title: Postoperative evaluation of congenital heart disease by magnetic resonance imaging.
abstract: In the last four decades the survival of patients with corrected or palliated congenital heart disease has increased dramatically. However, post-operative abnormalities frequently occur and therefore a noninvasive imaging tool is mandatory for the timely detection of morphological as well as functional abnormalities. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is ideally suited for the noninvasive diagnosis and post-operative follow-up of congenital heart disease. Spin-echo MRI is able to visualize structures that may be difficult to assess with other noninvasive image modalities and is sensitive in the detection of post-interventional stenoses or aneurysms. Because the function of the ventricles may deteriorate over time after correction or palliation of a congenital cardiac malformation, the use of gradient-echo MRI is essential in the follow-up after correction or palliation, as no other conventional technique allows such detailed evaluation of ventricular function, without geometrical assumptions. Phase-contrast MRI is well suited to assess valvular function, allowing accurate measurement of regurgitation or stenosis. Shunt quantification is another application of phase-contrast MRI. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 1999;10:656-666.
authors.affiliation: Interuniversity Cardiology Institute of The Netherlands, 3501 DG Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Roest
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Helbing
authors.forename: E E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: van der Wall
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Roos
mesh_terms: D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D010166:Palliative Care; D011184:Postoperative Period