Ultrasonographic findings of omental cake

Omental cake is defined as a pancake-like diffuse thickening of the greater omentum, stretching from thegreater curvature of the stomach down to the lower abdomen. The causes of omental cake are metastatic abdominaltumor, mesothelioma and peritonitis. The authors evaluated type sonographic findings of omental cakes in 29patients with metastatic cancer and 17 patients with bacterial or tuberculous peritonitis. Omental cakes werediffuse (78%) or localized (22%), hyperechoic (78%) or heterogenous echogenic (22%), and irregular or smooth.There was no differential point between malignant tumor and inflammation. The authors stress that a radiologistshould be alert to detect an omental cake as a staging work-up in patients with cancer or peritoneal inflammatorydisease.