Echocardiography and imaging investigation in congenital cardiovascular anomalies - competition or complementarity? Part II: cyanogenic cardiovascular malformations. Pictorial essay.

The diagnosis of cardiovascular malformations (CVM) is based on the echocardiographic evaluation. Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are performant, necessary techniques for the pre- and postoperative assessment of complex malformations, especially of cyanogenic malformations, in which anomalies of the right side of the heart and of the pulmonary circulation are involved and where echocardiography has a limited role. The complementarity of echocardiography with MDCT and MRI for the acquisition of the details necessary for an accurate therapeutic decision and for avoiding invasive exploration, as well as the close relationship between the radiologist and the clinician are crucial and all the more necessary in complex malformations.