Identification of the ligamentum teres hepatis by ultrasound and the clinical importance of its thickening
Missalek, W.
Tropical and Geographical Medicine 45(3): 131-134
1993
ISSN/ISBN: 0041-3232 PMID: 8362456 Document Number: 421063
In a survey of 100 healthy persons or patients without any obvious abdominal pathology the ligamentum teres hepatis (LTH) was detected by ultrasound in 87%. The mean diameter of the normal LTH was determined as 4.5 mm (range 3-6 mm). In a second group of 131 patients with obvious abdominal pathology, the LTH could be identified in 82 patients (63%). Among these, the LTH was thickened (diameter > or = 7 mm) with a mean diameter of 11.9 mm (range 7-33 mm) in 47 patients (57%). Twenty-six patients had uniform or smooth thickening, 21 patients had nodular thickening. Smooth thickening was a feature mainly seen in cases of portal hypertension with a lumen demonstrable in one-third of them. Nodular thickening was mainly associated with metastasising intra-abdominal malignancy. However, smooth or nodular thickening of the LTH may also be caused by non-pathological accumulation of fat within the ligament.