A congenital defect of the anterior wall of the external auditory canal (EAC) is known as foramen of Huschke. The tympanic bone is incompletely developed and has a U shape at birth. The foramen of Huschke closes via continuous bone growth, which occurs before the age of 5 years. A persistent foramen of Huschke is an anatomic variation located in the anteroinferior portion of EAC, which can cause ear discomfort with spontaneous temporomandibular joint (TMJ) herniation into the EAC bony defect. We present a case of 50-year-old man who had a symptomatic TMJ herniation through an osseous defect. The physical examination showed a bulging mass of anterioinferior portion of EAC when the patient closed his mouth, which was retracted when the mouth openned. We report a case of surgical reconstruction of the EAC wall defect, and the foramen of Huschke with titanium mesh via preauricular approach along with literature’s review.

Purpose: To investigate the presentation, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) in Busan, South Korea, over a 5-year period. Methods: This retrospective study involved a review of the medical records of 16 patients (19 eyes in total) who were diagnosed with AK, related to wearing contact lenses, at the tertiary hospital, Pusan National University Hospital at Busan City, from December 2013 to December 2018. Results: Nineteen eyes of 16 patients with a diagnosis of AK were identified. The average age of the patients was 21.1±12.6 years; there were 2 men and 14 women. The mean period from the onset of the first symptoms to diagnosis was 7.0±6.5 days. The average initial visual acuity was 0.78±0.37 (tested on a logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution chart), and the final visual acuity after treatment was 0.07±0.07, indicating a significant improvement (P=0.001). A variety of corneal lesions were identified. Early diagnosis of AK was associated with a significantly better final visual acuity. Conclusion: The average therapeutic period for AK, when a surface epithelial lesion of the cornea was identified, was 4 months compared with an average period of over 6 months for a deeper stromal lesion. Therefore, this study highlights the fundamental importance of early diagnosis, preventing deeper layers of the cornea from being affected, and appropriate management to ensure a favorable outcome.

Purpose: To report two cases of pupil dilatation that occurred after laser treatment at the peripheral lattice degeneration or retinal hole. Case summary: A 28-year-old male was treated with a Pascal laser for barrier photocoagulation at 10-12 and 6 o'clock retinal holes and a lattice degeneration. He complained of decreased visual activity at near distance. The right pupil size was 5 mm and the left pupil size was 3 mm. The right eye was more dilatated. The relative afferent pupillary defect test of the right eye was normal and the direct light reflex was slightly decreased in the same eye. A 35-year-old female patient was treated with a barrier grid photocoagulation with an argon laser for peripheral retinal degeneration, which occurred 1 month prior. The right eye dilatation was 4 mm pupil size. Both the pupillary light reflex and the relative afferent pupillary defect test showed normal results. Conclusions: Because mydriasis can occur as an uncommon complication following barrier photocoagulation at the peripheral retinal degeneration and hole, mydriasis before the peripheral retinal treatmen should be fully explained to the patient. In addition, every effort should be made to minimize damage to the distribution of the short ciliary nerve, especially superior and inferior to the peripheral retinal lesion.

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Pancreatic cancer has a very high mortality with a 5-year survival of <5%. The purpose of this study was to classify specific molecular subtypes associated with prognosis of pancreatic cancer using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) multiplatform genomic data. Multiplatform genomic data (N = 178), including gene expression, copy number alteration, and somatic mutation data, were obtained from cancer browser ( https://genome-cancer.ucsc.edu , cohort: TCGA Pancreatic Cancer). Clinical data including survival results were analyzed. We also used validation cohort (GSE50827) to confirm the robustness of these molecular subtypes in pancreatic cancer. When we performed unsupervised clustering using TCGA gene expression data, we found three distinct molecular subtypes associated with different survival results. Copy number alteration and somatic mutation data showed different genomic patterns for these three subtypes. Ingenuity pathway analysis revealed that each subtype showed differentially altered pathways. Using each subtype-specific genes (200 were selected), we could predict molecular subtype in another cohort, confirming the robustness of these molecular subtypes of pancreatic cancer. Cox regression analysis revealed that molecular subtype is the only significant prognostic factor for pancreatic cancer ( P = .042, 95% confidence interval 0.523–0.98). Genomic analysis of pancreatic cancer revealed 3 distinct molecular subtypes associated with different survival results. Using these subtype-specific genes and prediction model, we could predict molecular subtype associated with prognosis of pancreatic cancer.