Cory Christopher Duffek1, Thorsten A. Bley1,2, Christopher J. Francois1, Mark L. Schiebler1, Matthew Mell3, Thomas Grist1,4, Scott B. Reeder1
1Radiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; 2Radiology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; 3Surgery, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; 4Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
Increasingly, data suggest that preservation of the artery of Adamkiewicz (AKA) through reimplantation of intercostal/lumbar arteries at the time of thoracoabdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysm repair plays a key role in the prevention of spinal cord ischemia and paralysis. The purpose of this work is to use time-resolved contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (TR-MRA) to localize the AKA prior to surgical reimplantation. A retrospective study was performed in 60 patients who underwent pre-operative TR-MRA at 3.0T. The AKA was accurately localized in 88% of cases. TR-MRA at 3.0T is an effective method for presurgical localization of the AKA.