Is Contrast Material Necessary in the Follow-up with 3D Time-of-Flight MR Angiography?
GROUND AND PURPOSE: Three-dimensional time-of-flight (TOF) MR angiography has been evaluated in the follow-up of intracranial aneurysms treated with Guglielmi detachable coils (GDCs) with good results. Some of the studies used contrast material in addition to the 3D TOF MR technique and others did not. We assessed the usefulness of contrast material with 3D TOF MR angiography by comparing this sequence before and after contrast material injection. METHODS: Fifty-eight patients harboring a total of 71 cerebral aneurysms previously treated with GDCs were included in the prospective study. MR angiography (at 1.5 T) was performed with a 3D TOF sequence before and after injection of gadolinium-based contrast material. Features evaluated were presence and size of a neck remnant, parent and adjacent vessel patency, and venous overlap. Digital subtraction angiography was the standard of reference. RESULTS: Comparison of the techniques showed a good agreement in the detection of residual flow.
