Qing Lu1, Jianrong Xu1, Ningfei
Liu2, Xihai Zhao3
1Department of Radiology ,
Renji hospital Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai,
China, People's Republic of; 2Plastic & Reconstructive
Surgery, Shanghai 9th Peoples Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
School of Medicine, Shanghai; 3Center for BioMedical Imaging
Research (CBIR), Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing, China,
People's Republic of
Inguinal lymphatic vessel leakage is a severe complication due to the injury of lymphatic vessels. This study sought to characterize the lymphatic vessel leakage using MR lymphangiography (MRL) in 16 patients with suspected injury of lymphatic vessels after surgery or blunt trauma. We found that the effusion of lymphoceles or lymphatic fistulas can be clearly depicted by MRL. Additionally, the number and maximum diameter of enhanced lymphatic vessels in legs with lymphatic leakage were significantly greater than that of legs without lymphatic leakage. Our findings demonstrated that MRL is a promising noninvasive approach to assess inguinal lymphatic vessel leakage.