MRI of the nasopharynx

MRI of the nasopharynx is a diagnostic examination method, which is used to assess the condition of the nasal cavity, nasopharyngeal patency, surrounding soft tissues, blood vessels and lymph nodes, which will allow the radiologist to confirm or deny the presence of inflammatory processes, foreign bodies or neoplasms in this area.

Services

Indications for MRI of the nasopharynx:

• inflammatory processes of maxillary sinuses, in particular abscesses, phlegmons, etc;
• hyperplasia of lymphoid tissue in the nasopharynx (adenoids);
• suspected presence of neoplasms (retentive tonsil cyst, Thornwaldt cyst, nasal polyps, etc;)
• suspicion of foreign bodies in the nasal passages;
• suspected malignant process in the nasopharynx (lymphoepithelioma, squamous cell carcinoma, sarcoma, etc;)
• anomalies in the development of the nasopharyngeal structure;
• quality control of the treatment (surgical, radiation, etc.).

Advantages of this method:

• fine stepwise scanning slice - 4 mm;
• the most informative method for diagnosing nasopharyngeal soft tissues;
• absolutely safe and painless method of examination for the patient without direct intervention in the nose or nasopharynx;
• differential diagnosis of malignancy of detected neoplasms.

Diagnostics

The St. Paraskeva Medical Center has a powerful radiology department with innovative diagnostic equipment of the highest world level.

One of them is the latest generation 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance imager Toshiba Vantage ZGV Atlas (Japan).

Preparation for the examination

There is no special preparation for performing an MRI of the nasopharynx. In some cases, the examination is carried out with contrast. Then a peripheral catheter is inserted into the vessel before the diagnostics.

Examination and peculiarities

The diagnostics begins with filling out an information questionnaire in which the patient indicates his/her complaints.

The next step is to remove outerwear and metal jewelry. Personal belongings can be left in a lockable booth, and valuables in a safe.

Medical staff of the MRI room will instruct and inform about the peculiarities of the procedure immediately before the examination. The duration of the procedure is up to 30 minutes. In case of contrast – up to 45 minutes.

During the scan, the patient must lie still to prevent artifacts in the images.

After the examination, the patient gets dressed and waits for a CD with all the images.

Diagnostic results can be obtained by email or at the reception at the St. Paraskeva Medical Center.

If necessary, MRI of the nasopharynx is performed with intravenous contrast through a peripheral catheter, which will allow differential diagnosis of malignancy of the detected neoplasms.

The contrast agent is injected into the vessel remotely using a modern MRI injector Ulrich Medical Mississippi XD2000 (Germany). After the contrasting, the peripheral catheter is removed from the vessel, and a disposable patch is applied to the puncture site.

Contraindications to MRI of the nasopharynx

• common contraindications: pacemaker, metal structures in the body that tend to magnetize, etc.
• dentures or braces can cause artifacts to appear in images;
• individual hypersensitivity to gadoteric acid, meglumin, or any drug containing gadolinium;
• functional disorders of the kidneys (decreased renal clearance).

Doctors