Assessment of Lower Limb Artery Stent Placement with 3D Variable Refocusing Flip Angle Turbo Spin Echo : A Report on Two Cases

Abstract

Recent studies have reported an increase in the incidence of lower extremity arterial disease in Japan secondary to rapid population aging and an increase in the numbers of diabetes and dialysis cases. Although widely used, the long-term outcomes of endovascular therapy (EVT) remain unclear. Regular evaluation to monitor restenosis is extremely important. Magnetic resonance angiography is a non-invasive approach to evaluate lower extremity arteries without contrast enhancement or radiation exposure. However, stent lumens present challenges for evaluation in some cases secondary to magnetic susceptibility artifacts. Previous studies have reported the usefulness of the volume isotropic turbo spin-echo (T1 VISTA) method, which is based on three-dimensional variable refocusing flip angle turbo spin echo images for in-stent evaluation after carotid artery stenting. In this study, we describe our findings in two patients in whom the T1 VISTA method was useful to evaluate leg artery stent patency following EVT.