Journal - Acta otorhinolaryngologica Italica : organo ufficiale della Società italiana di otorinolaringologia e chirurgia cervico-facciale (ITALY )

Abstract :

Today ultrasound, often integrated with CT and NMR, is used in the differential diagnosis of parotid masses. Color-Doppler Sonography is a recently introduced method which makes it possible to evaluate intra- and perilesional vascularization and to perform a hemodynamic study of the area being explored. Using an Acuson 12P ultrasound unit 21 patients with surgically treated parotid neoformations were examined. All had previously undergone traditional ultrasound and CT. An abundant vascularization, both intralesional and peripheral, was found in 4 malignant lesions, in one intraglandular granulomatose lymph adenopathy, in one pleomorphic adenoma of the deep lobe and in one case of Sjögren's syndrome. In the remaining cases (7 pleomorphic adenomas and 7 cystoadenolymphomas) vascularization was either totally absent or only slightly visible in the periphery. These preliminary results would appear to indicate that the presence of hypervascularization testifies to a malignant lesion or to an inflammatory disorder. The Color-Doppler Sonography can provide a useful adjunct to conventional ultrasound, increasing diagnostic accuracy in cervical-parotid masses.