation ratio was calculated using Photoshop CS3 software. We compared the change between pre- and postoperative occupation ratios after modifying the preoperative occupation ratio. In addition, possible relationship between various clinical factors and the change of atrophy, and between the change of atrophy and cuff integrity after surgical repair were evaluated. RESULTS: The mean occupation ratio was significantly increased postoperatively from 0.44 +/- 0.17 to 0.52 +/- 0.17 (p < 0.001). Among 191 patients, 81 (42.4%) showed improvement of atrophy (more than a 10% increase in occupation ratio) and 33 (17.3%) worsening (more than a 10% decrease). Various clinical factors such as age tear size, or initial degree of atrophy did not affect the change of atrophy. However, the change of atrophy was related to repair integrity: cuff healing failure rate of 48.5% (16 of 33) in worsened atrophy; and 22.2% (18 of 81) in improved atrophy (p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: The supraspinatus muscle atrophy as measured by occupation ratio could be improved postoperatively in case of successful cuff repair.

Post-operative Changes of Cerebral Glucose Metabolism in Patients with Lumbar Spinal Stenosis with Pre-operative Anxiety: Statistical Parametric Mapping Analysis of F-18 FDG Brain PET

STUDY DESIGN: A prospective study. PURPOSE: To assess postoperative changes in cerebral glucose metabolism in anxiety patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (SS). OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Although an association between preoperative anxiety and abnormal cerebral glucose metabolism may exist, only a limited number of studies using F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) have evaluated preoperative to postoperative changes in cerebral glucose metabolism in SS patients in detail. METHODS: The present study was designed to assess preoperative to postoperative changes in cerebral glucose metabolism in anxiety patients with SS. F-18 FDG PET with statistical parametric mapping analyses was used to compare preoperative and postoperative regional brain glucose metabolism in 18 SS patients. RESULTS: F-18 FDG PET scans showed postoperative activation of several brain clusters in gray matter. These included left parahippocampus, left cerebellar tonsil, left inferior semi-lunar lobule, and right cerebellar tonsil. Areas that were deactivated postoperatively were the right insula, left fusiform gyrus, left orbitofrontal cortex, left inferior frontal gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus, left precuneus, and left inferior frontal gyrus. CONCLUSIONS: SS patients with preoperative anxiety showed altered cerebral glucose metabolism at postoperative follow-up.

The Value of Electrodiagnostic Studies Performed before and after Microvascular Decompression

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the usefulness of electrodiagnostic studies in hemifacial spasm patients by comparing abnormal muscle response (AMR) and irregular bursting discharge (IBD) before and after the surgery of hemifacial spasm. METHOD: Fifty nine patients who had been diagnosed with hemifacial spasm and underwent microvascular decompression (MVD) were chosen. The AMR was carried out in three different ways; 1) abnormal response of orbicularis oris when stimulating the supraorbital branch of trigeminal nerve (AMR1), 2) abnormal response of mentalis when stimulating the zygomatic branch of facial nerve (AMR2) and 3) abnormal response of orbicularis oculi when stimulating the marginal mandibular branch of facial nerve (AMR3). We identified the correlation between the loss of IBD and the AMR results per each method, the results of the electrodiagnostic studies according to the onset duration, and the point of follow up time. RESULTS: The AMR and IBD decreased or disappeared after the surgery. AMR which had a significant statistical correlation with the changes of IBD, were AMR2 and AMR3. No definite changes were seen regarding the onset duration. According to the studies done during the follow up period, there was a significant reduction in lateral spread and IBD as the length of the follow up period lengthened. CONCLUSION: Investigation of pre- and postoperative electrodiagnostic study, especially abnormal muscle response (facio- facial reflex) is very helpful in predicting the outcome of operation and the overall prognosis.

Comparison of Changes in Higher-order Aberrations between Conventional and Wavefront-guided LASEK

PURPOSE: To evaluate the postoperative higher-order aberrations (HOAs) and factors affecting postoperative changes in HOAs in eyes that underwent wavefront-guided LASEK (laser-assisted subepithelial keratectomy), compared with the eyes that underwent conventional LASEK. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 221 patients who had undergone LASEK or wavefront guided LASEK with VISX WaveScan and VISX Star S4 eximer laser by a single surgeon (427 total eye operations). We matched 29 eyes of the LASEK and the wavefront LASEK groups (58 eyes total) according to the guideline: preoperative refractive power differences must be within 1 diopter and preoperative root-mean-square (RMS) of total HOAs differences must be within 0.01 micrometer. Preoperative wavefront aberrations and two-months postoperative wavefront aberrations and associated factors were compared and analyzed. RESULTS: Postoperative total HOAs, comas, and spherical aberrations increased significantly from 0.36+/-0.10 micrometer to 0.49+/-0.16 micrometer (p=.001), 0.21+/-0.09 micrometer to 0.31+/-0.14 micrometer (p=.003), and 0.03+/-0.10 micrometer to 0.10+/-0.20 micrometer (p=.043), respectively, in the conventional LASEK group. In the wavefront LASEK group, postoperative HOAs, comas, and spherical aberrations significantly increased from 0.36+/-0.10 micrometer to 0.46+/-0.14 micrometer (p=.004), 0.18+/-0.10 micrometer to 0.29+/-0.14 micrometer (p=.002), and 0.09+/-0.14 micrometer to 0.19+/-0.14 micrometer (p=.006), respectively. There were no significant differences in HOAs between the two groups. A strong negative correlation between preoperative total HOAs and a multiple of increase in total HOAs postoperatively was found, with the negative correlation being stronger in the wavefront-guided LASEK group (Pearson's correlation coefficient =-0.697, p<.001) than in the LASEK group (Pearson's correlation coefficient =-0.632, p<.001). CONCLUSIONS: There were no significant decreases in HOAs in the eyes that underwent wavefront-guided LASEK compared with the matched control eyes of patients that underwent conventional LASEK. Analyzing the tendency of a multiple of increase in total HOAs according to the preoperative HOAs, it suggests that the wavefront-guided LASEK may be more effective in suppressing an increase in total HOAs in the eyes with higher preoperative HOAs.

A Study on the preoperative prediction values versus the postoperative actual values in class III two jaw surgery patients