[Role of vaginal sonography in the assessment of adnexa tumors]. / Zur Rolle der Vaginalsonografie bei der Beurteilung von Adnextumoren.

ABSTRACT

Ultrasound has for a long time been established as an essential part of the gynecological examination. Vaginal Ultrasound, which was introduced some years ago, renders more precise pictures as well as better diagnostic results in comparison to abdominal ultrasound. This is especially true for obese and/or old patients. We expected, therefore, that the vaginal ultrasound method would not only lead to a better and more precise structure-analysis but also to a better evaluation and characterization of findings, especially concerning pelvic masses. Our expectations that we would be able to make a diagnosis which would be very close to the findings of histology or to make prognoses on the basis of the sonographic results of 125 female patients with pelvic masses were, however, largely disappointed. Although its application is simpler and it produces pictures of a better quality, the variety of morphological symptoms of adnexal masses remains the limiting factor, which makes it impossible in most cases to predict the histologic findings. Pelvic masses must still be evaluated--in spite of the better quality of the pictures--through a synopsis of clinical, chemical and picture-giving methods.