Rau B, Hünerbein M, Schlag P M
Chirurgische Abteilung, Universitätsklinikum Rudolf Virchow am Max-Delbrück-Zentrum, Berlin.
Chirurg. 1994 Apr;65(4):400-2.
Abdominal ultrasound is one of the major diagnostic tools for preoperative staging of malignancies. However this technique is limited by meteorismus and other physical factors (adipositas, ribs). Intraabdominal laparoscopic ultrasound is a valuable technique to overcome these limitations. A flexible echoendoscope was evaluated for this purpose. Being flexible the echoendoscope can be directed easily even to regions that are usually not accessible. Therefore this minimally invasive technique provides the chance to obtain precise tissue diagnosis by ultrasound guided biopsies through the biopsy channel while contemporary visualisation is possible.
