Pre- and Postoperative Evaluation of Congenital Heart Disease in Children and Adults with 64-Section CT

Sebastian Leschka, MD o Erwin Oechslin, MD o Lars Husmann, MD Lotus Desbiolles, MD o Borut Marincek, MD o Michele Genoni, MD Rene Pretre, MD o Rolfjenni, MD o Simon Wildermuth, MD o Hatem Alkadhi, MD

Although echocardiography is the imaging method of choice for diag-nostic, preoperative, and postoperative evaluation of congenital heart disease, computed tomography (CT) is a helpful complementary imag-ing modality, particularly for postoperative evaluation. A thorough un-derstanding of the normal anatomy and the morphologic features of congenital heart diseases is a prerequisite for choosing the optimal CT technique and achieving an accurate diagnosis. Furthermore, a close collaboration with a cardiologist with special training and expertise in congenital heart diseases is required. A sequential segmental approach should be used in evaluating morphologic features, especially during the review of CT images obtained in patients with rare congenital car-diac defects and in postoperative adult patients. To accurately docu-ment and interpret the altered flow conditions in patients with congeni-tal heart disease, knowledge of the wide spectrum of surgical proce-dures and familiarity with the dedicated protocols for performing 64-section CT are needed.�RSNA, 2007