SPIRAL CT ANGIOGRAPHY OF ABDOMINAL AORTIC-ANEURYSMS

Spiral computed tomographic (CT) angiography involves a timed intraven ous injection of contrast material, rapid data acquisition, reconstruc tion at narrow intervals, image editing, and maximum intensity project ion image processing, Spiral CT angiography of the abdominal aorta was performed in 28 patients for preoperative aneurysm assessment, The re sults were unsatisfactory in only two patients; 54 main and 12 accesso ry renal arteries and 26 aortic aneurysms were seen, In 17 of the 26 p atients with aneurysms, there was surgical confirmation of the CT angi ographic findings regarding size, suprarenal extension, and distal ext ent of the aneurysms, with no additional renal arteries detected, With this technique, the relationship of an aneurysm to renal, superior me senteric, and inferior mesenteric arteries can be assessed, CT angiogr aphy also depicts the proximal extent of an aneurysm, which is the sin gle most crucial piece of preoperative information; an associated rena l artery stenosis or occlusion; or an accessory renal artery, CT angio graphy can be performed as an outpatient procedure before vascular sur gery with fewer risks, with lower radiation dose, and at one-third the cost of conventional angiography.