localisation of bilharzial bladder carcinoma by ultrasonography

ABSTRACT

This is a study of 51 patients with Bilharzial bladder carcinoma whose investigations included bimanual examination under anaesthesia, invtravenous urography, cystoscopic biopsy and ultrasonography. There were sixteen T[2], thirty-one T[3] and four T[4] tumours. All patients were operated upon and the ecised specimens were xamined pathlogically. Three ultrasonopraphic examination failures occurred due to extreme urinary urgency resulting in a very poorly distended bladder [5.9%]. In the remaining 48 patients, the sites of the tumour were the lateral walls [18], posterior wall [15], anterior wall [6], vault [7] and trigion [2]. The smallest tumour size was 2.5 cm. The limits of the different bladder regions in sagittal ultrasonography were defined and a diagrammatic guide was evolved which has allowed shortening of the examination time to no more than five to ten minutes. This should lead to decrease of the examination time when ultrasonograpy is used in staging bladder carcinoma. The accuracy of our results and the short time involved in performing the examination combined with the facts that ultrasonography is non invasive and that the apparatus used is capable of resolving objects as small as 0.5 cm in size lead us to suggest that ultrasnography should be tried as a screening method for Bilharzial carcinoma in high risk idividuals