Ultrasonography in pediatric gynecology and obstetrics

Sonograms were performed on 144 pediatric patients ranging in age from 2 months to 15 years during a recent 26 month period. The main indications for pelvic sonography were to confirm pregnancy prior to elective abortion; to exclude pregnancy in girls with pelvic masses and/or secondary amenorrhea prior to extensive radiographic studies; to confirm or rule out the presence of pelvic masses; to delineate the extent and internal structure of pelvic tumors; and to exclude ovarian tumors in girls with precocious sexual maturation. Normal sonograms in girls with suspected pelvic tumors usually eliminated the need for additional radiographic studies. Because of technical problems and inherent limitations of present imaging techniques, sonography has an ancillary role in the investigation of patients with abnormal or ambiguous genitalia.