THE VALUE OF PREOPERATIVE ULTRASOUND OF THE LIVER IN COLONIC AND GASTRIC NEOPLASIA

In a series of 50 patients with gastric or colonic neoplasms, ultrasound scans of the liver were performed during the pre-operative assessment. The radiologist who performed the scan was informed that the patient had gastrointestinal malignancy but was unaware of the clinical or biochemical findings that might suggest hepatic metastases. The ultrasound findings were then compared with the results of laparotomy, laparoscopy or the clinical course of the patient. The overall accuracy of ultrasound in this small series was 88%.