Pre-operative and post-operative volumetry of the prostate by transabdominal ultrasonography.

Fifty patients were examined by transabdominal ultrasonography both before and after prostatectomy. Nineteen of these patients were treated by transvesical prostatectomy (TVP) and 31 by transurethral resection (TUR). In the pre-operative estimation of prostatic volume, the simple formula for the volume of an ellipsoid proved as satisfactory as more complicated formulae based upon multiple parallel scans through the gland. Post-operatively, the parallel scan technique had to be used for volume estimation. There was a good correlation (r = 0.988) between the volume of the surgically removed specimen and the sonographic estimation of the same volume. Transabdominal ultrasonography is a relatively simple and accurate method for estimation of prostatic size, both before and after prostatectomy.