To assist your physician in the evaluation of suspected hepatomegaly (enlarged liver) or hepatocellular (liver) diseases.

A technologist will explain the entire process to you prior to starting the exam.  He/she will also ask you some health history questions, which will help our radiologist interpret your exam.

A technologist will give you an intravenous (IV) injection of a radiopharmaceutical reagentthat will be picked up by your liver.  There is about a 30-minute wait while your liver filters out the tracer. 

After the wait, you will be asked to lie flat on our scanning bed while our imaging cameras are moved to different positions around your liver area.

If you have any technical questions, specific to this procedure, please don’t hesitate to ask the technologist at dosing time.  All clinical questions should be directed to your physician.

A report will be sent to your ordering physician.

You will be in our department about 1 hour.

No complications are expected from this procedure.

Studies of the health effects of radiation have shown that high doses of radiation can cause cancer.  However, this hospital procedure requires that we inject you with a very low level of radioactive material. 

The risk from lower doses of radiation, such as you will receive during this exam, is uncertain.  Most scientists believe that the risk is very small.  Certainly, the benefits received from the exam far outweigh the small risk associated with this procedure