MRI-guided access to the retropharynx

• Published in: Journal of magnetic resonance imaging Vol. 17; no. 3; pp. 317 - 322
• Main Authors: Lai, Annie, Maghami, Ellie, Borges, Alexandra, Bonyadilou, Shahram, Curran, John, Abemayor, Elliot, Lufkin, Robert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01-03-2003
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Biopsy, Needle - instrumentation; Female; head and neck; Humans; image-guided; intervention; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - instrumentation; Male; Middle Aged; MRI; Pharyngeal Neoplasms - pathology; Pharynx - pathology; retropharynx; Retrospective Studies
• ISSN: 1053-1807; 1522-2586
• DOI: 10.1002/jmri.10254

Purpose
To describe MR‐guided access to the retropharynx for precise fine‐needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), and other indications for needle placement.
Materials and Methods
A retrospective review was made of 15 procedures that had been performed on 14 patients. These patients had a retropharyngeal mass on MRI and had undergone MR‐guided minimally invasive access to the retropharynx for either diagnostic or therapeutic intervention in the period of October 1989 to January 2000.
Results
All 14 patients underwent MR‐guided access to the retropharynx for FNAC without immediate or delayed complications. MRI confirmed that the biopsy needle was within the retropharyngeal mass in all patients. MR‐guided FNAC revealed five true‐positive, five true‐negative, four indeterminate, and no false‐positive cases. Ten of the 14 patients (71%) had diagnostic aspirations. In one patient with retropharyngeal extension of carcinoma, an MR‐guided approach was used for the experimental interstitial laser therapy (ILT).
Conclusion
The results suggest that an MR‐guided retromandibular approach to biopsy of retropharyngeal mass is minimally invasive and safe. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2003;17:317–322. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.