Coronary artery bypass grafts: visualization with MR imaging

To evaluate the use of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in the detection of coronary artery bypass grafts (CABGs), 20 patients with grafts underwent electrocardiographic-gated MR study. The number and location of CABGs in each patient were not known at the time of study. The number of grafts seen with MR imaging was compared with the actual number of grafts determined from the operative or angiographic report. On the prospective review of the images, 54 of 64 grafts (84%) were detected, with three false-positive results. When the images were reevaluated with knowledge of the type and number of grafts in each patient, 56 of 64 grafts (88%) were detected. Forty-one of the 46 (89%) left grafts, 15 of the 18 (83%) right grafts, and five of the 11 (45%) internal mammary grafts were detected. Although resolution was not adequate to determine the presence of graft stenosis, this early experience indicates that patent CABGs can be seen with MR imaging.