title: Thoracic duct visualization: combined use of multidetector-row computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of the study was to assess the ability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and helical multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) to visualize the thoracic duct in esophageal cancer patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty esophageal cancer patients underwent preoperative MDCT and MRI using 3-dimensional balanced turbo-field-echo sequence. The visualization grades by MDCT, MRI, and a combination of MDCT and MRI were scored in 4 segments of the thoracic duct (cervical, upper, middle, and lower).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the cervical, middle, and lower segments, MRI provided significantly higher visualization grades than MDCT. In all segments, combined MDCT and MRI resulted in higher grades than MDCT alone. In addition, combined MDCT and MRI successfully allowed visualization of the cervical, upper, middle, and lower segments of the thoracic duct in 46 (76.7%), 50 (83.3%), 58 (96.7%), and 60 (100%) patients, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Combination of MDCT and MRI allows noninvasive thoracic duct visualization, providing 3-dimensional information on other thoracic structures.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Advanced Surgery and †Diagnostic Radiology, Tohoku University, Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan. takumikato@med.tohoku.ac.jp
authors.forename: Takumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takase
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Satomi
authors.forename: Shoki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takahashi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011300:Preoperative Care; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013382:Subtraction Technique; D013897:Thoracic Duct / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*