Imaging modalities in the differentiation of various adnexal lesions

Aim The purpose of this study was to discuss the role of different imaging modalities in the diagnosis and evaluation of adnexal masses. Patients and methods A total of 50 female patients with 60 adnexal lesions were included in his study. After clinical evaluation, ultrasound examination was carried out for all cases. After observing all gray scale features, color Doppler was superimposed on the gray images to assess the site of blood flow and measure the Doppler indexes. Computed tomography was performed in seven suspicious cases, and MRI was performed in eight suspicious cases. The results were correlated with operative and histopathological findings. Results Nine malignant cases had Alcazar score greater than 6, whereas the benign cases (41 cases) had a score less than 6. There were two cases (4%) of hydrosalpinx, five cases (10%) of ectopic pregnancy, three cases (6%) of tuboovarian abscess, four cases (8%) of polycystic ovaries, and four cases of solid masses (8%) (one case of ovarian fibroma, one case of subserous uterine fibroid, one case of broad ligament fibroid, and one case of Krukenberg tumor). There were 24 cases of cystic masses (48%) either unilocular or multilocular within thin septae (seven cases of follicular ovarian cysts, eight cases of hemorrhagic cysts, one case of corpus luteal cyst, two cases of endometrioma, three cases of dermoid cysts, two cases of serous cystadenoma, and one case of paraovarian cyst). There were eight complex masses (16%) (one case of granulosa cell tumor, one case of dysgerminoma, one case of papillary carcinoma, one case of metastasis, two cases of serous cystadenocarcinoma, and two cases of mucinous cystadenocarcinoma). Conclusion Using ultrasound and color Doppler studies with scoring system was found to be useful in differentiating a benign from a malignant adnexal mass. Computed tomography scan has shown to be beneficial in assessing the disease extent and planning for treatment. MRI was beneficial in characterizing adnexal masses in problematic cases.