SONOGRAPHIC IMAGING OF TUMORS OF THE SOFT PARTS AND JOINT-ASSOCIATED SOFT PART ALTERATIONS

Valid preoperative imaging procedures are important in the diagnosis o f soft-tissue tumours of the extremeties due to their potential malign an. The value of ultrasound regarding these tumours is still under con troversial discussion. Hence, it was the aim of this retrospective stu dy to examine the value of ultrasound in respect of these particular p roblems. Therefore, in 20 cases ultrasonography was compared with intr aoperative findings and other imaging techniques. Finally ultrasonogra phy is merely an ''adkuvant'' diagnostic procedure, because it does no t precisely outline the anatomical topography is incomplete and differ entiation from neural and vascular structures is not possible in all c ases. In contrast, ultrasonographic description of the size of tumours demonstrates a good correlation when compared with intraoperative fin dings. In addition, ultrasound examination can help to improve preoper ative diagnosis in cases when imaging with MRI and CT is disturbed due to already implanted metallic endoprosthetic components.