The international journal of cardiovascular imaging
-
Int J Cardiovasc Imaging · Oct 2006
Comparative StudyMagnetic resonance imaging is the diagnostic tool of choice in the preoperative evaluation of patients with partial anomalous pulmonary venous return.
Diagnosis of partial anomalous pulmonary venous return is usually suspected by echocardiography and often confirmed by cardiac catheterization. Magnetic resonance imaging is a powerful non-invasive diagnostic tool that can give accurate insight on systemic and pulmonary veins, cardiac anatomy and physiopathology. ⋯ In patients with suspected anomalous pulmonary venous return, magnetic resonance provides a comprehensive evaluation of pulmonary venous return and the amount of shunt, overcoming most of the limitations of echocardiography. Therefore magnetic resonance is a powerful diagnostic tool for indicating therapeutic management and surgical strategies for this group of patients, and can be considered a non-invasive alternative to cardiac catheterization.