SONOGRAPHY - THE UNDISCOVERED JEWEL OF INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY

Because most radiologists in the United States have been taught that f luoroscopy and computed tomography (CT) are the best guidance techniqu es for nonvascular interventional procedures, sonography has been grea tly underused in this regard. Recently, sonography has been gaining re cognition as a highly useful and versatile guidance technique. It has many advantages over CT and fluoroscopic guidance, including real-time imaging with vessel visualization, decreased procedure time and cost, portability, and lack of ionizing radiation. Sonography should be the primary guidance technique for many nonvascular interventional proced ures, and use of sonography as an adjunct guidance technique increases the ease and speed with which many other interventional procedures ar e performed. Sonography should generally be used instead of CT for gui dance of abdominal and pelvic biopsy and drainage. Sonographic guidanc e should replace CT and fluoroscopic guidance for biopsy and drainage of accessible peripheral thoracic and mediastinal masses. Use of sonog raphic guidance should be integrated into all interventional radiology suites to reduce radiation exposure and facilitate the performance of many nonvascular and some vascular interventional procedures that hav e traditionally been performed under fluoroscopic guidance.