Abstract
Purpose. To demonstrate the typical appearance of retroperitoneal ganglioneuromas on CT and MRI.¶Materials and methods. Retrospective analysis of diagnostic imaging (five CT scans, three MRI scans) in five children aged 3–15 years with the histological diagnosis of ganglioneuroma.¶Results. The scans showed large (maximum 11 cm diameter), round or oval tumours with sharply defined margins. Intraspinal tumour involvement occurred in two cases. Comparing CT with MRI, MRI was more accurate in defining the intraspinal involvement. The ganglioneuromas were hypodense on unenhanced CT and showed moderate enhancement with administration of contrast medium. In three patients, CT demonstrated tumour calcification with a disseminated speckled pattern. On T1-weighted MRI the tumours were homogeneous and hypointense, showing marked enhancement after gadolinium administration. On T2-weighted scans the tumours were hyperintense.¶Conclusion. At the time of diagnosis, retroperitoneal ganglioneuromas are generally large tumours that can be shown well by CT and MRI. The appearance on CT more readily suggests the diagnosis, but MRI is superior for documenting local or intraspinal tumour extension and lacks radiation load.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Received: 16 August 1999/Accepted: 24 April 2000
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Scherer, A., Niehues, T., Engelbrecht, V. et al. Imaging diagnosis of retroperitoneal ganglioneuroma in childhood. Pediatric Radiology 31, 106–110 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002470000381
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002470000381