PREOPERATIVE SONOGRAPHY IN DETECTING SMALL BENIGN CYSTIC TERATOMAS

Identification of small ovarian benign cystic teratomas (dermoid cysts ) is difficult and sometimes impossible by clinical findings alone. Th ey may be missed even on direct inspection during laparotomy or laparo scopy. There are several typical ovarian sonographic signs which are k nown to occur frequently in women with benign ovarian cystic teratomas . High-resolution sonography can identify the cysts based on their typ ical sonographic signs. Since these very small dermoid cysts are somet imes undetected by the naked eye during the operation, ultrasonography with particular attention to the signs is very important. We present three case reports that illustrate the problem and stress the contribu tion of preoperative sonography in the diagnosis and treatment of such cases.