Clinical study on ultrasonic diagnosis in field of oral surgery

Abstract

With respect to the ultrasonic diagnosis in the field of oral surgery revealing complicated anatomical forms, it is desirable to analyze each echogram after the classification of the respective diseases by region and organ. This paper clarifies the characteristics of the ultrasonograms in each disease in the respective regions and states the utility of ultrasonic diagnosis . The subjects enrolled in this study are 222 patients on whom histopathological or clinical diagnoses were made among the 350 patients who underwent ultrasonic examinations at our department for a 3-year period from September 1983 to August 1986. The instruments used were Toshiba SAL-30A and Aloka echocamera SSD-125, employing probes of 7.5MHz, 5.0MHz and 3. 5MHz, respectively. The characteristic echogram findings in the respective regions are as follows: 1) Cheek, zygoma and infraorbital region: The role of ultrasonotomography was considered to grasp the progress in the pathological changes and the relative positioning relationship with the surrounding organs and tissues. 2) Submandibular gland: It seemed relatively easy to diagnose the presence of sialolith in sialolithiasis by the echogram and this was regarded to be useful in the patients who could not undergo sialography. 3) Parotid gland: The degree of utility of ultrasonotomography was considered to be high and the role as a screening examination in particular seemed significant. 4) Palate: Ultrasonograms were obtained by the intraoral scan and it was possible to examine the finer regions as compared with the X-ray CT. 5) Mouth floor: This was excellent in illustrating the organs and tissues adjacent to the mucosa of the oral cavity by the intraoral scan, and the relationship between the pathological changes and the sublingual gland and mouth floor muscles was evidently illustrated. 6) Neck: The echogram of the metastatic lymph nodes was characterized by a plain border and enhancement of the back/posterior echograms. The accurate diagnosis rate of the metastatic lymph nodes by ultrasonotomography was as high as 91. 8%.