Sonography in acute abdomen from the surgical point of view

Ultrasonography is quite liberally used in patients with acute abdominal pain and is commonly referred to as an 'extention of the stethoscope'. Because of the impressive diagnostic ability demonstrated by experts, ultrasound is assumed to be an effective tool in this setting. This review will focus on the currently available data on the ability of ultrasound to affect surgical decision making and surgical outcome - that is, the effectiveness of ultrasound from the surgical perspective. It is quite obvious, that there are few indications, in which ultrasound has been proven to be effective.