PREOPERATIVE SPIRAL CT CHOLANGIOGRAPHY WI TH 3-DIMENSIONAL SURFACE RECONSTRUCTION - ANATOMICAL VISUALIZATION POSSIBILITIES, LIMITATIONS, AND APPLICATION STRATEGIES

Purpose: Evaluation of CT cholangiography compared to i.v. cholangiogr aphy concerning its diagnostic value before laparoscopic cholecystecto my and optimisation of CT cholangiography. Method: I.V. and CT cholang iographies of 54 patients were retrospectively evaluated by two radiol ogists. The time interval between contrast infusion and CT was correla ted with the assessment of CT cholangiographies to detect the optimal timing for CT scanning. Results: CT cholangiography was judged to be g enerally better than i.v. cholangiography. The optimal time interval f or CT scanning is between 30 min and 60 min post contrast infusion. Co nclusion: CT cholangiography should replace the conventional tomograms if i.v. cholangiography does not yield sufficient depiction of the bi liary tree. It should be performed within 60 min post contrast infusio n. Complete abolishment of i.v. cholangiography is not warranted. This is due to the fact that conventional cholangiography can sufficiently delineate the biliary tree and thereby reduce x-ray exposure and cost compared to initial performance of CT cholangiography.