Postoperative peritoneal cysts.

Peritoneal cysts are an infrequent postoperative complication. Few cases have been reported in the literature. This paper presents four cases seen after gynecologic operations. The cysts occurred 1.5 to 8 months postoperatively. The patients presented with pain and a large pelvic mass. No patient showed clinical or laboratory evidence of acute inflammation. Ovarian neoplasm was the leading diagnosis in three cases; the correct preoperative diagnosis of peritoneal cyst was made in only one case. Three patients were managed successfully with resection. One patient was treated with percutaneous drainage, though nine months was required for complete resolution. There were no recurrences at one-year follow-up.

Magnetic resonance imaging of benign adnexal conditions.

Magnetic resonance imaging can be used to demonstrate a variety of benign adnexal diseases. However, the real utility and efficacy of MR imaging in benign pelvic disease has not been investigated thoroughly. This is the challenge for future research. Presently, particularly in light of changes in the health care system, it is incumbent upon radiologists, gynecologists, and other clinicians to determine what additional information MR imaging will add to the diagnostic evaluation already completed before performing MR imaging. One must ask several questions. Will MR imaging provide additional information? Will that information affect care and treatment of the patient? Will the treatment be beneficial to the care of the patient? Will the patient agree to the management? Many times these questions are not asked. And if asked, the answers are unknown or under investigation. However, using one's best clinical judgment and armed with the knowledge at hand, if answers to the above questions are yes, then MR imaging may prove useful.

Nurses in medical school.

Each year more nurses are accepted into medical school. They bring a unique background and an already established philosophy of patient care. Thirty-three nurses currently enrolled in medical school completed questionnaires that focused on their motivation for a career change and their projected specialty preference. Most nurse-medical students were motivated for a career change because of a desire for increased patient responsibility. Most students expressed interest in primary care specialties. There was a close association between employment experience as a nurse and projected specialty preference as a doctor.

MR evaluation of uterine anomalies.

The MR features of uterine anomalies were analyzed in eight women. Scans were done on a 1.5-T magnet with T1-weighted (TR 600 msec, TE 25 msec) and T2-weighted (TR 2000-2500 msec, TE 35-80 msec) spin-echo images obtained in several planes. The anomalies consisted of bicornuate uterus (three cases), septate uterus (one case), bicornuate uterus with septation (two cases), unicornuate uterus (one case), and uterus didelphys with vaginal septum (one case). These diagnoses were confirmed by hysterosalpingography with laparoscopy (five cases), dilation and curettage with laparoscopy (one case), or cesarean section (two cases). In six of the eight cases, MR correctly identified and accurately classified the type of anomaly. In the other two cases, the MR diagnosis was a bicornuate uterus with septation. One case proved to be a uterus didelphys with vaginal septum, and the other a bicornuate uterus without septation. The study shows that MR is a valuable tool for the diagnosis of uterine anomalies.

Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging in gynecology.

Nuclear magnetic resonance proton imaging is a new imaging technique that holds promise for gynecologic diagnosis. Without the use of ionizing radiation, it provides images with excellent definition of the major pelvic organs. The extent and nature of disease are well demonstrated. In this report, an introduction to the principles of nuclear magnetic resonance imaging is given and several clinical examples that reveal the potential uses of nuclear magnetic resonance imaging in the female pelvis are shown.

Adnexal masses: MR imaging observations at 1.5 T, with US and CT correlation.

To assess the role of 1.5-T magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in evaluation of the adnexa, 43 consecutive examinations that revealed 61 adnexal masses were retrospectively reviewed. T1- and T2-weighted images in coronal, axial, and/or sagittal planes were included. Available ultrasound (US) (n = 30) and/or computed tomographic (CT) (n = 9) scans were then correlated with the MR images. On T2-weighted images at least part of all adnexal masses was of higher signal intensity than surrounding muscle and adipose tissue, and therefore the adnexal masses were best seen with these sequences. T1-weighted imaging improved tissue characterization by revealing signal characteristics of fat in teratomas and characteristics of blood in endometriomas or hemorrhagic cysts, pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian carcinomas, serous cystadenomas, and teratomas. MR imaging provided additional information or increased diagnostic confidence in 25 of 30 patients who underwent US or CT. MR imaging is a promising problem-solving modality after US in the study of adnexal abnormalities.