MR imaging of intraocular lesions--a comparison with CT]

Thirty-two intraocular lesions were studied with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and computed tomography (CT). These lesions included retinoblastoma (n = 11), uveal melanoma (n = 6), metastatic choroidal tumor (n = 3), choroidal hemangioma (n = 2), retinochoroiditis (n = 6) and Coats' disease (n = 4). MR imaging was superior to CT in the depiction of intraocular masses and retinal detachment. Gd-DTPA enhanced MR imaging was more useful than contrast enhanced CT in evaluating the contrast enhancement of intraocular tumors. Differential diagnosis of intraocular tumors was difficult with both MR imaging and CT. Intratumoral calcification was noticed on CT in nine cases of retinoblastoma. It was concluded that MR imaging, including contrast enhancement study, is more useful than CT in the evaluation of intraocular lesions, except for calcification, and contrast enhanced CT may be unnecessary in the diagnosis of intraocular lesions.