Intraoperative sonographic identification of nonpalpable pancreatic masses

Intraoperative ultrasonography has been used for diagnosis and guidance during surgical exploration in a variety of organ systems. Use of the technique in four patients who underwent surgical exploration of the pancreas is described. Two of the patients had bile duct dilatation suggesting pancreatic carcinoma, but had otherwise unremarkable conventional imaging studies and normal palpation of the surgically exposed organ. Both proved to have small cancers, identified by sonography. Two other subjects with known pancreatic pseudocysts had additional cysts imaged during the intraoperative examination.