ULTRASOUND AND MR LIVER ELASTOGRAPHY: Minimally Invasive, Fast and Convenient — Liver Elastography Offers Patients a Pain-Free Alternative to Invasive Liver Biopsies.

March 2021 —

Often, people with liver fibrosis don’t experience any signs or symptoms. Chronic liver disease, most commonly Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, alcohol abuse, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, eventually results in liver scarring. When this scarring, or fibrosis, becomes severe, the risk of complications of chronic liver disease, including liver cancer, increases dramatically. Inland Imaging’s Ultrasound (US) and Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) studies can help provide the answers you and your physician need to guide your care.

Effective and Painless Alternative to Invasive Liver Biopsies

Liver biopsy is useful in determining the severity of liver fibrosis. However, an invasive biopsy also invites potential medical complications as well as a variety of other inconveniences including pain, the need for sedation, arranging for transportation, and as much as a full day of recovery time.

Liver elastography can provide all the information providers need without the inconvenience and expense of a biopsy in most patients. The patient only needs to undergo a non-invasive ultrasound or MRI exam.

What to Expect During the Exam

ULTRASOUND LIVER ELASTOGRAPHY: The exam itself is simple and painless.
To prepare, patients should not eat or drink for 4 hours prior to their appointment. During the exam, the patient lies comfortably on their back while an ultrasound technologist takes images of the liver, gallbladder, spleen, and sometimes more, depending on the ordering provider’s request. An additional five to ten minutes of imaging the liver helps obtain the required elastography measurements. After the exam, the patient can leave with no lingering side effects.

MAGNETIC RESONANCE ELASTOGRAPHY (MRE): The usefulness of ultrasound (US) elastography is limited in larger patients, who have a higher degree of success with MRI vs. US. MRE is done with the same type of scanner and many of the same steps as a traditional MRI exam.

During an MRE procedure:

  • The patient reclines, face-up on the examination table.

  • A radiology technologist will place a small pad on the patient’s abdomen. The pad emits vibrations that pass through the liver.

  • The table slides into the MRI scanner. Patients may be given earplugs or headphones before the test to help block the noise of the scanner, which can be loud.

  • Once inside the scanner, the pad activates and measurements are recorded onto a computer and turned into a visual map of the liver.

  • The scan takes under 30 minutes to complete.

Findings and Follow-up

A radiologist reviews the images and assesses an “F-score,” or fibrosis score describing the level of liver scarring present. The Radiologist then generates a report containing the F-score information typically within 24 hours after completion of the exam. Your physician can then use this information to help determine the most appropriate course of care — all while more effectively
controlling health care costs.

To find out if you’re a candidate for Liver Fibrosis assessment using ultrasound or MR Elastography, ask your primary care provider or contact inland imaging.

In Spokane call (509) 455.4455. In Tri-Cities call (509) 374.4030.