Infected aortoiliofemoral grafts: magnetic resonance imaging.

Three patients with proved infected aortoiliofemoral grafts were examined by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging using a spin echo technique. MR clearly identified the perigraft abscess, the involvement of adjacent structures, and the longitudinal extent of the process in all patients. The MR findings were: Abscesses create a high signal intensity, somewhat less than fat. The perigraft abscess has a great contrast with the signal void of flowing blood in the graft. Inflammatory changes cause an inhomogeneous intermediate signal, slightly more intense than muscle. Both abscesses and edematous areas increase their signal intensity with long repetition rates and long echo delays. Areas of gas appear black. They cannot be distinguished from calcified plaques. Additional information is gained about the graft patency. Although the specificity has to be proved, MR imaging is sensitive in the detection of infected grafts and for defining the longitudinal extent of the perigraft abscess.