Ultrasonographic guidance of needle placement for shoulder arthrography

We describe a technique using high resolution ultrasonography for needle placement for shoulder arthrography employing the posterior approach, which to our knowledge has not been reported previously. Twenty-four patients with clinical suspicion of rotator cuff lesion underwent shoulder arthrography under sonographic control. Patients ranged in age from 26 to 72 years (mean, 57 years). Accuracy of the needle placement using this technique was 100%. There were no injuries to adjacent structures and no extravasation outside the joint. Although fluoroscopic control of needle placement during shoulder arthrography is the technique of choice, sonographic control using the posterior approach may be useful in certain situations (e.g., if the patient is concerned about radiation dose or if there is soft tissue injury at the anterior of the shoulder.