Pitfalls of Female Pelvic Ultrasound Imaging. Is it Really What you Think it Looks Like?
Caron Dames, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, Derriford Hospital
Ultrasound imaging is a key diagnostic tool of modern clinical diagnosis. It is also an important source of diagnostic errors that can have a major impact in patients’ management and treatment. Is the anechoic structure with thin walls actually the bladder or is it an ovarian cyst that needs drainage? Are there echoes or septa in the fluid filled structure? Is it sinister or a benign structure? It is easy to convince yourself a structure is a particular structure because it is where you expect it to be and the sonographic appearance is as you would expect for the structure. We would like to demonstrate some of the near misses we have experienced when performing pelvic gynaecological ultrasound and by doing this provide a reminder of how certain structures can have similar sonographic appearance. The miss misdiagnose or incorrect diagnosis of certain structures can have a significant impact on a patient’s morbidity and mortality.