role of magnetic resonance sialography in assessment of duct system in salivary glands diseases

ABSTRACT

We evaluated in this study the diagnostic accuracy of MR Sialography in assessment of duct system in salivary gland diseases. This study was conducted on twenty patients. Magnetic Resonance imaging of the major salivary glands using conventional T1 and T2 weighted sequences, with addition of a heavily T2 weighted RARE [Rapid Acquisition with Relaxation Enhancement] MR sialography sequence was performed for all patients supplemented by conventional sialography and plain x-ray examination of the salivary glands. This study included twenty patients of different ages of both sexes, their ages were ranging from 4-80 years, complaining of pain and swelling at the regions of the salivary glands There were six neoplastic lesions, six inflammatory lesions, six sialolithiasis with and without associated sialadenitis, and two cases of non-neoplastic non-inflammatory lesions [sialosis]. Heavily T2-weighted MR sialographic imaging was able to delineate ductal anatomy and pathological changes as dilatation and displacement of the duct system of the examined major salivary glands in all cases. Combining such sialographic sequence with conventional MR sequences [T1 W and T2 W images] promise to be an ideal apprehensive imaging modality for evaluation of major salivary glands diseases