[China Tech] City Doctor's Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Technology Helps Patients

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A 61-year-old woman, previously diagnosed with a thyroid tumor by multiple hospitals and repeatedly advised to undergo surgery, was finally found to have a benign esophageal condition – thanks to an innovative diagnostic technique developed by a Shanghai doctor. She was thus spared an unnecessary thyroid operation.

Dr Zhang Jianquan of the Shanghai International Medical Center encountered the woman while preparing her for a scheduled thyroid ablation procedure. Using his contrast-enhanced ultrasound technology, he performed a scan and identified Zenker's diverticulum, a pouch that forms on the upper part of the esophagus. The diagnosis took only about 10 seconds.

Zenker's diverticulum typically affects older adults. The conventional diagnostic method is an esophagram, or barium swallow, which is relatively slow and requires X-ray equipment and advance booking – making it less than ideal for quick confirmation prior to a thyroid ablation.

Zhang's approach is far more efficient. Patients simply drink an oral contrast agent and then undergo an ultrasound examination, a process that is both simple and convenient.

"In our clinical practice, the accuracy has been 100 percent and we have helped several patients to avoid unnecessary thyroid surgery after being invited to different hospitals to do such a scan ahead of the ablation surgery," said Zhang.

His technique has established a new diagnostic model, along with updated operational procedures and standards, for detecting Zenker's diverticulum.