about fracture ultrasound visualization
This is the case of a non-displaced third metacarpal fracture of a professional football player after a contusion at football match. The ultrasound dynamic exam shows a gross irregularity of the cortical bone surface, with perilesional soft-tissue swelling.
It’s very important to be familiar with the ultrasound appearance of fractures, because in a large number of cases the ultrasound exam allows to appreciate the early bone damages that can be as a result of overuse injuries often seen in athlete with stress fractures.
Several tudies showed that minor fractures which are not radiologically diagnosed, can be seen in the ultrasound examination, togheter with the surrounding soft tissue structures.
The x-ray evaluation still remains essential.
Plain radiographs of the same patient.
My Mri and ultrasound devices are separated only by a wall, so I usually perform both imagine modalities to give a complete description of the pathologic findings.
Coronal Ge-Stir (left) and T1w Mri scans (0.3 Tesla).
The 3D Sharc Mri acquisition allowed to better discriminate the real extent of the metacarpal fracture and its relationship with the articular plane.
