Nihon rinsho. Japanese journal of clinical medicine
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Patients with malignant obstruction of the central airway have been treated by interventional bronchoscopy such as Nd-YAG laser and airway stenting. These palliative therapies contribute to improving and maintaining the QOL of the patients. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is one of the bronchoscopic therapy for centrally located early stage squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. PDT uses photosensitizing agents that accumulate in malignant tissue and can be activated by a laser energy.
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"Primum nil nocere" (minimally invasive procedure) has been the perennial pursuit for surgeons since the time of Hippocrates. However, due to the recent advancement of optical technology and the development of related devices, a remarkable progress has been made in lumbar discectomy by using minimally invasive surgery. By minimizing not only skin incision but also approach related morbidity, an adverse effect to the nerve root can be reduced to the minimum. ⋯ This technique makes the most of the space within the intervertebral foramen where, as Kambin claimed, the safe approach to the lesion is possible. As we make the skin incision more medially than reported before in order to approach the intervertebral foramen at a steep angle, the occurrence of exiting nerve lesion at a superior location has decreased. This surgical method would be a promising alternative to MED technique as well as microscope-assisted technique.