Dongwon Lee

• Master of Science
• Catholic University of Korea

This study presents a rare case of bilateral renal abscess caused by Aspergillus fumigatus in a 50-year-old male patient who underwent lung transplant for interstitial lung disease. The abscess developed as an opportunistic fungal infection as a result of immunosuppression from posttransplant therapy. Imaging studies revealed abscesses in both kidn...

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a major but often underestimated risk factor for the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Exploring innovative approaches to prevent this progression is critical. Intermittent fasting (IF), recognized for its metabolic and anti-inflammatory benefits, may offer protective effects in this context. Using a unilater...

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of interrelated risk factors, including insulin resistance, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and visceral adiposity, all of which contribute to kidney microvascular injury and the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the specific impact of each component of MetS on kidney microcirculation remains u...

Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in the kidneys is a major cause of acute kidney injury (AKI). Time-restricted feeding (TRF), known for its metabolic health benefits and alleviation of various chronic diseases without calorie restriction, was investigated for its potential protective effects against IRI-induced AKI. Male C57BL/6 mice underwent uni...

KAERI has developed plasma heating systems and fusion engineering technologies such as blanket first wall and breeding blanket for nuclear fusion reactor development, as well as nuclear data production. Based on these technologies, we have successfully developed various ion sources-based D-D compact neutron generators and are developing a 30 MeV cy...

Background: Time-restricted feeding (TRF), devoid of calorie restriction, is acknowledged for promoting metabolic health and mitigating various chronic metabolic diseases. While TRF exhibits widespread benefits across multiple tissues, there is limited exploration into its impact on kidney function. In this study, our aim was to investigate the po...

Here, we report a rare case of transplant renal artery stenosis in a patient with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease who received a kidney from a deceased donor. The transplant renal artery stenosis was caused by the rotation and compression of the transplanted kidney, a consequence of the preexisting polycystic kidney. To address the tra...

Background and Aims Sarcopenia is characterized by a progressive and widespread loss of skeletal muscle, leading to muscle weakness and frailty. While primary sarcopenia is linked to aging, secondary sarcopenia can independently occur, especially in chronic conditions like chronic kidney disease (CKD). Investigating sarcopenia in CKD patients has b...

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) are highly prevalent predictors of cardiovascular disease in individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Vitamin D, particularly 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], deficiency has been reported to be associated with cardiac structure and function in CKD patients. In...

Background: Sarcopenia upon admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) consistently correlates with adverse outcomes, including heightened mortality, in critically ill patients. This study aims to investigate the independent association of sarcopenia with both mortality and recovery from dialysis in critically ill patients with sepsis-induced acut...

Background: Obesity is a major worldwide health problem and can be related to cellular senescence. Along with the rise in obesity, the comorbidity of renal ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury is increasing. Whether obesity accelerates the severity of IR injury and whether senescence contributes to these conditions remain unclear. We studied the degre...

Aims: Nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) is a surgical procedure for patients with breast cancer without nipple-areolar complex (NAC) involvement. Robotic NSM (RNSM) with immediate breast reconstruction has been recently introduced; however, reports regarding RNSM are still lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the postoperative assessment...

Purpose: To evaluate the long-Term outcomes of inverted internal limiting membrane (ILM) flap and ILM insertion in idiopathic macular hole (MH) and to compare the outcomes between the two techniques. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 17 eyes that underwent an inverted ILM flap procedure (flap group, n = 9) or ILM insertion...

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) has a wide variety of underlying causes and occurs in association with dialysis. Early diagnosis is essential to prevent permanent nerve damage and functional sequelae. We evaluated the association between CTS and cross‐sectional area (CSA) of the median nerve in chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients. Patients with end‐sta...

Background Natural killer T (NKT) cells are unconventional T cells that bridge innate and adaptive immunity. NKT cells have been implicated in the development of atopic dermatitis (AD). Objective We aimed to investigate the role of NKT cells in AD development, especially in skin. Methods Global proteomic and transcriptomic analyses were performed...

Purpose This study is to directly compare surgical outcomes between conventional nipple-sparing mastectomy (CNSM) and robot-assisted nipple-sparing mastectomy (RNSM). Materials and Method For this case–control study, 369 cases of 333 patients who underwent CNSM or RNSM with immediate reconstruction between November 2016 and January 2019 at Severan...

Background/aims: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is an underestimated yet important risk factor for the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD), characterized by tubulointerstitial fibrosis and tubular dedifferentiation. Tubular dedifferentiation, which is associated with the loss of epithelial markers and the gain of mesenchymal features, is though...

Renal ischemia–reperfusion injury (IRI) is one of the major causes of acute kidney injury (AKI). Although Akt is involved in renal IRI, it is unclear as to which Akt isoform plays an important role in renal IRI. In this study, we investigated the role of Akt1 in renal IRI. We subjected the C57BL/6 male mice to unilateral IRI with contralateral neph...

Introduction The effect of radiation on uncomplicated postoperative scars is unclear. This study aimed to analyze irradiated and non-irradiated scars in patients with unilateral breast cancer, who underwent oncoplastic breast reduction surgery and radiation therapy, to identify how postoperative scar changes with radiation. Methods Twenty breast s...

We investigated the role of Akt1, one of the three isoforms of Akt, in renal fibrosis using the murine model of unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). We subjected wild type and Akt1-/- mice to UUO. The Akt1 gene was silenced in vitro using short hairpin RNA delivered via a lentiviral vector in human proximal tubular cells (HK2 cells) and kidney fi...

Background Emerging radiation technologies are expected to provide a positive impact on the reduction in postoperative complications in patients receiving prosthetic breast reconstruction. This study aimed to determine whether hypofractionated radiation therapy(RT) with volumetric modulated arc therapy(VMAT) is superior to conventional RT in the se...

Purpose: To evaluate the long-term changes in subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT) in eyes with type 3 macular neovascularization (MNV) that underwent anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy. Methods: This retrospective study was performed with 47 patients diagnosed with type 3 MNV and treated with anti-VEGF therapy. All the patien...

Purpose: To evaluate the natural history of the idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM) in children and young adults. Methods: This retrospective study included 52 patients younger than 40 years who had been diagnosed with idiopathic ERM. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central retinal thickness (CRT) measured at diagnosis were compared wit...

Diabetes is a leading cause of end-stage renal disease. Therefore, prevention of renal dysfunction is an important treatment goal in the management of diabetes. The data of landmark cardiovascular outcome trials of sodiumglucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors showed profound reno-protective effects. The Korean Diabetes Association and the Korea...

To evaluate the influence of fibrovascular pigment epithelial detachment (FVPED) on treatment outcomes in eyes with subretinal hemorrhage secondary to neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). This retrospective study included 83 eyes diagnosed with fovea-involving submacular hemorrhage secondar...

Background: Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is the most commonly encountered glomerular disease in Asian countries. It has a broad clinical presentation, and it is frequently associated with other conditions. Chronic liver disease is well recognized as the leading cause of secondary IgAN. However, cases of IgAN associated with autoimmune hepat...

Purpose: To assess differences in the progression of macular atrophy (MA) between neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) subtypes and to identify the risk factors associated with the foveal involvement among patients with MA undergoing long-term anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment. Methods: Eighty eyes of 80 pati...

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate outcomes in patients with submacular hemorrhage secondary to polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) after switching treatment from a fixed-dose to an as-needed regimen. Methods: This retrospective study included 19 patients with submacular hemorrhage secondary to PCV who were treated with fixed-...

Progressive fibrosis of the dermal tissues is a challenging complication of radiotherapy whose underlying mechanism is not fully understood, and there are few available treatments. The canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway plays an important role in fibrosis as well as in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). We investigated whether i...

Background: Urgent-start peritoneal dialysis (PD) is applied to patients who need PD within two weeks but are able to wait for more than 48 hours before starting PD. To evaluate the usefulness of percutaneous PD catheter insertion in urgent-start PD, we reviewed the clinical outcomes of percutaneous catheter insertion with immediate start PD and s...

PurposeTo investigate the rate and timing of switching between ranibizumab and aflibercept and to evaluate the difference in the switching rates among the different subtypes of neovascularization.Methods This retrospective study included 386 patients (386 eyes) who had been diagnosed with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or polypo...

Diabetes is a leading cause of end-stage renal disease. Therefore, prevention of renal dysfunction is an important treatment goal in the management of diabetes. The data of landmark cardiovascular outcome trials of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor showed profound reno-protective effects. The Korean Diabetes Association and the Korea...

Purpose: To evaluate the periodicity of the intervals of lesion reactivation in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: This retrospective study included 139 eyes diagnosed with treatment-naive neovascular AMD and treated with antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy. Patients were initially treated...

Purpose: To evaluate long-term clinical outcomes in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) who were treated with an as-needed regimen but were switched to a proactive regimen during the course of treatment. Methods: This retrospective study included 23 eyes with neovascular AMD which were initially treated with an as-neede...

In the design of a fusion reactor, a helium cooling system (HCS) is used to extract heat from the blanket. To reduce the permeated tritium to HCS, coolant purification system (CPS) has been developed and experimental loop has been constructed. In the present paper, the main components of the CPS loop such as oxide bed and absorption bed were introd...

Background and Aims Acute kidney injury (AKI) is an underestimated, yet important risk factor for the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD), which is characterized by the tubulointerstitial fibrosis and tubular epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Akt has been reported to be involved in renal fibrosis and EMT. Thus, we investigated the ro...

Background and Aims Previous studies have found the increased Akt activity in experimental renal fibrosis. We investigated the role of Akt1, one of the three Akt isoforms, in renal fibrosis using the murine model of unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). Method In vivo, we subjected the wild type and Akt1−/− mice to UUO. In vitro, gene silencing o...

Available experimental efforts on ceramic pebble beds and their associated constitutive equations are necessarily derived from single-effect tests where one parameter is varied and its effects are isolated and studied separately (e.g., using constant temperatures and externally applied loads). These experiments are incapable of reproducing the true...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Background: To evaluate the difference in the long-term treatment outcomes of type 3 neovascularization between eyes with geographic atrophy and those with fibrotic scars. Methods: This retrospective study included 195 eyes diagnosed with type 3 neovascularization and treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents. The includ...

A helium-cooled ceramic reflector (HCCR) blanket was studied as a candidate breeder blanket for the Korean DEMO reactor. A detailed three-dimensional neutronics model based on a K-DEMO model and a simplified thermal-hydraulic model were established for the HCCR-DEMO blanket conceptual design analysis. The insertion of a graphite reflector resulted...

An advanced reduced activation alloy (ARAA) has been developed as a structural material for breeding blankets in fusion reactors. A breeding blanket has a relatively complex structure, so various welding methods, such as electron beam welding and similar and dissimilar tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding have been developed for the manufacture of bree...

The safety of metformin use for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and advanced kidney disease is controversial, and more recent guidelines have suggested that metformin be used cautiously in this group until more definitive evidence concerning its safety is available. The Korean Diabetes Association and the Korean Society of Nephrology...

Background/Objective Volume replacement with the latissimus dorsi (LD) is an option for patients after partial mastectomy. Although potential benefits of using the endoscopic technique have been previously described, previous studies have not assessed long term volume and aesthetic outcomes compared to traditional methods. In this study, we aim to...

To investigate the long-term clinical course after vitrectomy for breakthrough vitreous hemorrhage secondary to neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). This retrospective study included 45 eyes that underwent vitrectomy due to breakthrough vitreous hemorrhage secondary to neovascular AMD. The...

Purpose To evaluate the efficacy of intravitreal aflibercept monotherapy for submacular hemorrhage secondary to neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). Methods This prospective, phase 4 clinical trial included 29 patients diagnosed with fovea-involving submacular hemorrhage secondary to neova...

Background: As the indications for postmastectomy radiotherapy expand, innovative solutions are required to reduce operative complications and reconstructive failure after prosthetic breast reconstruction. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of acellular dermal matrix (ADM) inlay grafts in preventing postoperative wound dehiscence of...

Seeking smaller and indistinct incisions, physicians have attempted endoscopic breast surgery in breast cancer patients. Unfortunately, there are some limitations in the range of movement and visualization of the operation field. Potentially addressing these limitations, we investigated the outcomes of gas and gasless robot-assisted nipple-sparing...

Background The latissimus dorsi (LD) myocutaneous flap is a widely used local option in oncoplastic surgery for avoiding breast deformities; however, concerns exist regarding its influence in monitoring recurrence. In this study, we evaluated the impact of this flap on postoperative cancer surveillance. Methods Each patient receiving oncoplastic s...

Neutron generators (NG) are being increasingly used in various industrial and research areas such as neutron activation analysis, neutron radiography, and neutron capture therapy. In such applications of neutron generators, compactness is one of the most important issues. Since a neutron source is generated by deuterium-deuterium (D-D) or deuterium...

Significance: In patients initially diagnosed as having unilateral polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy, the visual prognosis of the better-seeing eye is highly favorable. If patients are overly pessimistic regarding their vision in the future, physicians can encourage patients by informing them of the small possibility for visual deterioration in th...

Purpose To investigate the clinical significance of focal retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) atrophy in the eyes with type 3 neovascularization. Methods This retrospective study included 184 eyes those were diagnosed with type 3 neovascularization and were treated with antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy. Focal RPE atrophy was defi...

Background/aims: Pancreatic cancer has a very poor prognosis, and early diagnosis is a way to increase the survival rate of patients. The purpose of this study was to develop pancreatic cancer-specific peptides for imaging studies. Methods: Three pancreatic cancer cell lines, MIA PaCa-2, UACC-462, and BxPC-3, and a control cell line, CCD841, wer...

Background: The use of anatomic implants has improved the aesthetic results of breast surgery; however, implant malrotation is an uncommon, but serious complication of these procedures. Nevertheless, little research has explored implant adhesion. In this study, we investigated adhesion between the expander and the capsule. Methods: Seventy-nine...

The IRB number of the published article was A-2015-016 (page 1512, 1st paragraph of the method section).

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of the fellow-eye examination interval on visual acuity at fellow-eye neovascularization in unilateral Type 3 neovascularization. Methods: This retrospective, observational study included 55 patients who were initially diagnosed with unilateral Type 3 neovascularization and subsequently developed fellow-eye neo...

Purpose: To investigate the clinical characteristics of perifoveal exudative vascular anomalous complex (PEVAC) in Korean patients. Methods: This retrospective study included 8 eyes (8 patients) diagnosed with PEVAC. Demographic characteristics of the patients, fundus photography, optical coherence tomography (OCT), fluorescein angiography, and ind...

Purpose The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the long-term incidence and timing of reactivation in patients with type 3 neovascularization who were treated with three monthly anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections. Methods A total of 179 patients (179 eyes) diagnosed with type 3 neovascularization with dry macula aft...

Purpose: To compare the responses of types 1 (sub-pigment epithelial) and 2 (subretinal) neovascularization in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) to anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment. Methods: Fifty-five treatment-naïve neovascular AMD eyes (53 patients) were retrospectively included for analysis. All patients...

Purpose To evaluate age-related differences in the prevalence of subtypes of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in the first diagnosed eye. Methods This retrospective, observational study included 1099 eyes of 1099 patients diagnosed with neovascular AMD. The neovascular AMD cases were classified into three subtypes: typical neovas...

Purpose: This study investigated the association between radiation dose and complication rate in patients who underwent breast reconstruction to understand the role of radiation hypofractionated regimen, boost radiation therapy (RT), and RT techniques. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 75 patients treated with post-mastectomy adjuvant RT for br...

Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and comparison of dosimetric parameters for development of post-RT reconstruction-related complication between the areas under the ROC curve after conversion to an equivalent dose in 2-Gy fractions [α/β = 3 (A) or 10 (B)]. AUC, area under curve; CW CTV, chest wall clinical target volume; CI, confidence...

Background The internal mammary artery (IMA) perforator has assumed recent prominence as recipient vessels in free autologous breast reconstruction. However, anatomical understanding is unclear, due to limited cadaver and clinical studies. We evaluated the usability of these vessels by evaluating perforator size, dominance, laterality, interspace l...

Purpose: To evaluate the incidence of multifocal lesions and the distribution of lesion location in Type 3 neovascularization. Methods: This retrospective, observational study included 148 eyes of 148 patients diagnosed with Type 3 neovascularization. The number of Type 3 neovascularization lesions was counted, and the incidence of multiple lesi...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of intravitreal aflibercept for active polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) without active polyps and to identify prognostic factors. We enrolled 40 eyes from 40 patients who manifested PCV with exudation but without active polyps after prior treatment with photodynamic therapy (PDT) and/or...

Helium-cooled ceramic reflector (HCCR) blanket concept was proposed as a DEMO breeding blanket in Korea. It adopted lithium ceramic breeder, graphite reflector to reduce the beryllium multiplier, reduced activation ferritic-martensitic steel as a structural material, and high pressure/temperature helium as a coolant. As a pre-conceptual design stud...

In accordance with the national fusion energy program of Korea, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has established a road map for the development of a volumetric fusion neutron source (V-FNS) and begun development of a compact fusion neutron source (C-FNS) for fusion, fission, and industrial applications. Regarding the C-FNS development...

Background: Acellular dermal matrices (ADMs) have recently become widely used in breast reconstruction, but the correlation between the final expander volume and the surface area of the ADM is not well understood. In this study, the expansion of the surface area of ADM and the expander volume was studied retrospectively in cases of acellular dermi...

Robotic surgery facilitates surgical procedures by employing flexible arms with multiple degrees of freedom and providing high-quality 3-dimensional imaging. Robot-assisted nipple-sparing mastectomy with immediate reconstruction is currently performed to avoid breast scars. Four patients with invasive ductal carcinoma underwent robot-assisted nippl...

Purpose The creation of the nipple-areola complex is the final stage in breast reconstruction and highly affects patient satisfaction. The neo-nipple is well known to shrink over time, particularly in the nipple projection. Currently, no reconstruction technique is clearly superior in terms of nipple size maintenance. We evaluated nipple size chang...

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of axial length on the recurrence of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) after anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy. Methods: A retrospective review of the medical records for 45 eyes of 45 patients, who were diagnosed with neovascular AMD and treated with three ranibizumab injections per month,...

Purpose Erythropoietin (EPO) deficiency and resistance to endogenous EPO is an important pathophysiological feature in anemia of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Low 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D] level is known to contribute to anemia of CKD. We aimed to investigate the associations between serum 1,25(OH)2D and anemia, EPO deficiency, and endog...

Recently, increased attention has been focused on endoscopic disinfection after outbreaks of drug resistant infections associated with gastrointestinal endoscopy. The aims of this study were to investigate the bactericidal efficacy of methylene blue (MB)‐based photodynamic therapy (PDT) on Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), which is the major...