radiology

As a cardiac anesthesiologist and cardiovascular intensivist, I care for many patients with aortic aneurysms in the perioperative setting. Contrast-enhanced CT imaging is traditionally utilized to assess the location and size of the aneurysm...

Typically at end-systole, the interventricular septum (IVS) bows rightward as the left ventricle’s pressure (LV) exceeds that of the right ventricle (RV). However, when the RV is strained (e.g., massive pulmonary embolism), the pressure...

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a diffuse lung disease caused by problems with: surfactant metabolism, alveolar macrophage function, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor, or an unknown etiology. These can lead to the deposition of surfactant...

A left ventricular (LV) pseudoaneurysm is an LV outpouching devoid of myocardium/endocardium contained by the pericardium and adhesions. As one can imagine, this pathology carries a high risk of rupture and mortality. LV pseudoaneurysms...

Iodixanol (Visipaque) is an iodinated intravenous (IV) contrast agent which is iso-osmolar with plasma. Unlike the non-ionic monomer iohexol (Omnipaque), Visipaque is a non-ionic dimer; however, both agents are routinely utilized for angiography, venography,...

Persistent left superior vena cava (PLSVC) is a rare (~0.5% of the general population) venous anomaly when the left superior cardinal vein fails to degenerate. This can make entering the right heart from the...

Cerebral perfusion scans are nuclear medicine studies utilizing agents like NEUROLITE® to confirm a clinical diagnosis of brain death. NEUROLITE is a radioactive diagnostic agent (technetium Tc99m bicisate) which passively diffuses across the intact...

Subcutaneous emphysema occurs when air gets trapped within the subcutaneous regions of the face, neck, chest wall, abdomen, and even down to the thighs/legs. The characteristic physical exam finding of crepitus ("snap-crackle-pop") is caused...