What would scar tissue look like on an ankle MRI?
Jun.21, 2010 in
Ankle
I just got an MRI done on my ankle because the doctor suspects scar tissue causing problems from an ankle sprain. I do not recall injuring my foot, but my ankle has been swollen and any prolonged weight put on my ankle causes swelling. I am almost always in pain. I am a runner and athletic and was diagnosed with a stress fracture around December ’09. Physical therapy has not helped. I have the MRI cd, what should I look for that’s not normal?
June 21st, 2010 at 2:17 pm
There is no way I can describe to you over the internet what to look for on an ankle MRI. You would need an intimate knowledge of foot and ankle anatomy as well as knowledge of the different MRI sequences and what each is designed to show. Unless you’re a physician (or equivalent), the answer likely won’t make much sense.
But since you asked, I’ll give you the best answer I can on here. Tendons and ligaments should all show up black on most sequences. The T2 sequences are probably best for evaluating those. If there’s any bright signal in the tendon or ligament, then there’s likely some sort of tendinopathy or a sprain. If the ligament is not continuous, it is likely torn. The articular cartilage can be evaluated on T2 or proton density sequences and should be smooth and uniform all the way across. Any foci of bright signal means that there is some sort of erosion. If it’s bad enough, you can see some bone marrow edema adjacent to it, which will show up as bright signal in the dark marrow on T2 with fat saturation sequences or STIR sequences. Likewise, a stress fracture will show up as a bright signal in the dark marrow on STIR. Scar tissue is usually intermediate signal on most sequences, so it’s kinda hard to see unless you really know what you’re looking for. If there’s a lot of fluid (very bright on T2) within the joint space, that is a joint effusion, which can be caused by several things.
Now, this may not make any sense unless you are a physician, but it’s the best I can do. It’s best to get ahold of the radiologists report when it becomes available.