3-DIMENSIONAL RECONSTRUCTION OF ABNORMAL VENTRICULOARTERIAL RELATIONSHIP BY ELECTRON-BEAM CT

Purpose: Assessment of the relationships of the ventricles and great v essels is critical in evaluating cardiac anomalies before surgery. We investigated the usefulness of 3D CT in their demonstration. Method: F rom July 1995 through June 1996, 20 patients with abnormal ventriculoa rterial relationships were analyzed by electron beam CT. A 3D gradient shading surface rendering was done on a workstation. We focused on th e morphologies of the atria, ventricles, and great vessels and particu larly their spatial relationships on the 3D images. Results: There wer e two cases of isolated ventricular inversion, three of anatomically c orrected malposition, seven of congenitally corrected transposition, a nd eight of complete transposition. Anatomic presentations of 3D surfa ce images in all were superior to cineangiography and echocardiography presentations and were consistent with intraoperative findings. Concl usion: 3D CT images provide useful information that is not available b y sectional or projective imaging. Independent segmental analysis of t he anomalies by this method provides a complement for surgeons to unde rstand the spatial relationships of the vessels and chambers of the he art, which may be of value in preoperative planning.