Role of contrast enhanced ultrasonography in the assessment of hepatic metastases: A review

Figure 1 US, CEUS and CT visualizations of the same liver metastasis (indicated by an arrow). The lesion is not recognizable using US, but is visible by CEUS and CT. A: US; B: CEUS; C: CT.

Figure 2 Hypovascular liver metastases visualized with US and CEUS. The same hypovascular liver metastasis is visualized by US and CEUS in both the arterial and portal phases. In the arterial phase a slight rim enhancement is seen (arrows). The non-enhancing area in the center represents a necrosis, and is demonstrated in both the arterial and late phases. A: B-mode US; B: Arterial phase; C: Late phase.

Figure 3 Hypervascular liver metastases visualized by CEUS. The patient is a woman, 77 years old, with renal cancer and hypervascular liver metastases in segment 6 as visualized with CEUS. In the arterial phase, the metastases present a hyper-reflective signal when compared to the surrounding normal liver parenchyma (arrows). The non- enhanced area in the center represents necrosis. In the late phase there is clearly a washout of contrast in the metastases (w). The kidneys are visualized below the liver (k). A: Arterial phase; B: Late phase.

Figure 4 Typical contrast enhancement pattern of a hepatic metastasis by CEUS.