MRI of the gastroepiploic artery used as a bypass graft

The right gastroepiploic artery (RGEA) is recognized for its long-term patency as a coronary artery bypass graft, a property shared with the internal thoracic artery. The usefulness of MRI for noninvasive visualization and evaluation of the RGEA graft was assessed using a spine coil as the surface coil in 14 patients with graft patency verified by postoperative angiography. The graft was visualized by spin-echo imaging as a signal-void surrounded by lipomatous tissue with high-signal intensity in all 14 cases. Cine MRI was also performed in 13 of the 14 patients; in each case the graft was confirmed to contain blood flow of high-signal intensity.