Interruption of the aortic arch: Diagnosis with multidetector computed tomography

Purpose: We investigated retrospectively the usefulness of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in the preoperative diagnosis of interruption of the aortic arch (IAA). Materials and methods: Seven neonates with IAA underwent enhanced MDCT before a surgical repair operation between April 2006 and March 2010. The MDCT procedures were performed using either a 16- or 64-MDCT scanner without electrocardiographic gating or respiratory arrest. Results: High-quality CT images were obtained in all cases. One patient was diagnosed to be IAA type A, and 6 were diagnosed to be IAA type B (Celoria and Patton classification). The Celoria and Patton classification of IAA types and subtype classification by MDCT were confirmed by surgery. Conclusion: Our results show that the information from MDCT was sufficient for a preoperative diagnosis of IAA and allowed omission of a cardiac catheter examination before surgery.