IOUS is an important tool in the fields of surgery for liver tumors, but it also has some drawbacks such as lacking of specificity to differentiate cirrhotic nodules from small malignant nodules. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound was shown with improved nodule characterization by recent studies.
The research team led by Prof. Yan Luo from West China Hospital found that besides the merits of IOUS, CE-IOUS shows tumor vascularity and tissue microcirculation by applying intravenous ultrasound contrast agents, thus helps to differentiate malignant nodules from benign ones. Therefore it helps surgeons to eradicate malignant nodules and avoid unnecessary intervention of benign ones. Their finding were published on 7 July 2008, in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.
Due to the high sensitivity and specificity of CE-IOUS to find malignant liver tumors, this new technique should be used more frequently in surgeries for cirrhotic livers.
Although this study includes only a short number of patients, the research is quite interesting and the results are relevant to improve the quality of hepatic surgery.