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Objective: The authors aimed to determine whether magnetic resonance imaging would be as effective as computerized tomography scan for the evaluation of chronic idiopathic abdominal pain in postoperative gastric bypass patients. Design: Patients seen in clinic with complaints of chronic, recurrent central abdominal pain with no identifiable cause were scanned with conventional computerized tomography scan with oral contrast, followed by magnetic resonance imaging with an abdominal protocol, on the same day. Each computerized tomography scan was interpreted by a dedicated body-imaging radiologist. Each magnetic resonance imaging was separately evaluated by a different body-imaging radiologist, blinded to the identity of the gastric bypass patient or the results of the computerized tomography scan. Setting: Outpatient surgical weight loss clinic at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania. Participants: Eight Roux-en-Y gastric bypass patients, all women aged 32 to 59 years, at a mean of five years after surgery. Measurements: Measurements in this study were radiology reports created by body-imaging radiologist for both computerized tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging results. Results: All gastric bypass patients were shown to have normal post-gastric bypass anatomy by computerized tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging. Six patients had additional computerized tomography scan findings necessitating additional interventions, none of which revealed any significant findings nor led to further treatment. Four patients had additional magnetic resonance imaging findings; none required further evaluation except for one finding of pancreatic cysts for which an interval magnetic resonance imaging was recommended. Conclusions: Both computerized tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging may be equally useful studies for the elective evaluation of nonspecific abdominal pain after gastric bypass. Magnetic resonance imaging confers no ionizing radiation, so may be the preferred modality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]