Preoperative ultrasound assessment of adnexal masses in premenopausal women.

OBJECTIVES

This study was undertaken to determine the accuracy of preoperative transvaginal ultrasound in predicting ovarian histopathology in premenopausal women.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was performed from reproductive-age women that underwent removal of an ovarian cyst between May 1990 and April 1998.

RESULTS

Of the 120 consecutive patients identified, 19 did not meet inclusion criteria. Pathologic diagnosis confirmed endometriomas (n = 55), mature teratoma (n = 25), serous cystadenoma (n = 18), persistent corpus luteum (n = 7) and other (n = 5). The primary preoperative transvaginal ultrasound impression was accurate in most cases (endometrioma: 85%, mature teratoma: 86%, serous cystadenoma: 80%).

CONCLUSION

Endometriomas and mature cystic teratomas can be predicted with a moderate degree of accuracy by preoperative ultrasound.