Radiology, Vol 158, 747-754, Copyright © 1986 by Radiological Society of North America
Larynx and hypopharynx: MR imaging with surface coils
RB Lufkin, WN Hanafee, D Wortham and L Hoover
Forty patients with disorders of the larynx or hypopharynx were studied
with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Axial, coronal, and sagittal
sections, 4 mm thick, were obtained. Twenty-eight of the patients underwent
computed tomography (CT) scanning; 17 underwent surgery, and specimens were
obtained for organ sectioning. Correlation was made between these three
studies as well as with clinical history, physical examination, and
endoscopic photography. In 13 patients who underwent all three studies, the
depiction of cartilage invasion, adenopathy, and intraorgan and extraorgan
spread of disease was compared. MR consistently showed superior soft-tissue
definition and extent of disease compared with CT. Neither CT nor MR was
able to depict histologic detail or microscopic spread of disease. Both
studies were also less effective in the postoperative or postirradiated
neck. The use of direct coronal and sagittal imaging planes on MR allowed
the visualization of intrinsic laryngeal musculature, which was important
in the recognition of subtle tumor extension. For these reasons, surface
coil MR imaging is currently the imaging study of choice at our institution
for disorders of the larynx and hypopharynx.
