"One-stop shop" examination of complicated and complex congenital heart diseases with MRI

Objective: To explore the diagnostic value of MRI in complicated and complex congenital heart diseases. Methods: Twenty patients with complicated and complex congenital heart diseases underwent MR examination. A wireless vector ECG-gating was used for triggering. All the sequences were applied with breath hold or free breathing. Turbo spin echo and multiple gradient echo sequences including fast low angle shot (FLASH ) and true fast imaging with steady-state precession (TrueFISP) with adaptive sensitivity encoding incorporating temporal filtering (TSENSE) and time resolved echo-shared technique (TREAT) were used to evaluate the morphology, function of the heart. MR findings were compared with the results of echocardiography and X ray cardio-angiography. Results: According to the main malformation diagnosed with MRI, double-outlet of right ventricle were detected in 11 patients, single ventricle in 3, function-corrected transposition of great arteries in 2, endocardial cushion defect, pulmonary atresia, interruption of aortic arch and coarctation of the aorta in 1 patient, respectively. The total coincidence was 95.00% comparing with cardio-angiography, while the echocardiography was 75.00%. Conclusion: Combined with new robust techniques, MRI can provide comprehensive evaluation of complicated congenital heart diseases including morphology and function.