PICTORIAL REVIEW - ULTRASONOGRAPHY OF PRIMARY BONE-TUMORS

We present our experience with the use of ultrasonography in the asses sment of suspected primary or recurrent bone tumours of the appendicul ar skeleton and pelvis in 73 patients. Ultrasound can effectively asse ss the extraosseous component of malignant and aggressive benign lesio ns and those tumours arising from the surface of the bone. Periosteal reaction, cortical destruction, pathological fracture, matrix minerali zation, fluid-fluid levels and involvement of the neurovascular bundle are all identified. Despite this, we could not identify any advantage of ultrasound compared to plain radiography or magnetic resonance ima ging in diagnosis and local staging, However, ultrasound was found to be of great value in guiding percutaneous needle biopsy.