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Lopes Vendrami C, Thorson DL, Borhani AA, Mittal PK, Hammond NA, Escobar DJ, Gabriel H, Recht HS, Horowitz JM, Kelahan LC, Wood CG, Nikolaidis P, Venkatesh SK, Miller FH. Imaging of Biliary Tree Abnormalities. Radiographics 2024; 44:e230174. [PMID: 39024175 DOI: 10.1148/rg.230174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/20/2024]
Abstract
Pathologic conditions of the biliary system, although common, can be difficult to diagnose clinically. Challenges in biliary imaging include anatomic variants and the dynamic nature of the biliary tract, which can change with age and intervention, blurring the boundaries of normal and abnormal. Choledochal cysts can have numerous appearances and are important to diagnose given the risk of cholangiocarcinoma potentially requiring surgical resection. Choledocholithiasis, the most common cause of biliary dilatation, can be difficult to detect at US and CT, with MRI having the highest sensitivity. However, knowledge of the imaging pitfalls of MRI and MR cholangiopancreatography is crucial to avoid misinterpretation. Newer concepts in biliary tract malignancy include intraductal papillary biliary neoplasms that may develop into cholangiocarcinoma. New paradigms in the classification of cholangiocarcinoma correspond to the wide range of imaging appearances of the disease and have implications for prognosis. Accurately staging cholangiocarcinoma is imperative, given expanding curative options including transplant and more aggressive surgical options. Infections of the biliary tree include acute cholangitis or recurrent pyogenic cholangitis, characterized by obstruction, strictures, and central biliary dilatation. Inflammatory conditions include primary sclerosing cholangitis, which features strictures and fibrosis but can be difficult to differentiate from secondary causes of sclerosing cholangitis, including more recently described entities such as immunoglobulin G4-related sclerosing cholangitis and COVID-19 secondary sclerosing cholangitis. The authors describe a wide variety of benign and malignant biliary tract abnormalities, highlight differentiating features of the cholangitides, provide an approach to interpretation based on the pattern of imaging findings, and discuss pearls and pitfalls of imaging to facilitate accurate diagnosis. ©RSNA, 2024 Supplemental material is available for this article.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camila Lopes Vendrami
- From the Departments of Radiology (C.L.V., D.L.T., A.A.B., N.A.H., H.G., H.S.R., J.M.H., L.C.K., C.G.W., P.N., F.H.M.) and Pathology (D.J.E.), Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N St Clair St, Ste 800, Chicago, IL 60611; Department of Radiology and Imaging, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Ga (P.K.M.); and Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn (S.K.V.)
| | - Deanna L Thorson
- From the Departments of Radiology (C.L.V., D.L.T., A.A.B., N.A.H., H.G., H.S.R., J.M.H., L.C.K., C.G.W., P.N., F.H.M.) and Pathology (D.J.E.), Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N St Clair St, Ste 800, Chicago, IL 60611; Department of Radiology and Imaging, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Ga (P.K.M.); and Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn (S.K.V.)
| | - Amir A Borhani
- From the Departments of Radiology (C.L.V., D.L.T., A.A.B., N.A.H., H.G., H.S.R., J.M.H., L.C.K., C.G.W., P.N., F.H.M.) and Pathology (D.J.E.), Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N St Clair St, Ste 800, Chicago, IL 60611; Department of Radiology and Imaging, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Ga (P.K.M.); and Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn (S.K.V.)
| | - Pardeep K Mittal
- From the Departments of Radiology (C.L.V., D.L.T., A.A.B., N.A.H., H.G., H.S.R., J.M.H., L.C.K., C.G.W., P.N., F.H.M.) and Pathology (D.J.E.), Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N St Clair St, Ste 800, Chicago, IL 60611; Department of Radiology and Imaging, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Ga (P.K.M.); and Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn (S.K.V.)
| | - Nancy A Hammond
- From the Departments of Radiology (C.L.V., D.L.T., A.A.B., N.A.H., H.G., H.S.R., J.M.H., L.C.K., C.G.W., P.N., F.H.M.) and Pathology (D.J.E.), Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N St Clair St, Ste 800, Chicago, IL 60611; Department of Radiology and Imaging, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Ga (P.K.M.); and Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn (S.K.V.)
| | - David J Escobar
- From the Departments of Radiology (C.L.V., D.L.T., A.A.B., N.A.H., H.G., H.S.R., J.M.H., L.C.K., C.G.W., P.N., F.H.M.) and Pathology (D.J.E.), Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N St Clair St, Ste 800, Chicago, IL 60611; Department of Radiology and Imaging, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Ga (P.K.M.); and Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn (S.K.V.)
| | - Helena Gabriel
- From the Departments of Radiology (C.L.V., D.L.T., A.A.B., N.A.H., H.G., H.S.R., J.M.H., L.C.K., C.G.W., P.N., F.H.M.) and Pathology (D.J.E.), Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N St Clair St, Ste 800, Chicago, IL 60611; Department of Radiology and Imaging, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Ga (P.K.M.); and Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn (S.K.V.)
| | - Hannah S Recht
- From the Departments of Radiology (C.L.V., D.L.T., A.A.B., N.A.H., H.G., H.S.R., J.M.H., L.C.K., C.G.W., P.N., F.H.M.) and Pathology (D.J.E.), Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N St Clair St, Ste 800, Chicago, IL 60611; Department of Radiology and Imaging, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Ga (P.K.M.); and Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn (S.K.V.)
| | - Jeanne M Horowitz
- From the Departments of Radiology (C.L.V., D.L.T., A.A.B., N.A.H., H.G., H.S.R., J.M.H., L.C.K., C.G.W., P.N., F.H.M.) and Pathology (D.J.E.), Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N St Clair St, Ste 800, Chicago, IL 60611; Department of Radiology and Imaging, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Ga (P.K.M.); and Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn (S.K.V.)
| | - Linda C Kelahan
- From the Departments of Radiology (C.L.V., D.L.T., A.A.B., N.A.H., H.G., H.S.R., J.M.H., L.C.K., C.G.W., P.N., F.H.M.) and Pathology (D.J.E.), Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N St Clair St, Ste 800, Chicago, IL 60611; Department of Radiology and Imaging, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Ga (P.K.M.); and Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn (S.K.V.)
| | - Cecil G Wood
- From the Departments of Radiology (C.L.V., D.L.T., A.A.B., N.A.H., H.G., H.S.R., J.M.H., L.C.K., C.G.W., P.N., F.H.M.) and Pathology (D.J.E.), Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N St Clair St, Ste 800, Chicago, IL 60611; Department of Radiology and Imaging, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Ga (P.K.M.); and Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn (S.K.V.)
| | - Paul Nikolaidis
- From the Departments of Radiology (C.L.V., D.L.T., A.A.B., N.A.H., H.G., H.S.R., J.M.H., L.C.K., C.G.W., P.N., F.H.M.) and Pathology (D.J.E.), Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N St Clair St, Ste 800, Chicago, IL 60611; Department of Radiology and Imaging, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Ga (P.K.M.); and Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn (S.K.V.)
| | - Sudhakar K Venkatesh
- From the Departments of Radiology (C.L.V., D.L.T., A.A.B., N.A.H., H.G., H.S.R., J.M.H., L.C.K., C.G.W., P.N., F.H.M.) and Pathology (D.J.E.), Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N St Clair St, Ste 800, Chicago, IL 60611; Department of Radiology and Imaging, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Ga (P.K.M.); and Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn (S.K.V.)
| | - Frank H Miller
- From the Departments of Radiology (C.L.V., D.L.T., A.A.B., N.A.H., H.G., H.S.R., J.M.H., L.C.K., C.G.W., P.N., F.H.M.) and Pathology (D.J.E.), Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N St Clair St, Ste 800, Chicago, IL 60611; Department of Radiology and Imaging, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Ga (P.K.M.); and Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn (S.K.V.)
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Ludwig DR, Itani M, Childs DD, Revzin MV, Das KK, Anderson MA, Arif-Tiwari H, Lockhart ME, Fulcher AS. Biliary Duct Dilatation: AJR Expert Panel Narrative Review. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2024; 222:e2329671. [PMID: 37493325 DOI: 10.2214/ajr.23.29671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/27/2023]
Abstract
Biliary duct dilatation is a common incidental finding in practice, but it is unlikely to indicate biliary obstruction in the absence of clinical symptoms or elevated levels on liver function tests (LFTs). However, the clinical presentation may be nonspecific, and LFTs may either be unavailable or difficult to interpret. The goal of this AJR Expert Panel Narrative Review is to highlight a series of topics fundamental to the management of biliary duct dilatation, providing consensus recommendations in a question-and-answer format. We start by covering a basic approach to interpreting LFT results, the strengths and weaknesses of the biliary imaging modalities, and how and where to measure the extrahepatic bile duct. Next, we define the criteria for biliary duct dilatation, including patients with prior cholecystectomy and advanced age, and discuss when and whether biliary duct dilatation can be attributed to papillary stenosis or sphincter of Oddi dysfunction. Subsequently, we discuss two conditions in which the duct is pathologically dilated but not obstructed: congenital cystic dilatation (i.e., choledochal cyst) and intraductal papillary neoplasm of the bile duct. Finally, we provide guidance regarding when to recommend obtaining additional imaging or testing, such as endoscopic ultrasound or ERCP, and include a discussion of future directions in biliary imaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel R Ludwig
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 510 S Kingshighway Blvd, Campus Box 8131, Saint Louis, MO 63110
| | - Malak Itani
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 510 S Kingshighway Blvd, Campus Box 8131, Saint Louis, MO 63110
| | - David D Childs
- Department of Radiology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
| | | | - Koushik K Das
- Division of Gastroenterology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO
| | - Mark A Anderson
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Hina Arif-Tiwari
- Department of Radiology, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ
| | - Mark E Lockhart
- Department of Radiology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
| | - Ann S Fulcher
- Department of Radiology, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth Medical Center, Richmond, VA
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Khot R, Morgan MA, Nair RT, Ludwig DR, Arif-Tiwari H, Bhati CS, Itani M. Radiologic findings of biliary complications post liver transplantation. ABDOMINAL RADIOLOGY (NEW YORK) 2023; 48:166-185. [PMID: 36289069 DOI: 10.1007/s00261-022-03714-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Revised: 10/08/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Liver transplantation is a potentially curative treatment for patients with acute liver failure, end-stage liver disease, and primary hepatic malignancy. Despite tremendous advancements in surgical techniques and immunosuppressive management, there remains a high rate of post-transplant complications, with one of the main complications being biliary complications. In addition to anastomotic leak and stricture, numerous additional biliary complications are encountered, including ischemic cholangiopathy due to the sole arterial supply of the bile ducts, recurrence of primary biliary disease, infections, biliary obstruction from stones, cast, or hemobilia, and less commonly cystic duct remnant mucocele, vanishing duct syndrome, duct discrepancy and kinking, post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder, retained stent, and ampullary dysfunction. This article presents an overview of biliary anatomy and surgical techniques in liver transplantation, followed by a detailed review of post-transplant biliary complications with their corresponding imaging findings on multiple modalities with emphasis on magnetic resonance imaging and MR cholangiopancreatography.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachita Khot
- Radiology and Medical Imaging, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
| | - Matthew A Morgan
- Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Rashmi T Nair
- Department of Radiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Daniel R Ludwig
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Hina Arif-Tiwari
- Department of Medical Imaging, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Chandra S Bhati
- Department of Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Malak Itani
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, 63110, USA
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