Soft Tissue Masses of Hand: A Radio-Pathological Correlation

• Main Authors: Aditi Agarwal, Mahesh Prakash, Pankaj Gupta, Satyaswarup Tripathy, Nandita Kakkar, Radhika Srinivasan, Niranjan Khandelwal
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2015-01-01
• Series: Radiology Research and Practice
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/752054
• ISSN: 2090-1941; 2090-195X

Aim. To evaluate soft tissue masses of the hand with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasonography (USG) and to correlate imaging findings with pathological findings. Material and Methods. Thirty-five patients with soft tissue masses of the hand were evaluated with high resolution USG and contrast enhanced MRI of the hand, prospectively over a period of 2.5 years. The radiological diagnosis was then compared with cytology/histopathology. Results. There were a total of 19 (55%) females. The mean age was 27.45 ± 14.7 years. Majority (45%) of cases were heteroechoic. Four cases were predominantly hyperechoic. These were later diagnosed as lipomas. Four cases were anechoic (diagnosed as ganglions). Only four lesions showed hyperintense signal on T1-weighted images. Out of these, 3 were lipomas and one was cavernous haemangioma. Three lesions were hypointense on T2-weighted images. All these lesions were diagnosed as giant cell tumor of the tendon sheath. A correct diagnosis was possible on MRI in 80% of cases n=28. Conclusion. MRI provides specific findings for diagnosis of certain soft tissue lesions of the hand. Ultrasonography allows accurate diagnosis of hemangioma/vascular malformations. However, in most conditions, imaging findings are nonspecific and diagnosis rests on pathologic evaluation.