Ultrasound

An Ultrasound uses sound waves to look at the structures inside the body, including the liver, gallbladder, spleen, pancreas, kidneys and the vessels important to the liver.

During this exam the patient lies on an examination table, in a dimmed room while the ultrasound technologist gets the images with a “transducer” placed against the patient's skin. This exam is not painful, no needles are involved, and takes about 30 minutes to perform. There is no special preparation, except the patient will be asked not to eat for six hours before the exam (so that the gallbladder can be seen clearly). Ultrasound is good for finding abnormalities of the liver, such as scarring (cirrhosis), masses (both cancer and non cancer) and blockage of the blood vessels. These findings help determine who is or who is not a good transplant candidate.