PET-CT findings in surgically transposed ovaries

The aim of this study is to present the PET/CT findings of surgically transposed ovaries. PET/CT studies and associated abdominal imaging studies of seven women, aged 28-43 years, with 11 transposed ovaries were retrospectively reviewed. Attention was directed to the location and the ¹⁸F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) avidity of the transposed ovaries. On the CT part of the PET/CT, location of the transposed ovaries was in the ipsilateral iliac fossa or paracolic gutter abutting the anterior aspect of the ipsilateral colon (n=6), posterolateral to the cecum (n=4) and in the anterior abdominal cavity (n=1). Ovaries were of soft-tissue density (n=10 with a hypodense region in two) and one was cystic. In three patients, the transposed ovary was associated with increased FDG uptake with standard uptake values ranging from 2.4 to 4.8. Two of the latter patients had more than one PET/CT study. FDG uptake altered between studies, probably related to the performance of the study on different phases of the cycle. Menstrual history in one of the patients confirmed that the study was performed at the ovulatory-phase of the cycle. To conclude, a transposed ovary may appear on a PET-CT study as a mass with occasionally increased FDG uptake that may be related to its preserved functionality. Physicians interpreting PET/CT should be aware of surgically transposed ovaries in young female patients to avoid misdiagnosing it as tumour.