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Published on: August 14, 2019
Prenatal imaging of upper urinary tract abnormalities: when is MRI useful?
Stasianne M Mallin1, Monica M Forbes-Amrhein2, Megan B Marine3
1Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University, Riley Children's Health, IU Health Medical Group, 705 Riley Hospital Drive, Room 1053, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA. smmallin@iu.edu.
None:
Upper urinary tract abnormalities are commonly encountered on fetal imaging. While ultrasound (US) remains the primary imaging modality for evaluation of the fetal kidneys, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can play a significant complementary role in the diagnosis and management of these patients with upper urinary tract abnormalities. This paper will review the most common prenatal pathologies encountered in the kidneys, including urinary tract dilatation (UTD), renal agenesis, renal ectopia, multicystic dysplastic kidney (MCDK), and other cystic renal diseases, and will include a discussion of when and why fetal MRI should be considered in these diagnoses. Images from prenatal US and fetal MRI examinations will be included.
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