Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Jer-Shyung Huang.
We report a 28-year-old man who presented with hematuria and intermittent flank pain. Conventional CT urography showed mild left hydronephrosis and an undetermined lesion in the left ureter. By virtual CT ureteroscopy, a fibroepithelial polyp (FEP) was preoperatively diagnosed. The patient had segmental resection of the ureter and pathological proof of FEP was obtained.
BACKGROUND: The thoracodorsal artery perforator flap was first introduced in 1995. Many authors focused on using anatomical landmarks to identify skin perforators and on thinning procedures for a skin paddle. In this study, we used the superthin free thoracodorsal artery perforator flap for resurfacing shallow defects of the extremities in 10 patients. METHODS: Two anatomical landmarks previously presented by other authors were used for the guidance of flap elevation. The first landmark represented the site of the proximal skin perforator originating from the descending branch of the thoracodorsal artery, and the second landmark marked the site of the thoracodorsal neurovascular hilum. Ten flaps were performed, and all skin perforators originated from the descending branch of the thoracodorsal artery. The skin paddle carried only skin and the superficial adipose layer, and the largest skin paddle was 23 x 9 cm. RESULTS: All defects were resurfaced with smooth contour, except for one flap in which the authors encountered flap tip superficial necrosis. The operative findings did not coincide with the first anatomical landmark in five patients. Likewise, these findings were not consistent with the second landmark in eight patients. In four patients, the thoracodorsal neurovascular hilum was located at the same level of the scapular tip or even above it. These unwanted anatomical variations increased the difficulty of exploration for skin perforators. CONCLUSIONS: The thoracodorsal artery perforator flap is a feasible choice for shallow defects in superthin form. Using a color Doppler device to identify the skin perforators preoperatively is highly suggested to prevent unexpected anatomical variations.
OBJECTIVE: The objectives of our study were to evaluate the feasibility of ethanol sclerotherapy in treating simple renal cysts with prolonged ethanol retention and to compare the therapeutic results of 2- and 4-hr retention techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 36 renal cysts in 33 patients treated by ethanol sclerotherapy with a single-session single-injection technique during the past 6 years. After complete aspiration of the cystic fluid, 95% ethanol was injected into the cyst and was retained for 4 hr in 14 cysts (group 1) and for 2 hr in 22 cysts (group 2). The average maximal diameter and aspirated volume of the cysts were 8.3 cm and 223 mL in group 1 patients and 7.9 cm and 167 mL in group 2, respectively. The ablated cysts were followed up regularly by sonography, CT, or both at 3- to 6-month intervals for at least 1 year. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare differences in characteristics, treatment results, and laboratory data of the subjects in the two groups. The level of statistical significance was set at a p value of less than 0.05. RESULTS: Technically, all the patients tolerated the procedures. One patient had gross hematuria 10 days after the procedure. She underwent surgical deroofing treatment and was excluded in the later statistical analysis. After sclerotherapy, 14 cysts disappeared completely and 16 cysts showed marked regression with residual maximal diameter of less than 3 cm. The overall volume reduction rate was 97.6% in all 35 cysts. The mean residual longest diameters and average volume reduction rates of the treated cysts were 1.9 cm and 97.9% in group 1 patients and 1.1 cm and 97.3% in group 2 patients, respectively, which showed no statistical significance of volume reduction rate with a p value 0.149. CONCLUSION: The single-session prolonged ethanol-retention technique is safe and efficacious for the treatment of renal cysts. There is no statistical difference in therapeutic efficacy between 2- and 4-hr ethanol-retention techniques.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate CT voiding urethrography and CT virtual urethroscopy. Fourteen CT voiding urethrography examinations on 13 men (mean age, 30 years) were prospectively performed with 16-MDCT. The clinical diagnoses of those patients included urethral injury, urethral stricture, and hypospadia. The CT voiding urethrogram was obtained with transverse CT of the voiding, contrast-filled urethra and display of 2D multiplanar and 3D virtual images. CONCLUSION: The full urethral structure was clearly shown by CT voiding urethrography and virtual urethroscopy in all patients. The results of CT voiding urethrography and conventional methods correlated closely with the urethral diseases being imaged.
OBJECTIVE: A 26-year-old woman presented with urinary frequency. Findings were negative on voiding cystourethrography. Cystourethroscopy failed to reveal a urethral diverticulum. A new method of virtual CT urethroscopy was performed using a 16-MDCT scanner. The orifice of the diverticulum was identified clearly on 3D virtual urethroscopy. Intraoperatively, the diverticulum was identified, with the orifice location compatible with that seen on virtual urethroscopy. CONCLUSION: Virtual CT urethroscopy provides more information than conventional urethral examinations and is less invasive than conventional urethroscopy.
Although autogenous tissue can be used to replace unsatisfactory prosthetic breast reconstructions in mastectomy patients, because of the magnitude, complexity, and many potential complications associated with the procedure, combined with a long-term recovery, the use of an implant to replace the mastectomy defect is still the most common method for paraffinoma breast treatment. Between July of 1996 and June of 2003, 21 paraffinoma breast patients underwent bilateral pedicle transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flap reconstruction. There were 10 primary cases that had never been treated before this visit, including a case of unilateral associated breast cancer. There were also 11 secondary cases that had prostheses implanted after removal of materials injected in other clinics. The diagnoses included unacceptable breast contour in 11 patients, breast hardening in 11 patients, palpable nodules in five patients, nipple malposition in four patients, prominent scarring in three patients, breast skin necrosis in one patient, and nipple necrosis in one patient. A 100 percent flap survival rate with no clinical fat necrosis was achieved. There were 11 of 21 abdominal hypertrophic scars, six of 21 prechest (anterior surface of the thorax) hypertrophic scars, and no abdominal hernia; the symmetry satisfaction rate was 100 percent among primary cases and nine of 11 in secondary cases. The breast softness satisfaction rate in primary cases was also 100 percent and nine of 11 for secondary cases. Excellent cosmetic results were achieved in all patients (42 breasts in total). The unfavorable results of the secondary cases (patients with previous treatments) indicate that it is impossible to completely remove all of the injected foreign body by resection. This also means that scar appearance can only be minimized if resection of the entire paraffinoma is performed through a periareolar incision. The excellent results of the primary cases show that immediate autogenous tissue reconstruction should be the first alternative and is the best option for treating foreign-body granuloma breast, given that autogenous tissue is available. Similarly, the results of the secondary cases also demonstrate that autogenous tissue reconstruction could be considered in reversing some unfavorable results of past treatments.
Chronic pelvic pain is a common gynecologic complaint, sometimes without any obvious etiology. We report a case of pelvic congestion syndrome with chronic pelvic pain. The diagnosis can be overlooked by clinical physicians but diagnosed using multi-detector row computerized tomography. This method seems to be an effective and non-invasive imaging modality.