UTILIZATION OF COLOR DUPLEX ULTRASONOGRAP HY IN DIAGNOSING OF TUMORS OF THE PAROTID-GLANDS

The sensitivity of diagnostic imaging of processes in the parotid glan d has been increased by improved spatial resolution, yet specifity rem ains unchanged. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the low-flow color duplex technique alters the specifity of B-mode ultras onography. Patients and Methods: Forty-one patients with tumors of the parotid gland were examined by color duplex echography as well as his tologically. Twenty-eight of the 41 patients had benign tumors and 13 had malignant disease, in 17 of 41 patients, color duplex ultrasonogra phy failed to detect any vascularization within the tumor. Histopathol ogical examination showed that 3 of these 17 tumors were malignant and 14 of 17 were benign. Intranodal vascularization was detected in 24 c ases. Ten of these patients were found to have malignant tumors of the parotid gland; 14 had benign parotid tumors. Results: Our present fin dings show that marked intratumoral vascularization especially appears in malignant tumors. In contrast to lymph nodes, the location and tex ture of intranodal blood vessels do not provide information about the nature of the neoplasm. Conclusions: Low flow duplex ultrasonography d oes not increase the specifity of preoperative examination in tumors o f the parotid gland.