Clinical applications of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) are still constantly growing in number, representing readily available bedside methods and showing very low complication rates; even with intravenous administrations. Considering the successful applications of CEUS fistulography in proctology and gynecology as well as in our results for secondary acquired cervical lesions presented in 2023, we now evaluated retrospectively our data of the technique for primary congenital fistulas. Preliminary results for medial cervical fistulas and for branchiogenic fistulas of the first and second branchial arch showed in most cases good feasibility and comparable results to conventional radiological methods or to intra-operative findings. However, the validity of CEUS fistulography as an alternative examination method to radiation dose related conventional fistulography for the evaluation of primary congenital branchial cleft and cervical fistulas still needs to be tested prospectively in a larger (pediatric) patient cohort.

Nein