ABSTRACT
Statement of the Problem: Jaw bone lesions are common pathologic conditions. The role of ultrasonography in evaluation of the extra-osseous lesions is confirmed, however, this imaging modality is not the diagnostic routine for the intraosseous jaw lesions
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of ultrasonography in diagnosis of intra-osseous jaw lesions concerning their size and content and also to study its correlation with the histopathological findings
Materials and Method: For this study, 15 patients with intra-osseous jaw lesions in the maxilla and mandible were selected from those referred to the Department of Oral Surgery. Panoramic imaging, computed tomography [CT] or cone beam computed tomography [CBCT] and ultrasonography [USG] were performed for all the lesions. The size of the lesions was measured by USG and then compared with CT or CBCT. Moreover, the correlation amongst the echographic patterns and histopathologic results was evaluated
Results: In 12 cases, size values were in complete agreement with CT or CBCT. The size of 3 lesions could not be measured by the radiologist due to the thickness of buccal cortical plate
Conclusion: Findings of this study suggested that USG might be feasible in estimating the size of intra-osseous jaw lesions with little underestimation. This study also confirmed that ultrasound imaging was a very useful imaging technique which could provide significant diagnostic information regarding the content of jaw bone lesions where the buccal bone thickness was thin enough
ABSTRACT
Today, ultrasound imaging is being widely used to assess soft tissue lesions in the maxillofacial region. However, ultrasound investigations of intra-osseous lesions are rare, especially for tumors of the jaws. This report emphasized the capability of this useful imaging modality in identification of the characteristics of malignant conditions involving the bone. Mesenchymal chondrosarcoama, one of the unusual malignant conditions of the jaw, was presented in a young male with significant facial swelling. Different imaging modalities parallel with the histopathologic investigation confirmed the diagnosis. Interestingly, destruction of the bony cortex and new bone formation with a characteristic "sun ray appearance", highly suggestive of sarcomas, was manifested on the ultrasonograph. Thus, this report presented the ultrasonographic features of chondrosarcoma of mandible and considered the ultrasonography to be a useful imaging modality to evaluate intra-osseous jaw lesions.