Evaluation of Normal & Altered Hepatic Arterial Und Portal Venous 4D Hemodynamics in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis Before & After Treatment with TIPS

Zoltan Csatari¹, Zoran Stankovic, Peter Deibert, Wulf Euringer, Julia Geiger, Wolfgang Kreisel, Mathias Langer, Michael Markl

Flow-sensitive 3-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging was successfully used for simultaneous visualization and quantification of flow characteristics in the complete hepatic arterial und portal venous system in healthy volunteers and in patients with liver cirrhosis before and after treatment with transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS). As expected, considerable changes in blood flow characteristics after treatment with TIPS were evident. Although agreement to the reference standard Doppler ultrasound was limited, our results demonstrate the feasibility of time-resolved 3D phase contrast MRI for evaluation of normal and pathological vascular hemodynamics of the great hepatic vessels.