Ultrasonography in the diagnosis of palatal tumors

Objective. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of ultrasonography for the preoperative evaluation of palatal salivary gland tumors. Study Design. Eleven surgically treated patients with salivary gland tumors of the palate were examined retrospectively. Intraoral ultrasonic scanning examinations were performed with a 10-MHz transducer. Results. The ultrasonographically well-delimited tumors had a complete capsule histologically, whereas the poorly delimited tumors had no capsule or only an incomplete capsule. The tumors that had a reinforced posterior wall echo were associated with pressure bone absorption, and the tumors that had a reinforced posterior echo were associated with bone destruction. Echograms of the tumors were classified into 4 types on the basis of the internal echoes. Conclusions. Intraoral ultrasonography of palatal tumors can be used to determine the localization and condition of the tumors by close analysis of the echogram. The internal echo pattern on the ultrasonogram of a palatal tumor was found to reflect the pathologic structure of the tumor. Ultrasonography can therefore be a quite useful technique for the preoperative evaluation of palatal salivary gland tumors.(Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 1999;87:39-43)