High-resolution MRI of the anatomy important in total mesorectal excision of the rectum.

Objective: The surgical removal of a rectal carcinoma and the adjacent lymph nodes in an en bloc package lessens the risk of local recurrence due to residual tumor. Heightened awareness of good surgical techniques has created much interest in the anatomy involved in total mesorectal excision surgery, with particular focus on the fascial planes and nerve plexuses and their relationship to the surgical planes of excision. Clear preoperative depiction of these relationships is of value in determining tumor resectability.

Morphologic predictors of lymph node status in rectal cancer with use of high-spatial-resolution MR imaging with histopathologic comparison.

Purpose: To evaluate signal intensity and border characteristics of lymph nodes at high-spatial-resolution magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in patients with rectal cancer and to compare these findings with size in prediction of nodal status.

Materials And Methods: Forty-two patients who underwent total mesorectal excision of the rectum to determine if they had rectal carcinoma were studied with preoperative thin-section MR imaging. Lymph nodes were harvested from 42 transversely sectioned surgical specimens.