IMAGING OF PEDIATRIC OVARIAN MASSES

Ultrasonography is generally the initial diagnostic study of choice for evaluating suspected or known genital masses in young girls and adolescents. The authors reviewed the sonographic anatomy of the normal ovary and the sonographic spectrum in 88 pediatric patients with a variety of ovarian masses: simple and hemorrhagic cyst, teratoma, malignant tumor, tuboovarian abscess, torsion, and ectopic pregnancy. Among the various sonographic patterns observed, those of cystic ovarian masses and complex masses with mural nodules were the most specific, representing simple cysts and benign teratomas, respectively. Sonographic features of the remaining conditions were often similar, and diagnosis required correlation with clinical data and computed tomographic or magnetic resonance imaging findings.