SECOND OF FOUR PARTS

Skilled US imaging of the adnexae
Part 2: The non-neoplastic mass

From simple cysts to endometriomas, nonneoplastic ovarian masses can be identified through ultrasonographic observation of their essential traits

Dr. Timor-Tritsch is Professor of ObGyn and Director of ObGyn Ultrasound at New York University Medical Center in New York City.

Dr. Goldstein is Professor of ObGyn, Director of Gynecologic Ultrasound, and Co-Director of Bone Densitometry at New York University Medical Center in New York City. He serves on the OBG Management Board of Editors.

Dr. Timor-Tritsch reports no financial relationships relevant to this article. Dr. Goldstein reports that he is an advisor to Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Merck, and Pfizer. He also serves as a consultant to Cook ObGyn and Philips Ultrasound and as a speaker for Eli Lilly and Warner Chilcott. He is a director of Sonosite, Inc.

Scanning the ovaries is no simple task. As we mentioned in Part 1 of this four-part series, the practitioner must use the right equipment, take basic preparatory steps, be watchful for clues in the history, and reach a conclusion about what he or she sees. Not only that: The ultrasonographer must be extraordinarily vigilant, paying close attention to multiple characteristics of any mass, from thickness of the wall to the presence of papillations or a blood supply—signs of potential malignancy.