[Use of echography in pathology of the maxillary sinuses]

Sonography has recently gained attention as a non-invasive technique improving the diagnostic accuracy of conventional radiology as regards the pathologic conditions of the maxillary sinus. Eighty-two patients with various pathologies of the maxillary sinus--i.e. acute/chronic sinusitis, mucocele, mucopyocele, polyp, and carcinoma--were submitted to US after preliminary conventional radiographs and before CT and surgical treatment (both performed in selected cases only). US proved useful in detecting liquid exudate, mucosal hypertrophy, and lesions of the anterior wall, while it was not as accurate in detecting lesions of the posterior wall (unless fluid was present) and in establishing the nature of a solid lesion. The last two conditions are those where CT is mainly indicated.