Intraoperative abdominal ultrasonography: initial experience with a dedicated high-resolution operative transducer.

A dedicated 8-MHz intraoperative scanning probe was used in 42 patients who underwent exploratory abdominal surgery. A variety of pathologic processes involving the liver, pancreas, bowel, and biliary and genitourinary systems were evaluated. Sonographic studies were evaluated to determine if they added new information (20 patients, 47.6 per cent), confirmed known information (20 patients, 47.6 per cent), or provided false information (two patients, 4.8 per cent). Preliminary experience with a specially developed transducer suggests that its design avoids many of the difficulties encountered with other transducers employed for this technique. Intraoperative sonography has, in many instances, the potential to simplify surgery, shorten operating time, and modify the type of surgical procedure performed.