Ureteral visualization in a technetium-99m dimercaptosuccinic acid scan

ABSTRACT

Technetium-99m dimercaptosuccinic acid (99mTc-DMSA) scan is performed when there is a need to visualize the renal cortex and not the ureters or the bladder as the latter two are not effectively imaged. Less than twenty cases of tracer accumulation in a dilated ureter during a 99mTc-DMSA scan have been reported worldwide. There is no published case of ureter visualization in a 99mTc-DMSA scan done in the Philippines. In the case at hand, visualization of the ureters prompted further investigation. The present study pointed to a consideration of obstructive hydroureter, which was eventually supported by VCUG findings. Ureteral visualization in a 99mTc-DMSA scan should therefore prompt the inclusion of megaureter in the differential diagnosis.