PELVIMETRY BY IMAGING CURRENT STATUS

Abstract

The role of pelvimetry in the management of complicated pregnancy warrants investigation. There is probably agreement that there is a role in the assessment of a breech pregnancy where vaginal delivery is contemplated. Conventional pelvimetry is still carried out in many centers throughout the world. The radiation dose to the fetus and mother has caused concern leading to changes such as the use of intensifying screens, air gap technique, computed tomography (CT) pelvimetry, digital pelvimetry and now magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pelvimetry. The advantages of MRI have been the absence of radiation, shorter duration of examination and the absence of distortion of measurements from magnification. The ability to define the soft tissue may also be important though this has not yet been determined. One of the major limitations of MRI was the question of cost but this was based on the older longer sequences. Presently with the availability of newer shorter sequences, the examination could be carried-out much faster and therefore should be really cost-effective.