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Open Access 01-10-2014 | Review Article

Elastography for hepato-biliary-pancreatic surgery

Authors: Yosuke Inoue, Norihiro Kokudo

Published in: Surgery Today | Issue 10/2014

Abstract

Palpation is a subjective and non-sharable diagnostic method. Recently, palpation has been supported and replaced by elastography, which provides a novel parameter of “stiffness” as a visual representation or quantified value. Today, elastography is performed using two major modalities: strain elastography and shear wave elastography. Strain elastography converts the extent of deformation during external compression into colors, displaying these colors as a strain map in a motion picture representing the relative elasticity inside the region of interest. Shear wave elastography can quantify the elasticity of a target by calculating the velocity of shear waves generated by a probe. In addition to superficial organs, elastography has also been applied to upper abdominal organs, including the liver, pancreas and spleen. The visualization of the stiffness of focal lesions in the liver or the pancreas has enabled a more sensitive and specific depiction of small, non-palpable nodules, which are difficult to depict using B-mode ultrasonography. The quantification of stiffness also enables non-invasive estimates of liver fibrosis, the risk of postoperative liver insufficiency and the risk of recurrence of viral hepatitis after transplantation. In this article, we review the major reports that have recently been published describing the effective application of elastography to solid upper abdominal organs in a clinical setting.

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Title: Elastography for hepato-biliary-pancreatic surgery
Authors: Yosuke Inoue
Norihiro Kokudo
Publication date: 01-10-2014
Publisher: Springer Japan
Published in: Surgery Today / Issue 10/2014
Print ISSN: 0941-1291
Electronic ISSN: 1436-2813
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-013-0799-7

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Elastography for hepato-biliary-pancreatic surgery

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

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