European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Vol 4, 226-228, Copyright © 1990 by European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery
Transesophageal sonography in central bronchial carcinoma
LC Muller, K Glaser, GM Salzer and M Aufschnaiter
Second Department of Surgery, University of Innsbruck, Austria.
A new application of transesophageal sonography was tested in eight
patients suffering from central bronchial carcinoma. Due to ultrasound
technology, a real time investigation is feasible which enhances the
diagnostic method of computed tomography (CT) by discriminating between
tumour and mediastinal organs which cannot be delineated by CT only.
Different sonographic densities and the movement between organ and tumour
contribute to the diagnostic accuracy of sonography if operability is
questionable due to possible organ infiltration by tumour. The method is
limited by the air filled organs (trachea, bronchi), as ultrasound does not
penetrate adequately.