• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.772-777
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• 1988

Because of increasing myocardial damage by normothermic arrest, most of cardiac surgeons now uses many kinds of method reducing myocardial injury, such as systemic hypothermia, topical cooling and cold cardioplegic solutions. And phrenic nerve paralysis has been reported with the use of iced slush for topical cooling. So we reviewed the preoperative and postoperative chest X-rays of 54 patients undergoing open heart surgery with the use of iced slush for topical cooling to find phrenic nerve paralysis. Four of 54 patients were known to have phrenic nerve paralysis. The first time known to develop phrenic nerve paralysis was from POD 4 1 day to POD 4 3 day and the phrenic nerve paralysis resolved within a month postoperatively except one. A patient have had phrenic nerve paralysis persistently over 7 months. And the effect of unilateral phrenic nerve paralysis was of no clinical significance.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.363-366
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• 2018

One of the complications of permanent pacemaker implantation is unintended phrenic nerve stimulation. A 15-year-old boy with a permanent pacemaker presented with chest discomfort due to synchronous chest wall contraction with pacing beats. Even after reprogramming of the pacemaker, diaphragmatic stimulation persisted. Therefore, we performed thoracoscopic phrenic nerve insulation using a Gore-Tex patch to insulate the phrenic nerve from the wire. A minimally invasive approach using a thoracoscope is a feasible option for retractable phrenic nerve stimulation after pacemaker implantation.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.483-488
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• 1987

Phrenic nerve injury has been reported with the use of iced slush for topical cardiac hypothermia. A review of the preoperative and the postoperative chest roentgenograms was performed to detect phrenic nerve injury in patients undergoing cardiac operation with the use of iced slush for topical hypothermia from January, 1985 to June, 1987. The reviewed series included 45 patients who had undergone valve replacement. In this review, the injured site of phrenic nerve was left in 13 cases, right in 1 case and the overall incidence of phrenic nerve paralysis following open heart surgery was 31%. Compared to the incidence of phrenic nerve paralysis in the control group [without pericardial insulation] [406, 12 cases/30 cases], that in the group of patients receiving pericardial insulation [13.3%, 2 cases/15 cases] was lower, but there was no statistical significance. The initial time that diaphragmatic paralysis developed was mean 3.5 days [range 1-8 days] postoperatively and the recovery time of the paralysis was mean 4.7 months [range 0.5-10.5 months] postoperatively.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.105-107
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• 2011

Hiccups have more than 100 etiologies. The most common etiology has gastrointestinal origins, related mainly to gastric distention and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Intractable hiccups are rare but may present as a severe symptom of various diseases. Hiccups are mostly treated with non-invasive or pharmacological therapies. If these therapies fail, invasive methods should be used. Here, we present a patient on whom we performed a blockage of the phrenic nerve with the guidance of a nerve stimulator. The patient also had pneumothorax as a complication. Three hours after intervention, a tube thoracostomy was performed. One week later, the patient was cured and discharged from the hospital. In conclusion, a stimulator provides the benefit of localizing the phrenic nerve, which leads to diaphragmatic contractions. Patients with thin necks have more risk of pneumothorax during phrenic nerve location.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.730-735
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• 2002

Diaphragm is innervated by phrenic nerve and lower intercostal nerves. For patients with avulsion injury of brachial plexus, an in situ graft of phrenic nerve is frequently used to neurotize a branch of the brachial plexus. We studied short-term and mid-term changes of diaphragmatic level and movement in patients with dissection of phrenic nerve for neurotization. Material and Method : Thirteen patients with division of either-side phrenic nerve for neurotization of musculocutaneous nerve were included in this study. With endoscopic surgical procedure, the intrathoracic phrenic nerve was entirely dissected and divided just above the diaphragm. The dissected phrenic nerve was taken out through thoracic inlet and neck wound and then anastomosed to the musculocutaneous nerve through a subcutaneous tunnel. With chest films and fluoroscopy, levels and movements of diaphragm were measured before and after operation. Result : There was no specific technical difficulty or even minor postoperative complications following endoscopic division of phrenic nerve. After division of phrenic nerve, diaphragm was soon elevated about 1.7 intercostal spaces compared with the preoperative level, but it did not show paradoxical motion in fluoroscopy. More than 1.5 months later, diaphragm returned downward close to the preoperative level (average level difference was 0.9 intercostal spaces; p＝NS). Movement of diaphragm was not significantly decreased compared with the preoperative one. Conclusion : After division of phrenic nerve, the affected diaphragm did not show a significant decrease in movement, and the elevated diaphragm returned downward with time. However, the decreased lung volumes in the last spirometry suggest the decreased inspiratory force following partial paralysis of diaphragm.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.1542-1549
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• 1992

From March 1986 to August 1992, 18 patients underwent diaphragmatic plication for the diaphragmatic paralyses complicating various pediatric cardiac procedures. Age at operation ranged from 16 day to 84 months with mean age of 11.8 months. In order of decreasing incidence, the primary cardiac procedures included modified Blalock-Taussig shunt [ 5 ], Arterial switch operation [ 4 ], modified Fontan operation [ 2 ], and others [ 7 ]. The suspicious causes of phrenic nerve injury included overzealous pericardial resection [ 7 ], direct trauma during the procedure [ 6 ], dissection of fibrous adhesion around the phrenic nerve [ 3 ] and unknown etiology [ 2 ]. The involved sides of diaphragm were right in 10, left in 7 and bilateral in one. The diagnosis was suspected by the elevation of hem-idiaphragm on chest x-ray and confirmed by fluoroscopy. The interval between primary operation and plication ranged from the day of operation to 38 postoperative days [mean : 14 days]. The method of plication were "Central pleating technique" described by Schwartz in 16 and other techniques in 2. Five patients expired after plication and the cause of death were not thought to be correlated directly with the plication itself. In the remaining 13 survivors, extubation or cessation of positive ventilation could be done between the periods of the day of plication and 14th postoperative days [mean; 3.8day]. We have made the following conclusions : 1] Phrenic nerve paralyses are relatively common complication after pediatric cardiac procedures and the causes of phrenic nerve injury are mostly preventable; 2] Phrenic nerve palsy is associated with corisiderable morbidity; 3] diaphragmatic plication is safe, reliable and can be applicable in patients who are younger age and require prolonged positive pressure ventilation.ntilation.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.7
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• pp.560-563
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• 2002

Unilateral diaphragmatic paralysis due to a phrenic nerve injury is not rare after cardiothoracic surgery and may range from an asymptomatic radiographic abnormality to severe pulmonary dysfunction and even mortality in patients with reduced lung function. The most effective treatment for symptomatic unilateral diaphragmatic paralysis has been known to be a plication of the paralyzed hemidiaphragm. A 38 year-old male patient with asthma received a phrenic nerve reconstruction with a sural nerve for right phrenic nerve injury during resection of the anterior mediastinal tumor. Ten months later, chest PA showed good result and we report this case with literature.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.28-30
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• 2005

Bilateral brachial neuritis is clinically uncommon and accidentally involvement of bilateral phrenic nerves is rarely reported. We experienced a 26 year old man who developed subacute onset of asymmetric bilateral shoulder and arm weakness. The weakness slowly aggravated and finally suffered from dyspnea due to bilateral phrenic nerve palsy. Cervical spine MRI and CSF study showed no abnormality. Viral markers and other serological test showed no specific finding. Electromyographic study showed bilateral brachial axonal polyneuropathy with cervical and upper thoracic polyradiculopathy. And bilateral phrenic nerve conduction study showed no resopnse. He showed no improvement for 10 months after treatment and managed with continuous artificial ventilation. We report a case of idiopathic bilateral brachial neuritis accidentally involving bilateral phrenic nerves.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.241-245
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• 1997

Persistent hiccup is defined as duration lasting longer than 48 hours. Reflex arc of hiccup is divided into three parts : afferent, central, efferent. Afferent portion of the neural pathway of hiccup formation is composed of vagus nerve, phrenic nerve, and sympathetic chain arising from T6 to T12. Efferent limb is phrenic nerve. Hiccup center is located in brain stem, midbrain, reticular system and hypothalamus. Persistent hiccup is very difficult to treat by conventional methods. We performed cervical epidural block of the phrenic nerve root for three patients suffering from persistent hiccup. The therapeutic effect was perfect. The mechanism of the cervical epidural block is not yet defined however it is thought to block the efferent nerve fibers and suppress the reflex arc of hiccup. We conclude cervical epidural block is relatively safe and very effective for treating persistent hiccup.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.359-362
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• 2013

Chronic hypoventilation due to injury to the brain stem respiratory center or high cervical cord (above the C3 level) can result in dependence to prolonged mechanical ventilation with tracheostomy, frequent nosocomial pneumonia, and prolonged hospitalization. Diaphragm pacing through electrical stimulation of the phrenic nerve is an established treatment for central hypoventilation syndrome. We performed chronic phrenic nerve stimulation for diaphragm pacing with the spinal cord stimulator for pain control in a quadriplegic patient with central apnea due to complete spinal cord injury at the level of C2 from cervical epidural hematoma. After diaphragmatic pacing, the patient who was completely dependent on the mechanical ventilator could ambulate up to three hours every day without aid of mechanical ventilation during the 12 months of follow-up. Diaphragm pacing through unilateral phrenic nerve stimulation with spinal cord stimulator was feasible in an apneic patient with complete quadriplegia who was completely dependent on mechanical ventilation. Diaphragm pacing with the spinal cord stimulator is feasible and effective for the treatment of the central hypoventilation syndrome.