C. Richard Goldfarb

Non-Skeletal Accumulation of Bone Seeking Agents: Pelvis

HE GAMUT for extraosseous localization of Tc phosphate has expanded considerably since Heck published a total body list in the July 1980 issue (Semin Nucl Med 10:311). We discovered more than 20 additions in the pelvis alone. After falling out of bed, a 79-year-old female nursing home patient with a history of right hip surgery was found unconscious and distended. The patient was hospitalized and one day later a whole body scan was obtained to determine the extent of skeletal injury. The pelvic images (Fig 1) were more helpful in diagnosing bladder distention than sites of trauma. An immediate therapeutic catheterization followed by a diagnostic scintiphoto (Fig 2) uncovered several pelvic fractures. Activity in the low pelvis was initially felt to represent an incompletely drained bladder. Closer inspection suggested central photon deficiency, not the usual appearance of technetium homogeneously distributed in urine. A subsequent pelvic radiograph (Fig 3) demonstrated

Breast scintigraphy as an imaging modality in the diagnosis of breast masses

The early detection and presurgical diagnosis of breast masses remains a formidable challenge. Recent technologic advances have permitted additional noninvasive means of evaluating the breast in conjunction with physical examination and mammography. We have employed 99m Tc-pertechnetrate breast scanning in selected cases as a complement to mammography when the diagnosis was uncertain. In such cases, the combined use increased the diagnostic accuracy.