Hepatic cavernous hemangiomas: patterns of contrast enhancement on MR fluoroscopy imaging

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the patterns of contrast enhancement of hepatic hemangiomas on gadolinium-enhanced MR fluoroscopy imaging prospectively. METHOD: Investigation was performed on a 0.3-T open MR unit. Gadolinium-enhanced MR fluoroscopy images were obtained in 24 patients with 28 hepatic hemangiomas. Each MR fluoroscopy image was obtained in 2 s and MR fluoroscopy lasted for 10-25 min for each investigation. RESULTS: Three patterns of contrast enhancement were observed in 24 patients on MR fluoroscopy images. Four small lesions were not detected on MR fluoroscopy images. Uniform enhancement was seen in nine lesions (29%), peripheral nodular enhancement progressing centripetally to uniform enhancement was seen in nine lesions (29%), and peripheral nodular enhancement with persistent central hypointensity was seen in six lesions (22%). CONCLUSION: Enhanced MR fluoroscopy technique could obtain dynamic images of hepatic hemangiomas. It can be suggested as a useful technique for the showing of enhancement of hepatic hemangiomas, keeping in mind its low sensitivity in the diagnosis of small hemangiomas.