Intraoperative application of real-time tissue elastography for the diagnosis and staging of pancreatic tumours

The present study provides preliminary data of the usefulness of elastography applied in intraoperative pancreatic ultrasound for diagnosis and staging of pancreas tumors. We have studied six cases of pancreatic tumors, four adenocarcinomas and one insulinoma, which have been submitted to surgery. Tumor resection was considered based on preoperative evaluation and also in intraoperative findings. Only one patient had no surgical excision of the tumor. All tumors were presented as a “hard” mass in elastography. At least in one case, elastography imaging contributed significantly to demonstrate that there was no vascular invasion when compared to intraoperative gray scale ultrasound alone. There were no identified postoperative complications related to compression during the elastographic evaluation. We conclude that ultrasound elastography is a safe technique to evaluate pancreas intraoperatively and may be useful to diagnose and stage pancreatic tumors.