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Published on: September 13, 2020
The Visibility of the Terminal Thoracic Duct Into the Venous System Using MR Thoracic Ductography with Balanced Turbo
Takakiyo Nomura1, Tetsu Niwa1, Soji Ozawa2
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Tokai University School of Medicine, 143 Shimokasuya, Isehara, 259-1193, Japan.
Rationale And Objectives:
Magnetic resonance thoracic ductography (MRTD) with balanced turbo field echo (bTFE) can visualize both the thoracic duct and its surrounding vessels. This study aimed to investigate the visibility of the terminal thoracic duct into the venous system in the subclavian region using MRTD with bTFE.
Materials And Methods:
MRTD was performed with bTFE as a preoperative workup comprising respiratory gating on a 1.5-T magnetic resonance system for patients with esophageal cancer. The portion and the number of terminal thoracic ducts into the venous system and preterminal branching in the left subclavian region were assessed using MRTD in 132 patients. The confidence level of the visibility using MRTD was also evaluated.
Results:
The most frequent terminal portion of the thoracic duct was the jugulovenous angle (92 patients, 69.7%), followed by the subclavian vein (27 patients, 20.5%) and the internal jugular vein (8 patients, 6.1%). Four patients also exhibited double entry of the thoracic duct into the venous system. The preterminal branching was single in 96 patients (72.7%) and multiple in 36 patients (27.3%). The confidence level of the visibility of the thoracic duct using MRTD was absolutely certain in 112 patients (84.8%) and was somewhat certain in 20 patients (15.2%).
Conclusions:
MRTD with bTFE is a robust imaging modality to visualize the terminal portion of the thoracic duct into the venous system in the subclavian region.
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