Background/aims: This study was aimed to analyze the relationship between gastric varices and its collaterals using magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and to assess the usefulness of MRA in studies of portosystemic circulation.
Methods: Eighty-one patients who had portal hypertension with gastric varices took MRA before the therapy for gastric varices.
Results: The types of collaterals observed by MRA were left gastric vein in 67 patients (83%), short gastric vein in 28 (35%), gastrorenal shunt in 25 (31%), and splenorenal shunt in 14 (17%). In most of patients with advanced gastric varices, the size of left gastric vein was larger than others. In most cases of large gastric varices, the short gastric vein ranged between 5 to 10 mm. Gastrorenal shunt was also correlated with the size of gastric varices. The types of more prominent esophageal varices showed a right type (left gastric vein predominance), but the types of more prominent gastric varices or only the gastric varices showed a left type (posterior or short gastric vein predominance) (p<0.05).
Conclusions: Gadolinium enhanced 3D-MRA can contribute to the study of the hemodynamic relationships between gastric vein and the collateral circulations by presenting more clear images for patients with portal hypertension.