title: Hookwire localizer as an aid for ultrasonic detection of small liver nodules.
abstract: We applied a V-shaped localizer and evaluated its clinical usefulness in nine patients with small hepatic nodules less than 2 cm in diameter. A small hepatic nodule was punctured with a 21-gauge localization needle under ultrasonic guidance, and the V-shaped localizer was pushed into the nodule with a wire. The localizer could be observed as a strong echo line by ultrasonography and as a high-density bar by computed tomography (CT). By this method, it was possible to precisely localize the nodule. Intraoperative ultrasonography became less time-consuming, and resection of the nodules could be confirmed with low-kilovoltage radiography.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Center for Adult Diseases, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kasugai
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukuzaki
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tatsuta
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kitamra
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okuda
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Imaoka
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000295:instrumentation*