Ultrasound (US) of the liver surface with a high-frequency, small-parts, short-focused probe has been proposed as a method of diagnosing cirrhosis. US of the liver was performed in 50 consecutive patients undergoing diagnostic liver biopsy to assess the clinical usefulness of this noninvasive procedure in diagnosing hepatic cirrhosis. Eight patients had histologically proved cirrhosis, and 42 had no histologic evidence of cirrhosis. Seven of the eight patients with cirrhosis had a normal liver surface at US, and five of the 42 patients without cirrhosis had an abnormal liver surface. US of the liver surface with this probe was not reliable in this heterogeneous patient population.