[Endorectal ultrasonic study of the prostate]

Endorectal ultrasound examination, which has been developed mainly by Japanese and Danish scientists is being applied at I. Clinical Hospital "Dr. Kiril Khavezov" in Sofia since 1984. In this report the method is briefly described and results presented of 91 examinations performed in 76 patients with miscellaneous prostate diseases: 55 patients with adenoma, 17 with cancer, 3 with prostatitis and 1 with abscess. Characteristic of adenoma were the changes in the size and form of the gland; two types of changes in the form are described. Various structural changes, associated with asymmetry and impaired integrity of the prostate capsule were seen in cancer. In cases of prostatitis the gland was enlarged without structural changes. Only the the abscess was visualized as a liquid zone with irregular shape. The value of this method is that it furnishes information on the morphologic pattern of the whole gland, as well as on its correlations with the adjacent structures. Endorectal ultrasound examination of the prostate can not be a substitute for the cytologic and histologic methods when a neoplastic process is suspected.