Figure 7.

Example of an infected aortic graft. A 48-year-old male underwent a Bentall procedure (graft replacement of the aortic value, root, and ascending aorta) three years prior to the PET study. On the low-dose, unenhanced CT (A), a soft-tissue density (arrow) is visible anterior to the aortic graft which demonstrated focally increased FDG uptake (arrow) (B), but no significant activity (arrow) on a radiolabelled white blood cell (WBC) study (C). Despite this, imaging findings were compatible with an aortic graft infection. Cultures of this collection grew Kingella kingae. The low virulence of the pathogen and the chronicity of this process may explain the lack of WBC uptake.