Background: Anatomical variations of the major branches of the abdominal aorta are clinically significant for surgical and interventional planning. Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) enables the accurate evaluation of these vascular patterns. Objective: To determine the prevalence and morphometric characteristics of variations of the celiac trunk, hepatic, and renal arteries using MDCT and to compare the findings with the existing literature. Materials and Methods: This prospective observational study included 248 adult patients undergoing contrast-enhanced computed tomography scans of the abdomen. Variations of the celiac trunk, hepatic arteries, and renal arteries were classified according to the Uflacker and Michels’ classifications. Morphometric parameters such as arterial diameters were measured. Statistical analysis was performed using the appropriate statistical software, with P < 0.05 considered significant. Results: Celiac trunk variations were observed in 9.2% of patients, hepatic artery variations in 22.2%, and renal artery variations in 39.1%. The mean celiac trunk diameter was 5.5 ± 1.2 mm and the mean common hepatic artery diameter was 4.06 ± 0.9 mm. The most common aortomesenteric angle range was 40°–60° (mean 47.58° ± 3.024°). A statistically significant association was observed between renal artery variations and celiac/hepatic arterial variations ( P < 0.05). Conclusion: Variations of the abdominal aortic branches are common and can be reliably detected using MDCT. Preoperative recognition of these variations is essential to minimize the surgical and interventional complications.
Thakur et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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