Variations of the celiac trunk in Mexican population by MDCT angiography

The aim of this study is to describe the morphology and prevalence of anatomical variants of the celiac trunk (CT) in Mexican population, a crucial vascular structure while planning interventional radiology or surgery of the abdominal region. 127 Multidetector-row CT angiographies (MDCTA) from patients in the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition "Salvador Zubiran" (Mexico) were analyzed. Sixty-seven were women and sixty were men, with age range between 20 and 74 years old and with not previous pathologies reported. Ethics committee approval was obtained for this study. Anatomical variants were classified according to Marco-Clement's classification (2016). Type I, Complete CT, was found in 109 patients (109/127; 85.8%). The mean length of the CT was 20.4 mm +/- 6.5 mm (range: 6.1-44 mm). Ostium mean diameter was 7.7 mm +/- 1.9 (range 4.1-18.9 mm). Mean distance between the CT and the superior mesenteric artery was 7.3 mm +/- 3.5 mm (range: 0.7-17.2 mm). Type II, incomplete CT, was found in 17 patients (17/127; 13.4%): subtype IIa, hepato-splenic trunk, was found in 9 patients (9/127; 7.1%), and subtype IIb, gastrosplenic trunk, in 8 patients (8/127; 6.3%). We did not observe Type III, independent origin of all arteries of the trunk or absence of CT. Type IV, celiac-mesenteric trunk, was found in 1 patient (1/127, 0.8%). No significant differences between genders were observed. This is the first study in Mexican population that describes CT variants by MDCTA using the newest classification with clinical significance prior to surgery or radiologic intervention.