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| Why would my physician order this procedure |
To help your physician in the diagnosis, staging and management of a variety of malignant diseases.
It is also being used by some physicians in some neurological conditions and cardiovascular diseases. |
| Exam preparation |
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This is a very special order radiopharmaceutical, with a very short usage time period. Your cooperation with the preparation is very important. |
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We do not want you to eat or drink anything (except water) for about four (4) hours before your appointment time.
This includes no concentrated sugars (candy or juices), caffeine, alcohol or smoking. |
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You can take any prescribed medication on the day of your appointment, unless your physician’s office gave you different instructions. |
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If you are a diabetic, please let your doctor know. You will need special instructions. |
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If you are scheduled for a cardiac viability study, there are no special diet instructions. |
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To perform this exam, we must give you a small amount of radioactive materials.
Tell your doctor if you might be pregnant, if you are pregnant, or if you are a nursing mother. |
| What to expect |
A technologist will explain the entire process to you prior to starting the exam. They will also ask you some health history questions, which will help our radiologist interpret your exam.
You will be escorted to a quiet room and made comfortable in a reclining chair for the wait time between injection and scan. A technologist will place an intravenous (IV) line in your arm and give you our radiopharmaceutical imaging reagent. Since you must reduce as much muscular motion as possible, you will not be allowed to do any type of physical activity (talking or even reading) during this time. After your wait period (30 minutes), you will be asked to lie flat on our imaging bed for the scan.
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. |
| How long will it take |
Total time for this exam is about 90 minutes. There is a minimum of a 30 minutes wait from injection time to image. Images take about 45 minutes. |
| Possible complications or side effects |
No complications are expected from this procedure. |
| Radiation risk statement |
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 |
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