Differential diagnosis in scrotal ultrasound. A review of 128 consecutive cases

One hundred and twenty-eight male patients were examined by ultrasound during a period of two years. The hospital records of the patients were reviewed one to three years after the first examination. The role of the ultrasound diagnosis in the differential diagnosis of suspected scrotal diseases was re-evaluated from a radiologist's point of view. Ultrasound is useful in the differentiation of intra- and extratesticular pathology, especially when palpation is difficult. All the extratesticular lesions were benign. The pathological intratesticular findings are described and pitfalls in the differential diagnosis discussed. It seems possible that the patient history greatly affects the ultrasound diagnosis when there is an intratesticular finding. Ultrasound should be used to provide reference information for the necessary follow-up studies of the effects of treatment.