Intraoperative contrast-enhanced ultrasound for brain tumors

Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility and value of the intraoperative contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in resection for brain tumors. Materials and methods Intraoperative CEUS was performed in 29 patients with brain tumors pre-resection, in whom 9 (of 29) patients underwent second intraoperative CEUS for assessing remained tumor tissue after initial resection. Gray-scale and color-flow images of the brain tumors on both conventional and CEUS were analyzed and compared with the results of surgical pathology. Results The border of the tumor and remained tumor tissue was more distinguishable from healthy brain on CEUS than that on conventional ultrasound during the operation. Improving definition of the tumor tissue from normal brain with CEUS was demonstrated in all cases. Conclusion Intraoperative CEUS has the potential to be a very useful imaging technique not only in defining the border between the tumor and healthy brain pre resection but also in detecting remained tumor tissues after the initial resection.