The Feasibility of Ultrasonography in Defining the Size of Jaw Osseous Lesions

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 intra-osseous 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.