Coloring Technique of Magnetic Resonance Angiography for Superficial Temporal Artery to Middle Cerebral Artery Bypass Surgery

Objective Superficial temporal artery (STA)–to–middle cerebral artery (MCA) bypass is an established surgical technique for achieving revascularization. It is important to select the proper recipient artery of the MCA. Three-dimensional computed tomographic angiography (3D-CTA) and conventional angiography are useful in the selection process but need contrast agents. The authors have designed a coloring MRA technique that needs no agents to visualize the recipient artery. Retrospective evaluation of the efficacy and limitation for selection of the recipient artery and decision of the place and size of the craniotomy were carried out. Methods The authors performed the coloring MRA before operation since January 2013. Ninety-two patients underwent STA-MCA bypass for atherosclerotic stenosis or occlusion of internal carotid artery (ICA), MCA with reference to the coloring MRA. To evaluate the efficacy of coloring MRA, the control group consisted of 75 patients who underwent STA-MCA bypass between January 2012 to November 2013 with reference to 3D-CTA. The size of craniotomy was retrospectively calculated and compared. Results Neither additional craniotomy nor wrong selection of the recipient artery was done in either group. There was no significant difference in size between the 2 groups in both single and double bypass. Conclusions The coloring MRA technique was not inferior to 3D-CTA with respect to the size of craniotomy. This novel technique was found to be very helpful not only for the virtual identification of the proper recipient artery but also for preoperative simulation such as decisions about length of donor artery, location, and size of craniotomy.