Sonographic Diagnosis of Ovarian Masses

Abstract

Abstract Transabdominal ultrasonography was initially used for the investigation of overt abdominal swellings and much later for the detection of early ovarian cancer in asymptomatic women. The technique was undoubtedly of value for detecting transient, persistent and overt ovarian cysts. Subsequently, the resolving power of pelvic ultrasonography was increased substantially by the advent of transvaginal probes. This revolutionary development was first applied to systemic studies of overt ovarian masses in patients awaiting surgery. Over the past decade, several ultrasound-based morphological scoring systems, color Doppler parameters, logistic regression models have been proposed and tested in order to try to predict the histology of ovarian tumors. On prospective testing, no standard criterion has been published. Therefore, it is important for each operator to establish their own criteria based on individual recognition potential.