[Evaluation of congenital vena cava anomalies and acquired vena cava obstructions after atrial switch operation using spiral computerized tomography and 3-dimensional reconstruction].

We report spiral-CT findings in adult patients with congenital abnormalities of the vena cava and systemic venous obstructions after atrial switch operation. Especially systemic venous obstruction is a well-known complication following Mustard procedure for transposition of the great arteries. The results demonstrate that computed tomography, particularly with the use of 3-dimensional surface reconstruction, is very useful as a highly sensitive procedure for the detailed depiction of abnormalities of the vena cava or of residua and sequelae after inflow correction for complete transposition. Demonstration of such abnormalities or obstructions after atrial switch operation is important, since the recognition and quantitation of caval anomalies by clinical techniques is unreliable and indeed often impossible. Imaging procedures such as spiral computed tomography are important for this purpose. Advantages of spiral computed tomography, particularly with 3-dimensional reconstruction, are discussed.