Abstract
Vascular anomalies comprise a wide and heterogeneous group of lesions that may be found in all parts of the body, with most of the cases of vascular malformations involving the head-and-neck region. Ultrasound (US) is the reliable first-line imaging technique to assess flow parameters. However, in some cases, US fails to depict the real extent of the lesions. On the other hand, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows the evaluation of the full extension and anatomic relationship of the vascular anomalies with the neighboring structures and provides hemodynamic characterization using dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI), avoiding unnecessary invasive catheter-based procedures. DCE-MRI angiography can make a distinction between low- and high-flow vascular anomalies and it is useful for selecting adequate therapy and appreciating prognosis. The aim of this paper is to review the role of DCE-MRI in the evaluation of flow characteristics and lesion extent in vascular anomalies of the head-and-neck region.
Highlights
Vascular anomalies comprise a large spectrum of lesions that involve mainly the head and neck region and often associate significant morbidity
Clinical history and findings of the physical examination may be sufficient to indicate the diagnosis in the initial phase, additional imaging tools are mandatory for the proper characterization of the head and neck lesions due to their unique implications [4]
The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study protocol consists of standard sequences including multiplanar spin echo (SE) or fast SE T1-weighted imaging (T1WI) for basic anatomic evaluation, and SE T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) with or without fat saturation images for the lesions extent and their relationships with nearby anatomic elements such as skin, subcutaneous tissues, muscle, bones and neurovascular structures
Summary
Lenghel et al: Role of DCE - MRI in diagnosis of vascular lesions of head and neck. Raluca Petea-Balea 1, Manuela Lenghel 1,2*, Horatiu Rotar 3, Cristian Dinu 4, Simion Bran 4, Onisor Florin 5, Rares Roman 3, Simona Senila, Csaba Csutak, Ciurea Anca. Submitted: 09 May 2021/Accepted: 02 August 2021/Published online: 19 August 2021 Conflict of interests: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.
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