DOPPLER FLOW CHARACTERISTICS OF DERMOID CYSTS - UNIQUE APPEARANCE OF STRUMA OVARII

The purpose of our study was to evaluate the Doppler flow characterist ics of ovarian dermoid cysts. In 70 women (mean age, 38.7 +/- 14.6 yea rs), 78 ovarian lesions with mean diameter of 48.9 +/- 28.4 mm and pre operative sonographic diagnosis of dermoid cyst of the ovary were eval uated prospectively by Doppler flow sonography; these cysts were event ually removed surgically. The findings were compared to the postoperat ive histologic results. In 74 lesions (eight cases were bilateral), wh en blood flow patterns were detected (detection rate of 24.3%) they we re obtained only from the ovarian tissue surrounding the dermoid cavit y, with a mean resistive index of 0.6 +/- 0.1 (range, 0.4 to 0.76). In four cases, which were proved postoperatively to be struma ovarii, bl ood flow was detected not only from the cyst capsule but also from the centrally positioned solid area (dermoid tissue), with a mean RI of 0 .565 +/- 0.08 (range, 0.509 to 0.667). Dermoid cysts of the ovary are devoid of blood flow, with flow detection rate being only 24.3% from t he cyst capsule. When apparently vascularized solid tissue is detected in the central part of a sonographically suspected benign cystic tera toma, struma ovary is highly suspected.