Postoperative pulmonary vascular supply in congenital heart disease evaluated with MR imaging at 0.3 T

The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness of static spin-echo MR imaging at low field strength in evaluating postoperative pulmonary arterial supply. Twenty-seven patients operated on for complex congenital heart disease underwent cardiac MR imaging: 27 stenoses in 20 patients and 4 aneurysms were present in the material. Five of the overlooked stenoses were located in the ventricular outflow tract or in the valvular region. All four aneurysms were well depicted. The final diagnosis were based on two-dimensional echocardiography, Doppler and invasive studies. MR correctly evaluated the pulmonary arterial supply in 21 patients. In two cases the evaluation was incomplete and in the remaining four patients MR failed to show the stenoses. MR imaging at 0.3 T is an effective non-invasive tool for postoperative evaluation of pulmonary arteries. (Less)