MR imaging of Ebstein anomaly: results in four cases

We performed ECG-gated MR imaging in four patients (4 months-15 years old), all of whom had a previously diagnosed severe form of Ebstein anomaly of the tricuspid valve. The goal was to study the anatomy of this congenital heart defect with MR imaging. The axial and coronal scans provided the best details. All characteristic abnormalities were seen well: the maintained proximal and faulty distal attachment of the anterior tricuspid leaflet, the absence of both septal and posterior tricuspid leaflets, the size and delineation of the anatomically atrialized chamber of the right ventricle, and the small, compressed trabecular portion with the markedly dilated pumping outflow tract of the right ventricle proper. Our results suggest that MR may furnish valuable information in patients with Ebstein anomaly when echocardiography is either inconclusive or technically difficult to perform.