AJR. American journal of roentgenology
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Dec 2007
ReviewPostoperative imaging in cyanotic congenital heart diseases: part 2, Complications.
The purpose of this article is to illustrate the MRI appearance of postoperative complications in the surgical procedures most commonly performed to correct cyanotic congenital heart disease. ⋯ The radiologist must be familiar with the morphologic and functional MRI appearances of surgical complications in patients with palliated or repaired cyanotic congenital heart disease to deliver an accurate diagnosis on which to base management decisions.
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Dec 2007
ReviewPostoperative imaging in cyanotic congenital heart diseases: part 1, Normal findings.
The objective of this article is to illustrate the most common surgical procedures performed in patients with cyanotic congenital heart diseases along with the respective postoperative MRI findings normally seen in clinical practice. ⋯ Radiologists need a solid knowledge of the surgical procedures used to treat patients with cyanotic congenital heart diseases to identify what constitutes normal postoperative findings on MR images and to play an ongoing role in the integral lifelong care of these patients.
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Meckel's diverticulum is the most common congenital anomaly of the gastrointestinal tract, found in 2% of the population in autopsy studies. Most patients remain asymptomatic during their lifetime. Complications of Meckel's diverticulum are reported to occur in approximately 4-40% of patients and include inflammation (diverticulitis), hemorrhage, intussusception, small-bowel obstruction, stone formation, and neoplasm. The purpose of this article is to familiarize the radiologist with the current imaging of Meckel's diverticulum and its presenting complications. The spectrum of diagnostic findings on various imaging techniques will be reviewed. ⋯ Meckel's diverticulum and its complications are a serious health problem. Familiarity of the radiologist with the appearance of this pathologic entity enables an accurate diagnosis in emergent settings.
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Jun 2007
ReviewDiffusion-weighted MRI in the body: applications and challenges in oncology.
In this article, we present the basic principles of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) that can aid radiologists in the qualitative and quantitative interpretation of DW images. However, a detailed discussion of the physics of DWI is beyond the scope of this article. A short discussion ensues on the technical aspects of performing DWI in the body. The emerging applications of DWI for tumor detection, tumor characterization, distinguishing tumor tissue from nontumor tissue, and monitoring and predicting treatment response are highlighted. The challenges to widespread adoption of the technique for cancer imaging in the body are discussed. ⋯ DWI derives its image contrast from differences in the motion of water molecules between tissues. Such imaging can be performed quickly without the need for the administration of exogenous contrast medium. The technique yields qualitative and quantitative information that reflects changes at a cellular level and provides unique insights about tumor cellularity and the integrity of cell membranes. Recent advances enable the technique to be widely applied for tumor evaluation in the abdomen and pelvis and have led to the development of whole-body DWI.
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The purpose of this study is to show how sonography can reveal pathology of the eye and to highlight its usefulness as a simple and cost-effective tool in investigating eye symptoms. ⋯ The cystic nature of the eye, its superficial location, and high-frequency transducers make it possible to clearly show normal anatomy and pathology such as tumors, retinal detachment, vitreous hemorrhage, foreign bodies, and vascular malformations. Sonography is useful as a treatment follow-up technique because it has no adverse effects. Sonography is well tolerated by patients and relatively easy to perform for those familiar with real-time sonography.