THE ROLE OF MAGNETIC-RESONANCE CHOLANGIOPANCREATOGRAPHY (MRCP) AFTER RESECTION OF THE PANCREAS

Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) was performed in 35 patients to evaluate the feasibility of its use as a postsurgical ima ging technique after resection of the pancreas. The surgical procedure s performed were: pancreatoduodenectomy in 22 patients, segmental panc reatectomy in 1, distal pancreatectomy in 7, and pyrolus-preserving pa ncreatoduodenectomy in 5. The pancreatic duct was shown in its entiret y in 24 of the 35 patients (68.6%) and was partially visualized in 8 p atients (22.9%), but the intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts were visualized completely in all patients. Furthermore, MRCP was able to demonstrate lesions in 3 of 6 patients who had shown clinical evidence of recurrence. The visualization of the pancreatic and bile duct syst em was satisfactory despite anatomical changes brought about by resect ion of the pancreas. Thus, we conclude that MRCP is an appropriate fol low-up screening test for patients with suspected abnormalities of the biliary and pancreatic duct system.