Echocolor Power Doppler with contrast medium to evaluate vascularization in lesions of the soft tissues of the limbs.
OBJECTIVE
Echocolor Power Doppler with contrast medium forms a non-invasive vascular image; the purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness in differentiating benign and malignant tumors in the soft tissues of the limbs.


METHODS
Echocolor Power Doppler with contrast medium was used to study 80 patients with swelling in the soft tissues of the limbs: there were 54 benign lesions, 22 sarcomas, and 4 aggressive desmoid fibromatoses.


RESULTS
Were identified 4 patterns of wash-in and wash-out curves that could be correlated to the histological diagnosis: type I was present in 85% of benign lesions, type III in 91% of malignant lesions and in 3.7% of the benign ones, type II in aggressive fibromatoses, anomalous type in 4 benign lesions and 2 sarcomas; the curve was absent in 2 benign lesions.


CONCLUSIONS
Power Doppler Echocolor with contrast medium can become a useful method to be associated with traditional imaging methods in the differential diagnosis of swelling of the soft tissues of the limbs.
De Marchi
A
A
Dipartimento di Radiologia, Dipartimento di Traumatologia ed Ortopedia, Azienda Ospedaliera CTO, CRF, Maria Adelaide, Torino.
De Petro
P
P
Faletti
C
C
Brach del Prever
E M
EM
Gino
G
G
Albertini
U
U
Piana
R
R
Marone
S
S
Mellano
D
D
Linari
A
A
Forni
M
M
Bertoldo
U
U
Comandone
A
A
Boglione
A
A
Brach del Prever
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001132:Arm; D002648:Child; D003287:Contrast Media; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color
D003287:Contrast Media