Ultrasound of soft tissue masses of the hand

Most soft tissue mass lesions of the hand are benign. Ganglia are the commonest lesions encountered, followed by giant cell tumors of the tendon sheath. Malignant tumors are rare. Often a specific diagnosis can be achieved on imaging by considering the location and anatomical relations of the lesion within the hand or wrist, and assessing its morphology. Magnetic resonance imaging is an excellent modality for evaluating soft tissue tumors with its multiplanar capability and ability to characterize tissue. Ultrasound plays a complementary role to MRI. It is often the initial modality used for assessing masses as it is cheap and available, and allows reliable differentiation of cystic from solid lesions, along with a real time assessment of vascularity. This review describes the US appearances of the most frequently encountered soft tissue masses of the wrist and hand, correlating the findings with MRI where appropriate.