Spiral computed tomography for biliary dilatation.

Spiral computed tomography (SCT), which consists of rapid volumetric data acquisition and planar image display, was performed on 12 patients with biliary dilatation after excisional procedure. The technique was evaluated for image quality and impact on clinical practice. All patients safely underwent SCT scanning after intravenous cholangiography (IVC) without any sedations. In 11 of 12 patients reliable biliary images were obtained and three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction images of the biliary system with bilioenteric anastomosis were generally of diagnostic quality even in young children. As a consequence, IVC-SCT technique appears to have the potential for improving the efficacy and safety of diagnostic CT in investigation of the biliary system. In particular, this technique may be useful for detecting bilioenteric anastomotic conditions in follow-up studies of pediatric patients with biliary dilatation.