Search

Purpose: to evaluate the serial ultrasonographic findings of experimental intramuscular hemorrhaging to determine if there is a correlation with the pathologic findings. Materials and Methods: An uiltrasonography (US) was performed before and immediately after an intramuscular blood injection in nine rabbits. In addition, follow-up US images were obtained at 1, 4, 7, 10, 14, 21, and 28 days after the intramuscular blood injections in seven of the rabbits. The pathologic specimens, compared to the US findings on each date, and consisted of samples of left thigh muscle. Results: A US, performed immediately after a blood injection, showed two patterns; 6 cases of hyperechoic muscle thickening and 3 cases of hyperechoic muscle thickening with extravasation between the epimysium and muscle bundle or within muscle bundle. A follow-up US showed a marked decrease in intramuscular hemorrhaging and microcalcifications, which appeared on the 4th, 7th and 10th day after the blood injection. The pathologic findings revealed several short echogenic lines in the muscular bundles which were hemosiderin. Moreover, a 28 day follow-up US revealed that the normal findings are correlated with the normal gross pathologic findings. Conclusion: The US findings of the intramuscular hemorrhaging, for each of the follow-up dates, in comparison to the pathologic findings, revealed a high correlation with the pathologic specimens. Consequently, a US transducer with high resolution can be considered as a helpful technique in the diagnosing and evaluating the follow-up treatment of intramuscular hemorrhaging.

Purpose: To evaluate the CT images of reduced hips after posterior hip dislocation and to propose specific diagnostic criteria based on the CT results. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the CT findings on 18 reduced hips from 17 patients with radiographs and clinical histories of traumatic posterior hip dislocations by evaluating 18 corresponding CT scans for joint space asymmetry, intraarticular abnormalities (intra-articular fat obliteration, loose bodies, and joint effusion), changes in posterior soft tissue (capsule, muscles, and adjacent fat), the presence, and location of fractures (acetabulum and femoral head). Results: All 18 hips (100%) showed posterior soft tissue changes. In total, 17 hips (94.4%) had intra-articular abnormalities and 15 hips (83.3%) had joint space asymmetries. In addition, 17 hips (94.4%) had fractures involving the acetabula (15 cases, 88.2%), the femoral head (13 cases, 76.5%), or on both sides (11 cases, 64.7%). The most frequent fracture location was in the posterior wall (13/15, 86.7%) of the acetabulum and in the anterior aspect (10/13, 76.9%) of the femoral head. Conclusion: Patients with a prior history of posterior hip dislocation showed specific CT findings after reduction, suggesting the possibility of previous posterior hip dislocations in patients.

Purpose: To evaluate MRI findings of lateral lumbar disc herniations (LLDHs) and to determine whether those correlate with clinical symptoms. Materials and Methods: The study included 105 patients with LLDHs that were diagnosed by MRI. The distribution and location of the LLDHs (foraminal, extraforaminal, and foraminal and extraforaminal), the displacement of adjacent nerves, and the detection rate of LLDHs from axial and sagittal images were reviewed retrospectively by two radiologists. 36 patients were included in evaluating whether location of LLDHs and displacement of adjacent nerve correlate with radiculopathy. Results: The distributions of the LLDHs were 3.4% at L1-2, 14.4% at L2-3, 33% at L3-4, 33% at L4-5, and 16.9% at L5-S1. The locations were foraminal in 38.6% of cases, extraforaminal in 45.4% of cases, and foraminal and extraforaminal in 16% of cases. In addition, 77.3% of the diagnosed LLDH cases displaced the adjacent nerve. The detection rates of LLDHs in the axial and sagittal images were 100% and 77.3%, respectively. In 36 patients, 47.4% had radiculopathy related to LLDHs. Location of LLDHs and displacement of adjacent nerve had no statistically significant difference between patients with or without radiculopathy. Conclusion: MRI is an effective method for evaluating the location of LLDHs and their influence on adjacent nerves. The axial image is more important than the sagittal image in diagnosing LLDHs. The location of LLDHs and the displacement of adjacent nerve were not found to be related to radiculopathy.

Purpose: To correlate the plain radiographic findings of a supraspinatus tear with the degree and extent of a supraspinatus tear on MR images. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the plain radiographs of 35 patients with a supraspinatus tendon tear confirmed by MRI and surgery from July 2004 to June 2006. On the plain radiographs, degenerative changes of acromion and the greater tuberosity and acromiohumeral distance were evaluated. Patients were divided into groups according to the degree and size of the supraspinatus tendon tear and the duration of symptoms. We compared the degenerative changes score and acromiohumeral distance among the groups. Results: There was no statistically significant difference for the degenerative changes score for acromion and greater tuberosity among the groups classified by the degree and size of the supraspinatus tendon tear. However, the acromiohumeral distance was shorter as the extent of the tear was larger; this finding was statistically significant. There was no statistical correlation for the degenerative changes score and the acromiohumeral distance with the duration of symptoms. Conclusion: On plain radiographs of the shoulder joint, a decreased acromiohumeral distance is useful to predict the degree and size of a supraspinatus tear, but degenerative changes are not useful to predict the degree and size of a supraspinatus tear and do not correlate with symptom duration.

Purpose: We wanted to evaluate the diagnostic value of the various findings on sacroiliac CT for detecting the early changes of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Materials and Methods: Between April 2005 and March 2006, 51 sacroiliac CT images with the clinical suspicion of AS, but no definite evidence of AS on the plain radiograph only, were retrospectively reviewed. Finally, 36 patients (mean age: 28.6 years; 34 males and 2 females), who were clinically diagnosed as AS (AS group, n=26) or they had no evidence of AS (non-AS group, n=10), were evaluated. Two musculoskeletal radiologists analyzed the presence of marginal irregularity, bony erosion and subchondral sclerosis. A statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the incidence, sensitivity and specificity of each finding. Results: Marginal irregularity was seen in 21 of 26 AS subjects, and in 8 of 10 non-AS subjects. Bony erosion was only seen in 13 of 26 AS subjects. Subchondral sclerosis was observed in 19 of 26 AS subjects and in 8 of 10 non-AS subjects. The sensitivity/specificity for each findings were 72.4%/28.6%, 100%/43.5% and 70.4%/22.2%, respectively. Except for bony erosions, these results showed no statistical significance (p=.006). Conclusion: Bony erosion on CT is a very sensitive finding for the early changes of AS, whereas marginal irregularity or subchondral sclerosis is not so helpful in differentiating AS from non-AS. Attention to these results may further enhance the accurate diagnosis of the early changes in AS.

Fat tissue is a unique component of the soft tissue, and this fat tissue lies primarily in the spaces beneath the normal subcutaneous tissue, and within or around the organs. An entire lesion, or just a part of it, can be composed of these fat tissues. Therefore, it plays an important role in the diagnostic workup of suspected musculoskeletal diseases as well as in the differentiation between them. Fat tissue is shown as low density on plain radiographs, decreased attenuation on CT images, high signal intensity on T1-weighted images and it is hypoechoic on sonography. Because of its distinctive features, fat tissue is easy to verify on various modalities.?In addition, recent image studies like fat-suppressed imaging and STIR imaging provide more precise information of the lesion that involve fat tissue. In this article, we have reviewed the differentiation of musculoskeletal diseases, including the various tumorous lesion and tumor-like lesions involving the fat tissue.

Purpose: To compare the MR findings of a sequestered disc with an extruded disc. Materials and Methods: MR images of 28 patients with a sequestered disc and 18 patients with an extruded disc were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with sequestered discs were divided into two groups whether definite separation from the parent disc was or was not seen. In the latter group (definite separation not seen) and the extruded disc group of patients, the signal intensities of the herniated discs were compared with the signal intensities of the parent discs and were evaluated on T1- and T2-weighted images. We also assessed the presence of a notch within the herniated disc. Results: In the sequestered disc group of patients (28 discs), only 5 discs (18%) showed obvious separation from the parent disc. Among the remaining 23 discs with indefinite separation, the notch was visible in 14 discs (61%) and 9 discs (39%) had no notch. In the extruded disc group (18 discs), the notch was visible in 2 (11%) discs and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p = 0.0002). The signal intensities of the herniated discs on T1-weighted images were isointense in both the sequestered and extruded discs. The difference of incidence of high signal intensities on T2-weighted images was not statistically significant (p = 0.125). Conclusion: It is necessary to consider the possibility of the presence of a sequestered disc when a herniated disc material shows a notch.

Klippel-Feil syndrome (KFS) displays congenital fusion of the cervical vertebrae; it is a relatively common condition and has many associated malformations such as Sprengel's deformity, scoliosis, rib anomalies, congenital defects of the brain or spinal cord, renal anomalies, congenital heart disease, deafness, cleft palate, cranial and facial asymmetry, and enteric cysts. There are various types of cervical fusion observed in KFS. However, fusion of the odontoid process with the atlas is a very rare finding. We report here on a 4-year-old boy with unilateral fusion of a separated odontoid process with the lateral mass of the atlas, and this was associated with a spontaneously closed ventricular septal defect, a small patent ductus arteriosus and a horseshoe kidney.

Purpose: Kissing contusion between the posterolateral tibial plateau and lateral femoral condyle is frequently found in association with a tear of the anterior cruciate liagment (ACL). The purpose of this study was to determine which ligamentous and meniscal tears are associated with kissing contusion. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the findings depicted by 323 consecutive MR images of the knee and confirmed at arthroscopy. For the diagnosis of disruption, ligaments, medial menisci (MM) and lateral menisci (LM) were evaluated using accepted criteria. We compared the prevalence and location of meniscal and ligamentous tears between group I (44 knees with kissing contusion) and group II (279 knees without kissing contusion). For statistical analysis the chi-square test was used. Results: ACLs were torn in all 44 knees (100%) with kissing contusion, and 78 (28%) of 279 without kissing contusion. There were ten medial collateral ligament (MCL) tears (23%) in group I, and 17 MCL tears (6%), five lateral collateral ligament (LCL) tears (2%) and ten posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) tears (4%) in group II. In group I, meniscal tears were found in 22 MM (50%) and in 19 LM (43%), while in group II, they occurred in 128 MM (46%) and 128 LM (46%). In group I, 17 (77%) of 22 MM tears and 13 (68%) of 19 LM tears were located in the posterior horn, while in group II, the corresponding figures were 97/128 (76%) and 60 of 128 (47%). The differing prevalence of ACL and MCL tears between the groups was statistically significant (p0.05). Conclusion: Although kissing contusion was a highly specific sign of ACL tears, its presence was also significant among MCL tears. There was no signifficant difference in meniscal tears with or without kissing contusion.

Purpose: To evaluate the short-term therapeutic effectiveness of ovarian vein embolization using coils for pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS), a common cause of chronic pelvic pain, and to determine patient satisfaction. Materials and Methods: Forty-four multiparous women aged 26-73 (mean, 39.9) years in whom chronic pelvic pain due to unknown causes had lasted for more than six months, and whose gynecologic findings and laboratory data suggested PCS, underwent transabdominal or transvaginal ultrasonography and selective ovarian venography. PSC was finally diagnosed in 21 of th 44, who underwent 22 ovarian vein embolizations (in one case, bilaterally). The simple pain rating system was used at admission, with a 'minimal' or 'moderate'grade representing discomfort in daily life, and 'severe' indicating the need for medication. Indications for coil embolization included dilatation of the ovarian vein to a diameter of more than 6 mm, reflux involving an incompetent valve, congestion of the pelvic venous plexus (involving the stasis of contrast media), and/or opacification of the ipsilateral internal iliac vein (or contralateral filling). Embolizations were undertaken using coils of optimal size and number, and the mean follow-up period was 217 (31-267) days. By means of a telephone questionnaire, the outcome was classified as a cure, pain reduction, or 'no change, or aggravation', and on the basis of whether or not they would opt for the same treatment, or recommend embolization to others, patient satisfaction was graded as 'substantial', 'moderate', or 'absent'. Results: Venous occlusion was confimed at ostembolization venography in all 22 cases. Clinical treatment led to symptomatic relief in 76.2% of patients a cure in 33.3% (7/21), pain reduction in 42.9% (9/21) and no imchange, or aggravation, in 23.8% (5/21). Eighteen patients (85.8%) were very (9/21, 42.9%) or moderately (9/21, 42.9%) satisfied with coil embolization. In two, the coil migrated, and was successfully retrieved using a snare loop. Conclusion: In this study, ovarian vein embolization using coils for PCS appeared to be both safe and effective in controlling pain. If other causes of pelvic pain are absent, it is thought to be a valuable alternative to surgical procedures.

Peribiliary cysts involve cystic dilatation and necroinflammatory change in the peribiliary glandular tissue of the larger biliary tree in association with portal hypertension or severe hepatobiliary disease. They are usually asymptomatic and found incidentally. However, rare cases causing symptoms or the mass effect of bile duct compression require differential diagnosis. They may be benign or malignant lesions resulting from narrowing of the bile duct and involving dilatation of the proximal intrahepatic bile duct. We recently encountered a case of peribiliary cysts associated with intrahepatic duct dilatation, and confirmed by surgery, and present the imaging and pathologic findings. Sonography and CT revealed the presence of multiple cystic lesions along the hepatic hilum, and the larger left portal tract and left intrahepatic ducts were dilated. Histopathologic examination indicated that the cysts were compressing the central bile duct.

Purpose: To describe the technical features of CT-guided percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT) for hepatic tumors that are undetectable or inaccessible under ultrasound guidance, to analyze its short-term therapeutic results, and to discuss its feasibility and limitations with a review of the related literature. Materials and Methods: During a 22-month period, 17 patients with 28 hepatic tumors (27 hepatocellular carcinomas and one metastasis) underwent 38 sessions of CT-guided PEIT. Follow-up CT scanning was also performed. All tumors were undetectable or inaccessible under ultrasound guidance. The quantity of ethanol injected depended on their maximum diameter, which was 0.9 -5.1 (mean, 2.2) cm. To determine the puncture site and direction of the needle, the graduated grid system was used. A 21 or 22-G PEIT needle was introduced into the tumor stepwise, with intermittent CT monitoring, and if the CT images obtained immediately after initial injection demonstrated incomplete perfusion, an additional dose of ethanol was administered. During the follow-up period of 28-619 (mean, 261) days, three-phase spiral CT scans were obtained. We focused on whether or not a viable portion of ablated tumor was present, and if so, the interval during which the extent of viable portion had changed, as well as the CT findings which suggested a predisposition to incomplete ablation. Results: PEIT was successfully performed in all patients. During each session, 3-30 (mean, 12.1) mL of ethanol was injected for 35-115 (mean, 85) mins, with 1-7 (mean, 3.7) trials to determine the puncture site and needle direction. The follow-up CT results showed that 20 tumors (71.4%) contained no viable portion, that this portion had decreased in four (14.3%), and was unchanged or had increased in four (14.3%). In the eight tumors for which multiple sessions were required, follow-up CT showed that the viable portion was absent or had decreased in size in all except one. In five of the patients with a tumor containing a viable portion at follow- up CT, the procedure was incomplete because of unendurable pain (n = 2) or noncooperation (n = 3). A CT finding which suggested a predisposition to incomplete ablation was a poor margin (n = 3). Complications included severe pain (n = 6) and scanty peritoneal hemorrhage (n = 1). Conclusion: Despite several limitations of our study, the therapeutic results of CT-guided PEIT appeared to be similar to or slightly worse than those of well-established ultrasound-guided PEIT with the former procedure, however, intermittent CT monitoring indicates whether perfusion is complete, and for this reason, CT-guided PEIT is believed to be an effective treatment modality when a hepatic tumor is undetectable or inaccessible under ultrasound guidance.