Coronary artery bypass grafts and MDCT imaging: what to know and what to look for.
Multi-detector row CT (MDCT) scanners with high spatial and temporal resolutions are now available and are increasingly used for non-invasive assessment of vascular disease, including coronary arteries and coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG). Follow-up of patients who have previously undergone surgical revascularization for coronary artery disease is nowadays one of the main applications of MDCT. Thanks to the continuous technical evolution of the CT scanners, it is now possible to scan the heart and the full anatomic extent of grafts with sub-millimeter slice-thickness within a single breath-hold. In the evaluation of these patients, it is important for the radiologist to be familiar with the different types of grafts and surgical techniques to know the main characteristics of each graft type and what to look for in the assessment of a patient who has undergone coronary artery surgical revascularization. This review summarizes some surgical aspects, the biological characteristics of conduits, and the main technical MDCT features, and describes the CABG anatomy together with some typical CT findings.
Marano
Riccardo
R
Department of Clinical Sciences and Bioimaging-Section of Radiology, G. d'Annunzio University, SS. Annunziata Hospital, Via Dei Vestini, 66013, Chieti, Italy. r.marano@rad.unich.it
Liguori
Carlo
C
Rinaldi
Pierluigi
P
Storto
Maria Luigia
ML
Politi
Marco Angelo
MA
Savino
Giancarlo
G
Bonomo
Lorenzo
L
D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D006083:Graft Occlusion, Vascular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*