| Abstract: | Grey scale abdominal ultrasound was used in a total of 146 children for primary diagnostic evaluation of abdominal masses and for follow-up of patients with malignant diseases. Of 93 patients examined for a suspected abdominal mass, 6 showed to have an intraabdominal tumour. In each case the site of tumour origin could be ascertained by ultrasound. The remaining 87 patients showed no pathological findings and have been tumour-free at routine follow-up studies. Sonography proved to be also useful in the follow-up of patients with malignant diseases. Local recurrence or metastases could be ruled out on the basis of sonographic findings alone in 32 out of 35 surgically treated patients, in 3 children with non-resectable tumours, changes in tumour size during radio- and chemotherapy could be studied. Diagnostic ultrasound was also of great importance in the assessment of complications after surgery, radio- and chemotherapy. So the early detection of hydronephrosis in 2 patients with treated nephroblastoma prevented a damage of the remaining kidney. Due to the high accuracy of sonography, invasive diagnostic methods could be restricted to a small number of patients in whom ultrasound failed to provide adequate information. |
