UNSUPPRESSED FAT IN THE RIGHT ANTERIOR DIAPHRAGMATIC REGION ON FAT-SUPPRESSED T2-WEIGHTED FAST SPIN-ECHO MR-IMAGES

The authors retrospectively evaluated magnetic resonance images of the abdomen obtained in 52 consecutive patients. All cases included fast spin-echo (FSE) T2-weighted images acquired with a frequency-selective fat saturation technique. All Imaging was performed with a 1.5-T unit . In 42 patients (81%), fat was not suppressed in the right anterior d iaphragmatic region on the T2-weighted FSE images with fat suppression . In 11 (26%) of these 42 patients, subcutaneous fat adjacent to the u nsuppressed anterior diaphragmatic fat was well suppressed. Hence, the fat in the diaphragmatic region mimicked fluid or peritoneal implants . The cause of the artifact appears to be the juxtaposition of liver, fat, and lung parenchymal air within a small anatomic space, creating SD localized inhomogeneity of the magnetic field and susceptibility ef fects. Radiologists should be aware of this phenomenon to prevent conf usion of an artifact with fluid car neoplasms.