[The differential diagnosis of focal formations in the liver by using ultrasonography]

The results of hepatic ultrasonography were analyzed for 460 patients who had been treated surgically for cancer of the rectum. These were compared to histological evidence on the removed macropreparation and on intraoperative revision of the liver. Six types of the metastases were recognized to facilitate differential diagnosis of cancer with benign hepatic tumors, abscesses and focal fat dystrophy. Ultrasound semiotics of hemangioma, abscess, hepatic cyst is presented. Ultrasound accuracy in diagnosis of hepatic metastases reached 95%. It is shown that metastases of the same tumor type have different structure which may be related to the tumor histology and duration of the disease.