The Usefulness of Critical Pathway in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Purpose: Under the rising demand of health services, the critical pathway (CP) which standardizes the practice guideline was introduced as a means to provide quality healthcare service. CP may increase the patient’s satisfaction rate by providing systematic and consistent service. We aimed to evaluate the significance of CP by development and application of CP to patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methods: From June 2010 to July 2011, 148 patients underwent elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Patients were divided into two groups, including 57 patients in the CP group and 91 patients in the non-CP group. In a retrospective review, related hospital costs were analyzed and compared for both groups. Survey results on satisfaction for the CP group were also analyzed. Results: The mean age was 22.7 years in the CP group and 37.9 years in the non-CP group. Number of hospitalized days was one day for the CP group and 2.51 days for the Non-CP group with p<0.001. In cost analysis all variables showed a significant reduction in the CP group compared to the Non-CP group. The satisfaction rate in the CP group scored 8 points out of 10. Conclusion: Results have shown benefit from the financial point of the view for the CP group. Current inclusion criteria for CP are limited and still in development for a solid protocol. Further efforts with a large-scale comparative study to broaden the indication for CP are desired.ope

Clinical follow-up of conjunctival malignant melanoma

PURPOSE: To investigate the clinical features and course of conjunctival malignant melanoma in Korea. METHODS: The medical records of 15 patients, 5 males and 10 females, diagnosed with conjunctival malignant melanoma who had been treated at Severance Hospital from May 1991 to March 2004 were reviewed retrospectively. The clinical parameters of the patients, tumors, and treatment were analyzed for their relation to outcome measures. RESULTS: The mean age at the time of diagnosis was 53.4 years (s). In all cases, the disease was unilateral and all patients had experienced at least one recurrence. Local lymph node metastasis was found in 3 patients (20%) and the mean time to metastasis was 3.5 years. Systemic metastasis was found in 6 patients (40%) and the mean time to metastasis was 9.3 years. There were 5 cases of tumor-related death (33.3%), 4 of which were attributed to systemic metastasis. The Kaplan-Meier estimates of cumulative survival rate were 90% at 30 months and 56.6% at 70 months. CONCLUSIONS: Although conjunctival malignant melanoma is a rare disease, it is life-threatening and complete tumor excision at an early stage is mandatory, as is additional therapy to prevent local recurrence and systemic metastasis.ope

Dynamic risk stratification in medullary thyroid carcinoma: Single institution experiences

Recently, dynamic risk stratification has been found to be more valuable than static anatomic staging system in nonmedullary thyroid cancer and this strategy has also been accepted in medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). The present study was designed to compare the clinical usefulness of response to initial therapy stratification with a traditional anatomic staging system.From August 1982 to December 2012, a total of 144 MTC patients underwent thyroidectomy in Yonsei University Hospital. Among them, 117 (82.2%) patients with complete clinical data and sustained follow-up were enrolled in this study. Clinicopathological features and surgical outcomes were analyzed by retrospective medical chart review. Mean follow-up duration was 85.78 ± 62.51 months.In this study, mean tumor size was 1.94 ± 1.40 cm and 22 (18.9%) patients had hereditary MTC; 95 (81.1%) patients had sporadic MTC. Stage I patients had highest probability of excellent response to initial therapy (92.1%). Stage IV patients had highest probability of biochemical and structural incomplete response to initial therapy (57.5% and 30.3%) and lowest probability of excellent response to initial therapy (12.1%). Both response to initial therapy stratification and TNM staging system offered useful prognostic information in this study. The TNM staging system provided risk stratification pertaining to disease-free survival (DFS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and the probability of having no evidence of disease at final outcome, but did not provide risk stratification pertaining to the probability of having biochemical persistent/recurrence disease at final outcome. However, response to initial therapy stratification provided risk stratification pertaining to not only DFS, DSS, and the probability of having no evidence of disease at final outcome but also the probability of having biochemical persistent/recurrence disease at final outcome.In this study, we demonstrated that dynamic risk stratification with adjusted response to initial therapy system can offer more useful prognostic information than anatomic staging system in MTC.ope

Usefulness of dynamic risk stratification in pediatric patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma.

Purpose: Recently, the American Thyroid Association (ATA) dynamic risk stratification (DRS) has been verified to be more valuable than the static anatomical staging system for predicting prognosis in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). The purpose of this retrospective study was to compare the clinical usefulness of DRS, which is based on the response to initial treatment, with that of ATA initial risk stratification in pediatric patients. Methods: A total of 144 pediatric patients underwent thyroid operation from August 1982 to December 2013 at Yonsei University Hospital (Seoul, Korea). Among them, 128 patients with complete clinical data were enrolled in this study. Clinicopathologic features and surgical outcomes were retrospectively analyzed by medical chart review. The mean follow-up duration was 11.5 years. Results: The mean tumor size was 2.1 cm; 80.4% of patients were diagnosed with conventional papillary thyroid carcinoma, and 7.0% of patients were diagnosed with follicular thyroid carcinoma. Low-risk patients had the highest probability of an excellent response to initial treatment (66.6%). High-risk patients had the highest probability of a structural incomplete response (100%) and the lowest probability of an excellent response (11.1%). The ATA risk stratification and the DRS system were independent risk factors for disease-free survival (DFS) (P = 0.041 and P < 0.001, respectively). Conclusion: The DRS system, which is based on the response to initial treatment, can offer more useful prognostic information compared with ATA risk stratification in pediatric patients with DTC.ope

Optimal Cut-Off Values of Lymph Node Ratio Predicting Recurrence in Papillary Thyroid Cancer

Regional lymph node (LN) metastasis has a significant impact for prediction of recurrence in patients with papillary thyroid cancers (PTC); however, the prognostic value of the lymph node ratio (LNR), which is defined as the ratio of the number of metastatic LNs to the total number of investigated LNs, is controversial. In this study, we determined the optimal cut-off values of LNRs for the prediction of recurrence in PTC patients.This large cohort study retrospectively evaluated 2294 patients who had undergone total thyroidectomy for PTC at a single institution from October 1985 to June 2009. The prediction probability of central LNR (cLNR, level VI) and total LNR (tLNR, levels II-VI) were estimated by binominal logistic regression analysis. Hazard ratios of the cut-off LNR values for cancer recurrence were calculated for relevant covariates using multivariate Cox regression analyses. Kaplan-Meier analyses were also utilized to assess the effects of estimated LNR cut-off values on recurrence-free survival (RFS).Of the 2294 patients, 138 (6.0%) presented cancer recurrence during the follow-up period (median duration = 107.1 months). The prediction probability indicated that LNRs of 0.4 and 0.5 for central LN and total LN, respectively, are optimal cut-off values for precise prediction with minimization of outliers. Multivariate Cox regression analyses revealed that cLNR ≥0.4 was independently predictive of recurrence in patients with N0 and N1a PTCs (hazard ratio [HR]: 7.016, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.72-12.986, P < 0.001) and that tLNR ≥0.5 indicated a significantly increased risk of recurrence in patients with N1b PTCs (HR: 2.372, 95% CI: 1.458-3.860, P < 0.001). In addition, Kaplan-Meier analyses clearly demonstrated that these LNR cut-off values are precisely operational in RFS estimation.The cut-off LNR values of 0.4 and 0.5 for cLNR and tLNR, respectively, were identified. Risk stratification combined with these LNR cut-off values may prove useful to determine treatment and follow-up strategies for PTC patients.ope

Risk Factors of Postoperative Hypocalcemia after Total Thyroidectomy of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Patients

Purpose : Postoperative hypocalcemia is a common complication of thyroidectomy. This study evaluated the incidence and predisposing risk factors for postoperative permanent hypocalcemia after total thyroidectomy. Methods : There were 1,247 consecutive patients undergoing total thyroidectomy and complete treatment and observation for differentiated thyroid cancer between January 2012 to December 2012 who were enrolled in this study. Patients were divided into two groups, those remaining normalcalcemic (Group I-824 pts) and those who had hypocalcemia requiring treatment (Groups II-423 pts). Group II was subdivided into a transient hypocalcemic group (Group IIA-409 pts) and a permanent hypocalcemic group (Group IIB-14 pts). Results : Female gender, thyroiditis, preserved parathyroid number, lateral lymph node metastasis, RAI treatment, preoperative parathyroid hormone and preoperative vitamin D were significantly associated with the development of postoperative hypocalcemia by multivariate analysis. Comparing patients with transient versus permanent hypocalcemia, tumor size and multiplicity were significantly related to the development of permanent hypocalcemia by multivariate analysis. RAI treatment and parathyroid hormone level on the postoperative third day were significantly related to recovery from transient hypocalcemia to normo-calcemia. Conclusion : Risk factors of postoperative hypocalcemia were associated with preoperative patient factors and advanced thyroid cancer. Advanced thyroid cancer was a risk factor for permanent hypocalcemia. To prevent postoperative hypocalcemia, we should focus on patient condition and need to preserve parathyroid gland more carefully in thyroid surgery.ope

Classification of Ptosis in Korea

Purpose: To classify blepharoptosis in Korean patients, investigate the type of surgery used, and to compare the results with the data from Western countries. Methods: A total of 913 patients (1147 eyes) who underwent surgery for blepharoptosis from 1991 to 2003 were classified as either being congenital or acquired blepharoptosis, and then further subclassified into myogenic, aponeurotic, mechanical, or neurogenic ptosis according to Freuh’s mechanistic classification. The type of surgery for each type of blepharoptosis was investigated. Results: Of the 913 patients, 695 (76.1%) were congenital type, and 218 (23.9%) were acquired type. Freuh’s mechanistic classification by type was 84.7% myogenic type, 10.5% aponeurotic, 3.4% neurogenic, and 1.6% mechanical. By order of frequency, the type of surgery used was 60% frontalis suspension, 26.4% levator resection, 12.2% aponeurosis repair, and 1.4% conjunctivomüllerectomy. Conclusions: Congenital type was more common than acquired type. The proportion of congenital type was higher than the results reported from Western countries, but lower than those of previous Korean studies. This is probably due to the increased number of adults undergoing surgery for blepharoptosis compared to the past, and is a reflection of influence of socio-economic levels.ope

The Effect of Enucleation in Childhood on Orbital Volumetric Growth

Purpose: To evaluate the effect on the growth rate of orbital volume of those who received enucleation or evisceration with or without implants, according to different sizes and operation periods. Methods: The subjects comprised 47 patients who had previously undergone evisceration or enucleation. The volumes of both anophthalmic and normal orbit were measured from CT scans of patients and compared. The relationship between the orbital volume growth rate and the operation at young age with different size implants or operation without implants was evaluated. Results: Five groups, divided by age at operation, were evaluated. Four groups comprising under 12 years of age, had a significant delay in orbital volume growth development (p<0.05). Three groups, divided by size of implants, were evaluated and 17 mm or smaller sized orbital implants showed significant orbital volume growth retardation (p<0.05) Conclusions: The effect of early enucleation on orbital volume growth should be considered in patients younger than 12 years old. Furthermore, during the operation, implants with sizes larger than 18mm should be used to prevent the retardation of orbital volume growth.ope

Yonsei Experience of 5000 Gasless Transaxillary Robotic Thyroidectomies

BACKGROUND: Since the use of robot systems in thyroid surgery was introduced in 2007, we have advanced a novel method of robotic thyroidectomy (RT) using a gasless transaxillary approach (TAA). We report our experience with this technique and detail the surgical outcome of 5000 robotic thyroidectomies. METHODS: From October 2007 to May 2016, we successfully performed 5000 robotic thyroidectomies using a gasless TAA at the Department of Surgery, Yonsei University Health System. The medical records of the patients are reviewed retrospectively, and the details of clinicopathologic characteristics, operation times, perioperative complications, and oncologic outcomes are analyzed. RESULTS: The 5000 patients with thyroid tumor (4804 with cancer and 196 with benign tumor) underwent RT using a gasless TAA. Mean operation time was 134.5 ± 122.0 min. The most common histologic subtype of thyroid cancer was papillary (98%), and the mean tumor size was 8.0 ± 6.0 mm. Stage I was found in 85.4% patients regarding tumor nodes metastasis staging. The 196 benign tumors consisted of 104 adenomatous hyperplasias (53.0%), 43 follicular adenomas (21.9%), 30 Graves' diseases (15.3%), and 19 others (9.7%). Postoperative complication occurred in 24.1% without any serious one, and overall morbidity tended to decrease over time. No disease-specific mortality was observed during the follow-up period. Locoregional recurrence was developed in 26 patients (0.5%). CONCLUSION: The authors have tried to improve RT technique using gasless TAA and achieved acceptable surgical outcomes. The rapid evolution of surgical robot technology and our constant effort to advance RT technique using gasless TAA would make it possible to reduce the perioperative morbidity and gain the best possible operative and oncologic outcomes.restrictio