[Ultrasonically guided percutaneous fine needle aspiration biopsy of pancreatic tumours under permanent visual control (author's transl)].

Using a new method of ultrasonically guided fine needle biopsy under permanent visual control it is now possible to biopsy tumour-suspect changes of the pancreas and other abdominal organs reliably. The risk for the patient can thus be reduced to a minimum. The method leads to considerable improvement in obtaining biopsy material and is easily performed and may be repeated. The correct diagnosis could be established in all of 18 patients with pancreatic disease by cytological investigation. Sonographic interpretation of space occupying pancreatic lesions was successful in only 16 patients.