[Magnetic resonance imaging of ovarian cystic teratoma]

Two patients with ovarian cystic teratoma were imaged using real-time ultrasound and 1.0-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices. The ultrasound appearance of cystic teratoma varies with the internal contents. If bone or teeth is present, highly echogenic foci with posterior shadow will be identified. The cysts may contain solid areas, septa and fluid-fluid levels. The dermoid cyst filled with fat showing characteristic echogenic appearance might confused with the pelvic fact tissue. MRI is well suited to the evaluation of pelvic disorders. The T1 and T2 relaxation times in different tissues might present with different signal intensities by changing the pulse sequences. Fat, with its relatively short T1 and long T2 times, appears bright on the T1-weighted images (short TE and TR) and T2-weighted images (long TE and TR). However, old hemorrhage has the MRI characteristics of short T1 and long T2 times as fat. The inversion recovery sequence with short inversion time (STIR) will suppress signal from fat tissue and this is of particular value in differentiating dermoid from hemorrhagic cyst. MRI is quite efficient in cases where ultrasound study is equivocal or difficult in the technique.