FNA cytology and frozen section examination in patients with follicular lesions of the thyroid gland.

Patients with solitary thyroid nodules should have fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology as the initial screening test, but the most of those referred to a surgeon usually undergo frozen section examination (FS). The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the usefulness of FNA cytology and FS together in patients with a solitary thyroid nodule (TN). Two-hundred and ten patients with a TN and FNA cytology suggesting follicular neoplasm underwent intraoperative FS and subsequent hemithyroidectomy or total thyroidectomy.

Usefulness of combined sestamibi scintimammography, axillary ultrasonography and FNA cytology in reducing the number of sentinel node procedures in patients with early-stage breast cancer.

Background: Intraoperative analysis of the sentinel lymph node (SLN) status is currently performed in patients with breast cancer (BC) undergoing surgery. Axillary node (AN) metastases are present in up to 60% of cases, but the risk is only 30% in patients with early stage (T1) BC. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of 99mTc-sestamibi scintimammography (SSM), axillary ultrasonography (US) and US-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology together in detecting axillary metastases preoperatively and their potential role in reducing the number of SLN procedures.

High risk of malignancy in patients with incidentally discovered adrenal masses: accuracy of adrenal imaging and image-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology.

Aims And Background: The incidental finding of nonfunctioning adrenal masses (incidentalomas) is common, but no reliable criteria in differentiating between benign and malignant adrenal masses have been defined. The aim of this preliminary study was to assess the usefulness of adrenal imaging and image-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology in patients with nonfunctioning adrenal incidentalomas with the aim of excluding or confirming malignancy before surgery.

Methods: Forty-two consecutive patients (18 men and 24 women; median age, 54 years; range, 25-75 years) with incidentally discovered adrenal masses of 3 cm or more in the greatest diameter were prospectively enrolled in the study.

Usefulness and limits of ultrasound-guided hook-wire positioning for localisation of soft tissue lesions prior to surgery.

Purpose: The aim of our study was to assess the usefulness of positioning metal wires under ultrasound guidance for localising soft tissue lesions in the preoperative phase.

Materials And Methods: We studied superficial soft-tissue lesions in 12 patients, using hooked mammographic wires of different lengths. One patient had a multifocal growth of disease which required a double localisation procedure.

Role and cost-effectiveness of adrenal imaging and image-guided FNA cytology in the management of incidentally discovered adrenal tumours.

Incidentally discovered adrenal masses (incidentalomas) are relatively frequent and unsuspected incidentalomas (AI) of more than 1 cm in size may be found in 1-5% of patients who have undergone abdominal or chest computed tomography (CT)-scan for unrelated reasons. Once an AI is detected, the two major questions are whether the patient has biochemical evidence of adrenal hyperfunction, and whether the mass is an adrenal metastasis or a malignant adrenal tumour. In most cases (>90%) AI are non-functioning, with a low (<10%) risk of being malignant, and an estimated cumulative risk of malignant transformation of less than 1:1000.

Usefulness of 99mTc-pertechnetate scintigraphy and fine-needle aspiration cytology in patients with solitary thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology and thyroid scintigraphy (TS) in patients with solitary thyroid nodules. We retrospectively reviewed a series of 657 consecutive patients (531 (80.8%) women and 126 (19.

Evaluation of lymph node perfusion using continuous mode harmonic ultrasonography with a second-generation contrast agent.

Objective: To evaluate the contribution of continuous mode contrast-enhanced harmonic ultrasonography (CE-HUS) with a second-generation contrast agent to the characterization of superficial lymphadenopathies with respect to conventional ultrasonographic techniques (B-mode and power Doppler).

Methods: Fifty-six lymph nodes from 45 patients were studied both by conventional techniques and by CE-HUS. The dimensions, intranodal architecture, margins, and location of vessels were evaluated.

The role of preoperative ultrasound scan in detecting lymph node metastasis before sentinel node biopsy in melanoma patients.

Background And Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of preoperative ultrasound (US) scanning in identifying lymph node metastasis before sentinel node biopsy (SNB), we conducted a prospective study on 125 patients with primary cutaneous melanoma (CM).

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 125 patients with >1 mm thick CM and candidate for SNB. Preoperatively, patients underwent US scanning of regional lymphatic basins and FNA of suspected lymph nodes (LN).