Virtual cystoscopy: the evaluation of bladder lesions with computed tomographic virtual cystoscopy

Purpose

Our objective was to assess the accuracy of computed tomographic virtual cystoscopy (CTVC) in the detection of urinary bladder lesions.

Methods

Twenty-five patients were examined using CTVC. Bladder scanned using multislice CT at a slice thickness of 1 mm. The data were transferred to a workstation for interactive navigation using surface rendering. Findings obtained from CTVC were compared with results from conventional cystoscopy and with pathological findings.

Results

Thirty-eight lesions were identified. The smallest was 0.2 × 0.3 cm; the largest was 7 × 4.5 cm. Both CTVC and conventional cystoscopy were used. Conventional cystoscopy detected the same number of lesions that were detected by CTVC. On morphological examination, 26 of the lesions were polypoid, 7 were sessile and 5 were bladder wall-thickening. While one of the polypoid lesions was reported as an inverted papilloma, 2 of the 5 lesions that were identified as wall-thickening were malignant and 3 were benign. The sensitivity of using CTVC to identify neoplasias was 100%; the accuracy was 89%.

Conclusion

Although the definitive diagnosis of some suspected urinary bladder tumours is only possible with conventional cystoscopy and biopsy, CTVC is a minimally invasive technique which provides beneficial information about urinary bladder lesions.