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Background: The sphenoid sinus (SS) is located close to vital structures, such as the pituitary gland, and it has significant clinical relevance. This study aimed to clarify the growth pattern of the SS in Japanese children using three-dimensional computed tomography (CT). Methods: Seventy-eight participants with congenital, acquired, or external auditory canal cholesteatoma were recruited and underwent CT more than twice during their treatment. Using the volume-rendered images, the size and volume of the SS were measured. Furthermore, on the scout image, the morphological measurements of the cranial base were determined. Results: The size and volume of the SS increased with age, and peaked at the mean age of 15 years. For males, the volume of the SS was smaller than that of females aged <5 years. The growth rate of the SS was significantly higher in males than in females. The maximum growth rate was detected at the age of 12 years for males and 10 years for females. For females, the increase in the length of the anterior cranial base ceased at approximately 10 years of age and remained constant thereafter. In contrast, for males, the length of the anterior cranial base increased gradually until 15 years of age. Conclusions: Considering the similarity of the periods between the adolescent growth spurt and the maximum growth rate of the SS, changes in the size of the SS may be used as an indicator of the physical growth spurt.

Background: The sphenoid sinus (SS) is located close to vital structures, such as the pituitary gland, and it has significant clinical relevance. This study aimed to clarify the growth pattern of the SS in Japanese children using three-dimensional computed tomography (CT). Methods: Seventy-eight participants with congenital, acquired, or external auditory canal cholesteatoma were recruited and underwent CT more than twice during their treatment. Using the volume-rendered images, the size and volume of the SS were measured. Furthermore, on the scout image, the morphological measurements of the cranial base were determined. Results: The size and volume of the SS increased with age, and peaked at the mean age of 15 years. For males, the volume of the SS was smaller than that of females aged <5 years. The growth rate of the SS was significantly higher in males than in females. The maximum growth rate was detected at the age of 12 years for males and 10 years for females. For females, the increase in the length of the anterior cranial base ceased at approximately 10 years of age and remained constant thereafter. In contrast, for males, the length of the anterior cranial base increased gradually until 15 years of age. Conclusions: Considering the similarity of the periods between the adolescent growth spurt and the maximum growth rate of the SS, changes in the size of the SS may be used as an indicator of the physical growth spurt.

Background: The aim of this study was to clarify the necessity of routine chest CT in the follow-up of postoperative gastric cancer (GC) and the optimal CT interval based on risk determined by pathological stage (PS; pT and pN) to minimize radiation exposure to patients. Method: The subjects were 361 postoperative patients with primary GC. We retrospectively evaluated sites of recurrence, time to recurrence revealed on chest and abdominopelvic CT, and PS. Results: Forty-two patients experienced recurrences. The pN factor was more strongly associated with thoracic metastasis than pT factor in patients with N0-1 (n = 278) versus those with N2-3 (n = 83) (p < 0.05) and in those with T1-2 versus those with T3-4 (p = 0.48). None of the 278 patients with pN0-1 had chest metastasis. Among the 83 atients with pN2-3, only abdominal lymph node recurrence was significantly associated with thoracic metastasis. Recurrences were detected within two years after resection in 38 patients (90 %) regardless of PS. Conclusion: Abdominal lymph node recurrence as well as pN factor were significantly associated with thoracic metastases and actually none of patients with pN0-1 had chest metastases. These facts implied limited role of routine chest CT for those patients.

Aska Toda,1 Kenjiro Sawada,1 Keigo Osuga,2 Noboru Maeda,2 Hiroki Higashihara,2 Tomoyuki Sasano,1 Noriyuki Tomiyama,2 Tadashi Kimura1 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan Aim: The aim of this study was to retrospectively analyze the efficacies of uterine artery embolization (UAE) using gelatin sponge for symptomatic uterine fibroids.Methods: A series of 60 consecutive premenopausal women underwent UAE using gelatin sponge particles or porous gelatin particles. Patients were routinely followed up at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the procedure and asked to report any procedure-related complications. At each follow-up, an original clinical questionnaire was completed by the patients to evaluate changes in fibroid-related symptoms. Pelvic magnetic resonance imaging was performed before and at 3 and 12 months after the procedure, and the changes in volume of the dominant fibroid were calculated.Results: Bilateral UAE was successfully performed in all the patients. Median age was 45 years (range 34–53 years), and median follow-up period was 25.2 months (range 1–116 months). At the 3- and 12-month follow-up, the dominant fibroid volumes were found to be significantly decreased by 33.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 24.9–41.1) and 48.4% (95% CI: 40.7–56.1) compared to baseline volumes, respectively. Excluding patients not having menorrhagia or bulk-related symptoms, at 12 months 49 of 50 (98%) women showed improvement in menorrhagia, and 45 of 47 (95.7%) women showed improvement in bulk-related symptoms. During the follow-up period, ten patients (16.7%) required further interventions including two patients who had undergone hysterectomy. No sequelae were experienced by any of the patients.Conclusion: UAE using gelatin sponge was associated with a high clinical succ