Learn About FibroScan® and How It Evaluates The Health of The Liver

10/10/2022

At Adult Gastroenterology Associates, our team is proud to provide our patients with care using state-of-the-art methods. This technology helps our physicians provide advanced services, more swift visits, and optimal results when compared to more traditional systems.

By providing FibroScan (liver elastography) to Tulsa, OK individuals, our doctors will be able to look after their liver vitality as well as pinpoint and supervise various conditions of the liver. To obtain additional details regarding how FibroScan can allow you to address your liver vitality, get in touch with your area Adult Gastroenterology Associates to arrange an appointment now.

What should I know about FibroScan?

As a nonsurgical liver test, FibroScan makes use of ultrasound waves to deliver a complete observation of your liver wellness, check the stages of liver issues, and work to show liver problems. During this brief test, your GI doctor will request that you lie on your back and place one hand under your head. We will pass a handheld device, similar to those used in ultrasound exams, on your abdominal area. As we carry out this procedure, we can:

  • Observe liver wellness after a liver transplant
  • Identify liver fibrosis
  • Test the stiffness of the liver to determine the presence of scarring in the liver
  • Detect diseases concerning the liver
  • Watch the development of liver issues

In many cases, FibroScan can be used instead of undergoing a more invasive liver biopsy. Many of our patients opt for this technique because there is no need to take more time off of everyday routines or seek out a person to drive them home from the test, and it is virtually painless. Even though the FibroScan might not necessarily take away the need for a biopsy, it permits your specialist to obtain real-time images with greater precision.

How is FibroScan performed?

Throughout your FibroScan procedure at Adult Gastroenterology Associates, the special hand piece will send acoustic pulses through your liver. The transducer will assess roughly 3 cubic centimeters in the liver – nearly 100 times the quantity of a biopsy. When the ultrasound waves are emitted, it will take more time to travel through a healthy liver. Alternatively, the sound pulses will travel through a stiff liver rather fast, and possibly faster the more diseased the liver is.

The FibroScan device can additionally point to the quantity of liver fat by monitoring the intensity and amplitude of ultrasound waves. As soon as the ultrasound waves are released, they are received into fatty livers more quickly in comparison with healthier livers. The fatty liver will have an increased rate of attenuation, but the healthy liver will have a lower rate of attenuation.

All of this info will be recorded with our innovative technology, which lets your GI doctor discuss your outcomes with you in real time. You can talk to your specialist about questions in your test, or you can wait and ask them after the results are given in more detail.

Why would I need a FibroScan exam?

When you show signs or symptoms of liver disease, like pain in the abdomen, dark-colored urine, yellow-colored eyes or skin, or another problem, your Tulsa, OK digestive health provider could recommend a FibroScan to observe your liver vitality.

Depending on your issues, medical record, and additional factors, our team could utilize FibroScan to monitor or help our confirmation of:

  • Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
  • Hepatitis B or C
  • Alcoholic liver conditions
  • NASH (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis)
  • Iron overload

Get a FibroScan in Tulsa, OK

If you or someone you love shows symptoms or signs of liver disease, have a history of liver disease, or have a family record of liver issues, your gastrointestinal doctor could advise a FibroScan test. This brief and efficient method may work to detect liver disease and measure the overall well-being of your liver, providing a more precise way to treat and check for liver problems.

To learn more regarding FibroScan and the ways it can help you support your liver and comprehensive wellness, call Adult Gastroenterology Associates today to request an appointment.