Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Radio-diagnosis

MRI, CMR and CE - MRA are valuable tools for the assessment of the associated pulmonary vascular abnormalities and flow patterns which are crucial in the pre-operative evaluation of these patients. CE - MRA provides angiographic information which would otherwise be provided by invasive catheter angiography. CE - MRA is not only non invasive and free of the hazards of ionizing but also dispenses with the need for iodinated contrast media which are subject to dose-restrictions in the evaluation of infants and young children due to their nephrotoxicity and other potential side effects. Gadolinium based MR contrast agents do not suffer from these limitations and are safe to use even in the pediatric age group. All these significant advances have encouraged the use of cardiac MRI not only in presurgical planning, but also during post-surgical follow up of congenital heart diseases

Issued also as CD