Doppler Ultrasound in Characterization of Superficial Soft Tissue Masses

Role of Doppler Ultrasound in Evaluation of Superficial Soft Tissue Masses

A wide variety of superficial soft tissue masses may be seen in clinical practice. Superficial soft tissue masses can generally be categorized as mesenchymal tumors, skin appendage lesions, metastatic tumors, other tumors and tumor-like lesions, or inflammatory lesions. The investigators will use doppler ultrasound in evaluation of superficial soft tissue masses characterization.

There are many examples for these benign superficial soft tissue lesions as lipoma, ganglion, Baker's cyst, giant cell tumor, lymphangioma, hernia, abscess, epidermoid cyst, hematoma, muscle rupture, glomus tumor, fibromatosis, lymphadenitis hemangioma, exostosis, fibroma, neurofibroma and schwannoma. Malignant lesions also could be seen as lymphoma, metastasis, osteogenic sarcoma, liposarcoma , leiomyosarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma and synovial sarcoma.

Nowadays, High resolution ultrasound has a high sensitivity in detecting superficial soft tissue masses through the grey-scale grading that compose an image range from pure black at the weakest intensity to pure white at the strongest that can be used to evaluate its structure, some aspects of its function and to determine the nature of a mass lesion (cystic or solid) and with Doppler ultrasound which is an excellent imaging modality to determine the vascularity of superficial soft tissue masses that can be characterized in terms of their echogenicity, margin, shape, composition, acoustic transmission, size, the grading of color Doppler ultrasound , and resistive index in spectral Doppler as spectral Doppler will be applied in lesions with positive color flow signals.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients in different age groups with superficial soft tissue lesions

Exclusion Criteria:

• If the patient undergo previous operations at the same mass that could change the criteria of that mass or if the mass is recurrent at the same site.