The efficiency of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of dermoid cysts.

The aim of the study was to assess the efficiency of sonography in differentiating dermoid cysts of the ovary (mature cystic teratoma) from other adnexal masses. It was carried out prospectively at Dr. Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Hospital of Ankara, Turkey. 943 women with 1035 adnexal masses who had undergone laparotomy and/or laparoscopy between January 1989 and March 1995 were included into the study group. All of these patients had a sonographic preoperatively examination within one week of surgery and the sonographic diagnosis was compared to histopathological findings. The visualization of: 1. echogenic mass with or without acoustic shadowing or enhancement (assumed to represent sebum with lipophilic contaminants or with hair) 2. Dermoid plug; layered lines and dots; fat-fluid level; isolated brigth echogenic foci with acoustic shadowing within the complex mass (assumed to represent Rokitansky protuberance; hair in low viscosity fluid; sebum as a supernatant of serous fluid; teeth or bone fragments respectively) 3. intraovarian echogenic mass with or without acoustic shadowing or enhancement (assumed to represent intraovarian dermoid cyst) were chosen as characteristical sonographic findings of dermoid cysts. Combining these with the subjective visual assessment of the operator, the sensitivity and the specificity were calculated for each visualized adnexal mass to assess the efficiency of sonography in differentiating dermoid cysts from other ovarian masses. All in all 1035 adnexal masses were visualized, 155 were suspected to be dermoid cysts and the diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology in only 147 cases. The sensitivity and specificity of sonography were 94% and 99% respectively. As a conclusion this study demonstrates that ultrasonography has an accuracy of 98% in differentiating dermoid cysts from other adnexal masses with a specificity of 99%.