The value of ultrasound in the preoperative diagnosis of muscle herniation: A comparison with magnetic resonance imaging

To evaluate the clinic value of ultrasound (US) in the diagnosis of muscle herniation. This retrospective study was performed on 26 patients with muscle herniation confirmed by surgery. All patients were examined by US and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) preoperatively. The final histopathologic findings were retrospectively compared with the results of US and MRI. The accuracy of ultrasonography and MRI were 92.3%(24/26) and 84.6%(22/26) respectively. There was no significant difference between two methods (χ2=0.25, P>0.05). US can be used to observe the shape, size, location, internal echo and fascial defect of the mass of muscle herniation in a dynamical way. Ultrasound is a convenient method with high accuracy, it can be used as the first choice of imaging modality for the diagnosis of muscle herniation.