Ultrasound

[Guest]

I had a ultrasound done and a tumor was found below my kidney. on the ultra s it
showed up very black. but dr. says its fatty tumor. would'nt fatty tumor have showed some white in it to be a fatty tumor?

[Guest]

That is a very good question. On ultrasound the most common thing that would look “very black” below the kidney would be a simple renal cyst. These cysts are extremely common and are filled with clear fluid. Because the fluid is so clear, it offers very few surfaces for sound reflection and thus looks black on ultrasound.
Fatty tumors of the kidney though not rare are pretty uncommon as compared to cysts. The most common of these tumors is called an angiomyolipoma and is composed of not only fat, but has elements of other structures such as blood vessels and muscle tissue. These structures offer many reflective surfaces and make these tumors look pretty dense or white on ultrasound. A true renal lipoma or true fatty tumor of the kidney is relatively uncommon and generally would appear gray on ultrasound.


[quote] I had a ultrasound done and a tumor was found below my kidney. on the ultra s it
showed up very black... [/quote]