Abstract
To overcome the limitations of sonography or laparoscopy for abdominal disease, the use of laparoscopic sonography was investigated. The instruments used were a prototype equipment manufactured by Olympus Optical Co., Tokyo, Japan. In the present study, most of the cases were examined by the third prototype, Olympus LPS UMl/EUM1 unit. The transducer used was 10 MHz, 7 mm in diameter. A total of 183 cases were examined on 105 occasions. The advantage of the method is its ability to visualize occult lesions in undermined the liver, i, e., cysts, tumors, various benign focal hyperplasia and parasitic or inflammatory granuloma. Comparison between resected specimen and sonograms obtained by laparoscopic sonography revealed differences in internal reflectivity of haemangiomata, offering findings useful in the distinction of hepatocellular carcinoma and benign focal hyperplasias.
