Here's How FibroScan® Can Check the Health of the Liver

10/10/2022

At GastroArkansas, our staff is glad to provide our patients with treatment using state-of-the-art technology. This technology helps our physicians offer advanced services and more accurate outcomes as opposed to other options.

By offering liver elastography (FibroScan) to our Little Rock, AR patients, we will be able to check their liver vitality as well as identify and track a few different liver conditions. To obtain more information on how FibroScan might allow you to improve your liver function, get in touch with your area GastroArkansas to arrange a consultation at your convenience.

What should I know about FibroScan?

As a nonsurgical liver exam, FibroScan involves ultrasound waves to provide a full vision of your liver wellness, monitor the development of liver problems, and work to detect liver disease. During this quick procedure, your gastrointestinal doctor will ask you to position yourself flat and put your right hand under your head. Your provider will run a transducer, similar to the ones involved in ultrasound procedures, over your abdominal region. When we administer this procedure, we are able to:

  • Detect conditions of your liver
  • Verify fibrosis of the liver
  • Supervise the progression of liver disease
  • Test the hardness of the liver to indicate scarring in the liver
  • Track liver wellness after a liver transplant

In many cases, FibroScan might be used as opposed to having a more involved liver biopsy. The majority of our patients lean toward this technique considering that there is no requirement to take more time off of everyday routines or seek out a person to take them home following the exam, and it is virtually painless. Though this exam may not always take away the need for a biopsy procedure, it permits your specialist to get swift outcomes with greater accuracy.

How is FibroScan performed?

When you have your FibroScan exam at GastroArkansas, the special device will send sound pulses through the liver. The probe will assess approximately three cubic centimeters within the liver – around 100 times the quantity of a liver biopsy. When the ultrasound waves are released, they will take more time to make their way through a healthy liver. Alternatively, the acoustic waves will travel through a damaged liver pretty fast, and potentially quicker the more damaged the liver is.

The liver elastography technology can additionally detect the quantity of liver fat by examining the ultrasound attenuation rate. When the ultrasound energies are released, they will be received into fatty livers more quickly when compared to healthier livers. The fatty liver will have an increased rate of attenuation compared to a healthy liver which will show a smaller rate of attenuation.

All of this info will be reported with our innovative technology, which lets your gastroenterologist discuss your results with you during your procedure. You can talk to your specialist about questions throughout your test, or you may wait and discuss them once the outcomes are shown in-depth.

Why would I have a FibroScan test?

When you have symptoms or signs of liver problems, including abdominal discomfort, dark-colored urine, yellowing of the eyes or skin, or a different issue, your Little Rock, AR gastroenterology provider might recommend a FibroScan to evaluate your liver function.

According to your symptoms, health history, and additional considerations, our team may use FibroScan to monitor or help our verification of:

  • Alcohol-related liver disease
  • Hemochromatosis
  • Hepatitis B or C
  • Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
  • NASH (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis)

Undergo a FibroScan in Little Rock, AR

If you or someone you love has symptoms or signs of a liver problem, have previously had liver disease, or you're aware of a family history of liver issues, your gastrointestinal provider may propose a FibroScan assessment. This brief and efficient test may work to track liver disease and measure the total vitality of your liver, providing a more accurate way to address and diagnose liver diseases.

To learn more regarding FibroScan and the ways it can help you maintain your liver and overall health, reach out to GastroArkansas now to arrange a consultation.