Frequency of Anatomical Variations and Congenital Anomalies in Pancreatobiliary Tract through Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography

Objective: To determine the frequency of anatomical variations and congenital anomalies of pancreatobiliary tract in adults through the Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography (MRCP).Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was done on patients suspected to have pancreatobiliary disease referred to MRI unit. MRCP was performed on a 1.5 Tesla in MR unit, using phased-array coil for signal detection. Heavily T2 weighted images were obtained with SSF-SE technique. Axial and coronal source images and reformatted images were evaluated together for the possibility of any anomaly and variation in pancreatobiliary tract. Analysis was done by SPSS version 20.Results: Total no of 377 patients included in this study. The patients presented with epigastric pain, obstructive jaundice, pancreatitis and post-cholecystectomy epigastric pain and jaundice. MRCP was performed on these patients to examine the pancreatobiliary tract. In this study, 52% were females and 48% were males. The variations and anomalies were found in 24.93 and 75.07% had normal anatomy of pancreatobiliary tract. The most observed frequency was low insertion of cystic duct and least observed frequency was duct of Santorini. High insertion of cystic duct, absent gallbladder and aberrant hepatic ducts were not found in this study.Conclusion: Majority of the patients in this study were found to be free from pancreatobiliary disease. It is important to clarify the anatomy of the pancreatobiliary tract by preoperative evaluation. Congenital anomalies and anatomical variation in pancreatobiliary tract present a complex spectrum, which areworthy of alteration in both the clinical and surgical setting and are readily identified by MRCP.