[MR urography: technique and clinical application in patients with kidney transplantation].

OBJECTIVE

To assess the value of magnetic resonance urography (MRU) for the noninvasive postoperative evaluation of renal transplants.

METHODS

28 cases of renal transplantation were examined with a modified, heavily T2-weighted fast apin-echo pulse sequence and fat-suppression pulse aid. Post-procedure processing was performed with a maximal-projection (MIP) algorithm.

RESULTS

28 patients were studied. MRU revealed abnormal finding in 9 patients: mild dilatation of the renal pelvis without any urodynamic relevant obstruction (2), moderate dilatation of the renal pelvis (3), acute rejection (3), and ATN (1). Ureteral stenosis was diagnosed in 1 patients and treated surgically.

CONCLUSIONS

MRU is an alternative to conventional urinary tract images techniques. It requires no radiation or iodinated contrast material. It is reliable and noninvasive in depicting the urinary tract. MRU can be used as a noninvasive technique for assessment of renal transplantation in cases suspicious of complication in the excretory system.