Common bile duct dilatation after cholecystectomy: a one-year prospective study.

PURPOSE: Bile duct dilatation after cholecystectomy continues to be a matter of controversy. We aimed determine the magnitude of common bile duct (CBD) dilatation after cholecystectomy followed up to 1 year. METHODS: Sixty-four cases (age, 47.3 ± 11.7 years; men, 28; women, 36) enrolled in this study. They received laparoscopic cholecystectomy in Chungbuk National University Hospital for symptomatic cholelithiasis or gallbladder polyps with normal bile duct, less than 7 mm. The CBD diameter was measured by one radiologist using ultrasonography at the maximum point after full length evaluation of extrahepatic bile duct. Forty-five and thirty-one cases were followed at 6 months and 1 year, respectively. RESULTS: The CBD was dilated slightly from 4.1 mm at baseline to 5.1 mm at 6 months and 6.1 mm at 12 months after cholecystectomy. The number of cases of CBD dilatation of more than 7 mm at 6 months and at 12 months after cholecystectomy were 11 (24.4%) and 9 (29.0%), respectively. Seven cases at 6 months and 5 cases at 12 months showed bile duct dilation of more than 3 mm compared to baseline. There were no cases having bile duct dilation of more than 10 mm. CONCLUSION: Postcholecystectomy dilatation of the bile duct occured slightly in most cases. But some cases showed more than 3 mm dilatation over baseline. Asymptomatic bile duct dilatation of up to 10 mm can be considered as normal range in patients after cholecystectomy.

Renal artery perforation related with hydrophilic guide wire during coronary intervention: successful treatment with polyvinyl alcohol injection.

Hydrophilic guide wire-related renal artery perforation (RAP) and subsequent retroperitoneal hemorrhage (RPH) during coronary angiography (CAG) is very rare. We present the case of a 68-year-old woman who suffered accidental hydrophilic 0.035-inch guide wire piercing-related RAP and RPH during CAG and coronary intervention. This RAP was diagnosed by bedside ultrasonography and selective renal angiography, and was successfully treated by transcatheter polyvinyl alcohol injection.

Successful Hemostasis with Recombinant Activated Factor VII in a Patient with Massive Hepatic Subcapsular Hematoma.

Recombinant activated coagulation factor VII (rFVIIa) is known to be effective in the management of acquired deficiencies of factor VII and platelet function defects. But recently, rFVIIa has been successfully used to treat ongoing bleeding in disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC) condition. The patient reported here was suspected to be suffering from toxic hepatitis on admission. After percutaneous liver biopsy, bleeding occurred and did not stop even after right hepatic artery embolization. The patient developed a severe hemorrhage that resulted in hypovolemic shock, hemoperitoneum, and a massive subcapsular hematoma. The patient then developed DIC due to massive transfusion, as well as acute liver necrosis. The patient was given 400 mug/kg of rFVIIa. Recombinant factor VIIa was administered in an attempt to control the bleeding. This stabilized the hemoglobin levels of the patient. The patient gradually recovered in 4 months. In conclusion, this case suggests that rFVIIa can be successfully used for the hemostasis of uncontrolled bleeding in DIC.

A case of idiopathic colonic varices: a rare cause of hematochezia misconceived as tumor.

Colonic varices are a very rare cause of lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Fewer than 100 cases of colonic varices, and 30 cases of idiopathic colonic varices (ICV) have been reported in the English literature. Among these 30 cases of ICV, 19 cases were diagnosed by angiography, and 7 operated cases were diagnosed later as ileocecal vein deficit, hemangioma, and idiopathic in 1, 1, 5 cases, respectively. We report the case of a 24-year-old man who suffered from multiple episodes of hematochezia of varying degree at the age of 11 years. He had severe anemia with hemoglobin of 21 g/L. On colonoscopy, tortuously dilated submucosal vein and friable ulceration covered with dark necrotic tissues especially at the rectosigmoid region were seen from the rectum up to the distal descending colon. It initially appeared to be carcinoma with varices. Mesenteric angiographic study suggested a colonic hemangioma. Low anterior resection was done due to medically intractable and recurrent hematochezia. Other bowel and mesenteric vascular structures appeared normal. Microscopic examination revealed normal colonic mucosa with dilated veins throughout the submucosa and serosa without representing new vessel growth. Taken all of these findings together, the patient was diagnosed as ICV. His postoperative course was uneventful.

Hemobilia from ruptured hepatic artery aneurysm in polyarteritis nodosa.

Hemobilia, in patients with the diagnosis of polyarteritis nodosa, is rare at clinical presentation and has a grave prognosis. We describe a case of massive hemobilia, due to aneurysmal rupture, in a patient with polyarteritis nodosa. A 39-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with upper abdominal pain. The patient had a history of partial small bowel resection, for intestinal infarction, about 5 years prior to this presentation. Abdominal computed tomography demonstrated multiple high attenuation areas in the bile duct and gallbladder. Hemobilia with blood seepage was visualized on endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography; this bleeding stopped spontaneously. The following day, the patient developed a massive gastrointestinal bleed with resultant hypovolemic shock. Emergent hepatic angiogram revealed multiple microaneurysms; a communication was identified between a branch of the left hepatic artery and the bile duct. Hepatic arterial embolization was successfully performed. The underlying disease, polyarteritis nodosa, was managed with prednisolone and cyclophosphamide.

[A case of jejunal infarction and perforation due to acute pancreatitis].

Jejunal infarction as a complication of acute pancreatitis is not common and can not be well recognized. This jejunal infarction usually arises from the venous thrombosis rather than arterial thrombosis. Jejunal infarction results in bowel perforation or stenosis according to its extension of injury and progression rate. Pathologic findings of the involved jejunum show a segmental transmural infarction and mesenteric venous thrombotic occlusions. Early diagnosis should be made for better prognosis. We report a patient with jejunal infarction resulting perforation due to acute pancreatitis, in which the initial presenting symptoms were hematemesis and abdominal distention.

Diagnostic criteria of internal jugular phlebectasia in Korean children.

Internal jugular phlebectasia (IJP) is a fusiform dilatation of the internal jugular vein (IJV), usually presented as a neck mass in children. Accurate diagnosis from carefully directed history, physical examination, and radiological study could result in lifesaving therapy. We performed our study to suggest possible clinical diagnostic criteria for IJP in Korean children. We reviewed three cases of IJP (patients group) and compared the diameter of the internal jugular phlebectasias with diameters of IJVs in ten normal children (control group) using ultrasonography (USG). There were no significant differences in the range of diameters in the resting state between the two groups. The diameters on the right side, compared with those on the left side, showed no statistical significance (p > 0.05). The range of expanding diameter and average expanding ratios (resting state to Valsalva maneuver x 100%) showed a statistical difference between the two groups (p < 0.05).

Aspergillosis presenting as an optic neuritis.

A 59-year-old woman was referred to our clinic with sudden visual loss in her right eye after she was treated with 40 mg/day of oral prednisolone for 2 weeks under the diagnosis of idiopathic optic neuritis. At that time, computerized tomography (CT) of the brain showed no evidence of optic nerve or brain pathology. However, there was progressive diminution of right visual acuity associated with a limitation of adduction and abduction in the right eye. On magnetic resonance imaging and repeated CT, a malignant lesion was suggested, and was confirmed as an Aspergillus fungus colony by histopathologic examination. Postoperatively, she was treated with intravenous administration of amphotericin B for 13 weeks. However, her condition continued to deteriorate. She developed ptosis and total ophthalmoplegia in the right eye and blindness in both eyes. After discharge, she was given itraconazole for 20 weeks. She has shown no recovery of visual acuity or extraocular motion during a two-year follow-up period. The clinical features of our case suggest that early diagnosis in a case of aspergilloma presenting with visual loss is difficult and that a high index of suspicion, repeated radiological examination and adequate biopsy may be required for diagnosis.

Aspergilloma within Pulmonary Sequestration: A Case Report

Routine chest radiography in a 21-year-old man revealed the presence of an asymptomatic mass at the right lower lung field. Chest radiographs showed multiple cysts with air-fluid level and air-meniscus within the consolidation at the right lower lung field. Chest CT scans demonstrated a non-enhancing solid mass, with air-meniscus, within a thin walled cavity, and multiple cysts with fluid or air-fluid level at the posterior portion of the right lower lobe. An abnormal artery was seen at the level of the 12th thoracic vertebra. Thoracic aortography revealed a feeding artery arising from the descending thoracic aorta and supplying the parenchymal lesion. We report the typical radiologic findings of intralobar pulmonary sequestration with aspergilloma, a condition confirmed by surgery and the pathologic findings.

Changes of Intrathoracic Extrapulmonary Organs after Radiation Therapy for Lung and Esophageal Cancer: CT Findings

PURPOSE: To evaluate the CT findings and incidence of complications occurring in intrathoracic extrapul-monary organs due to radiation therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Among 82 patients who underwent chest CT before and after radiation therapy, 23, in whom the procedure provided no evidence of pericardial invasion or pleural effusion before radiation therapy, nor of significant improvement in the tumor after this therapy, were evaulated. Changes in the pericardium, pleura and mediastinal fat were retrospectively assessed. In comparing the CT findings obtained before radiation therapy with those obtained afterwards, changes in the pericardium and pleura were classified as effusion where low density fluid was present and as thickening where there was no fluid. If an increased abundance of soft tissue strands was seen within mediastinal fat, changes in this fat were deemed to have occurred. RESULTS: Among the 23 patients evaluated, changes in the pericardium [thickening (n=3 ; 13.0%) ; effusion (n=8 ; 34.8%)] were found in 11 patients (47.8%), and changes in the pleura [thickening (n=3 ; 13.1%); effusion (n=9 ; 39.1%)] in 12 (52.2%). In no patient with pericardial or pleural effusion was thickening or contrast enhancement of the pericardium or pleura evident. In seven cases(30.4%), soft tissue strands within mediastinal fat had become more abundant. CONCLUSION: The CT findings which demonstrated complications resulting from radiation therapy were pericardial or pleural thickening or effusion and an increased abundance of soft tissue strands within mediastinal fat. In contrast to previous reports, pericardial and pleural change after radiation therapy was a common finding in our study, occurring in 69.6% of cases.

MRI Findings of the Subacute Combined Degeneration of the Spinal Cord: A Case Report

Subacute combined degeneration (SCD) of the spinal cord is a neurological complication arising from vitamin B12 deficiency. Typical findings are demyelination and axonal loss of the posterior and lateral columns of the thoracic and cervical spinal cord, leading to sensory ataxia and paresthesia. Clinical and neurological features and MRI findings all contribute to the diagnosis of this entity. In the Korean medical literature, only one case of SCD involving pre-treatment MRI has been reported. We describe one case of SCD in a post-gastrecto-my patient who initially presented with progressive sensory abnormality in both upper and lower extremities and showed T2 hyperintensity in the posterior and lateral columns of the spinal cord; this diminished, with clinical improvement, after vitamin B12 therapy. Our report includes the MR images obtained during follow up.