title: Biliary complications following orthotopic liver transplantation: May contrast-enhanced MR Cholangiography provide additional information?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MR Cholangiography may provide additional information in the evaluation of biliary complications in orthotopic liver transplant recipients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty liver transplant patients with suspicion of biliary adverse events underwent MR imaging at 1.5 T scanner. After acquisition of axial T1-/T2-weighted images and conventional T2-weighted MR Cholangiography (image set 1), 3D gradient-echo T1-weighted fat-suppressed LAVA (Liver Acquisition with Volume Acceleration) sequences were obtained about 30 min after intravenous infusion of mangafodipir trisodium (Mn-DPDP,Teslascan(®)) (image set 2). The diagnostic value of mangafodipir trisodium-enhanced MR Cholangiography in the detection of biliary complications was tested by separate analysis results of image set 1 alone and image set 1 and 2 together. MRI results were correlated with direct cholangiography in 46 patients, surgery in 14 and/or clinical-radiological follow-up in the remaining 20 cases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The level of confidence in the assessment of biliary adverse events was significantly increased by the administration of mangafodipir trisodium (p < 0.05). Particularly, contrast-enhanced T1-weighted LAVA sequences tended to out-perform conventional T2-weighted MR Cholangiography in the delineation of anastomotic and non-anastomotic biliary strictures and in the diagnosis of biliary leak.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MR Cholangiography may improve the level of diagnostic confidence provided by conventional T2-weighted MR Cholangiography in the evaluation of biliary complications after orthotopic liver transplantation.
authors.affiliation: 2nd Unit of Radiology, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Vascular and Interventional Radiology, and Nuclear Medicine-Pisa University Hospital, Via Paradisa 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Piero
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boraschi
authors.affiliation: 2nd Unit of Radiology, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Vascular and Interventional Radiology, and Nuclear Medicine-Pisa University Hospital, Via Paradisa 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Francescamaria
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Donati
authors.affiliation: 2nd Unit of Radiology, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Vascular and Interventional Radiology, and Nuclear Medicine-Pisa University Hospital, Via Paradisa 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gigoni
authors.affiliation: Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation-Pisa University Hospital, Via Paradisa 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Filipponi
keywords: Biliary complications; Contrast-enhanced MR Cholangiography; Liver transplantation; MR Cholangiography; Mangafodipir trisodium (Mn-DPDP)