Mi-Sook Kwon

The use of epidural catheters has been a subject of active debate in living liver donors because of the possible postoperative coagulation derangement and the subsequent risk of epidural hematoma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety of epidural catheters in relation to the changes in coagulation profile based on a review of previously published literature and the results of our 360 donors. In both the literature and in our cases, platelet count, prothrombin time (PT), and activated

Alterations of absolute number or percentage of circulating white blood cell (WBC) subsets are associated with psychological and physical stress. Gender effects on the changes of circulating WBC subsets following surgical treatment have not been determined. Therefore, the current study aimed to determine whether circulating neutrophils, lymphocytes and monocytes, and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (N/L) are different following major surgery according to the gender. We studied 409 male patients and

Liver allograft recipients may develop a hyperdynamic circulation and cardiac electrophysiologic abnormalities. The incidence of severe ventricular arrhythmias in liver allograft recipients during pulmonary artery (PA) catheterization was determined. One hundred five liver allograft recipients were studied prospectively; 5 of the patients with preexisting valvular heart disease, ischemic heart disease, or arrhythmias were excluded. Severe ventricular arrhythmia, defined as 3 or more consecutive

Various volatile anesthetics have been used in hepatectomy in living donors, and their effects on major organs have been extensively evaluated. However, the impact of total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) on postoperative liver and renal functions after large liver resections has been less extensively investigated than that of volatile agents. The aim of this study was to compare the postoperative hepatic and renal functions between volatile anesthesia with desflurane and TIVA with propofol-remife

During liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, HCC could theoretically be introduced into the systemic circulation when salvaged blood is used with an autotransfusion device. Several reports have shown that some types of leukocyte depletion filters (LDFs) could completely reduce the risk for reintroducing some types of tumor cells. In this study, we tested the ability of the LDF (RCEZ1T, Pall Biomedical Co, NY, USA) to reduce the risk for reintroducing HCC cells in vit

The safety of living donors is a matter of cardinal importance in addition to obtaining optimal liver grafts to be transplanted. Central venous pressure (CVP) is known to have significant correlation with the amount of bleeding during parenchymal transection and many centers have adopted CVP monitoring for right hepatectomy. However, central line cannulation can induce some serious complications. Peripheral venous pressure (PVP) has been suggested as a comparable alternative to CVP. The aim of t

Alterations of absolute number or percentage of circulating white blood cell (WBC) subsets are associated with psychological and physical stress. Gender effects on the changes of circulating WBC subsets following surgical treatment have not been determined. Therefore, the current study aimed to determine whether circulating neutrophils, lymphocytes and monocytes, and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (N/L) are different following major surgery according to the gender. We studied 409 male patients and

Fifty patients undergoing thoracotomy was studied to compare the effects of cryoanalgesia combined with intravenous continuous analgesia (IVCA). Patients were randomized into two groups: IVCA group and IVCA-cryo group. Subjective pain intensity was assessed on a visual analogue scale at rest (VAS-R) and during movement (VAS-M). Analgesic requirements were evaluated over the 7 days following surgery. Forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) were measured before ope

Our findings suggest a potential negative impact of fresh RBC transfusion on the survival of patients undergoing liver transplantation.

Bioreactance and thermodilution failed to show acceptable interchangeability in terms of both estimating CO and tracking CO changes in patients undergoing liver transplantation. Thus, the use of bioreactance as an alternative CO monitoring to thermodilution, in spite of its noninvasiveness, would be hard to recommend in these surgical patients.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between donor sex and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after living donor liver transplantation. BACKGROUND: HCC shows a male predominance in incidence and recurrence after tumor resection due to sex differences in hepatic sex hormone receptors. There have been no studies evaluating the importance of donor sex on post-transplant HCC recurrence. METHODS: Of 384 recipients of livers, from living donors, for HCC: 104/120 who received grafts from fema

The exaggerated lithotomy position is used during radical perineal prostatectomy to increase perineal exposure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the exaggerated lithotomy position on respiratory mechanics and arterial blood gases. In the exaggerated lithotomy position, dynamic compliance and static compliance were found to be significantly decreased by 27.4% and 34.8%, respectively, whilst peak, plateau, and mean airway pressures increased significantly by 34.0%, 45.8% and 31

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether autotransfusion of salvaged blood with single leukoreduction is associated with post-transplant tumor recurrence in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). BACKGROUND: Previous studies have consistently demonstrated the safety of autotransfusion of salvaged and leukoreduced blood during liver transplantation for HCC. However, the effects of this technique remained unknown for advanced HCC. METHODS: Of 349 patients who under