At Austin Gastroenterology, our team is proud to provide you with diagnosis and treatment utilizing state-of-the-art technology. These tools help our teams render advanced services, more brief appointment types, and better outcomes compared to more traditional techniques.
By offering liver elastography (FibroScan) to Austin, TX individuals, we are able to look after their liver health and detect and oversee a number of diseases affecting the liver. To obtain more details about the ways FibroScan can help you improve your liver function, call your area Austin Gastroenterology to arrange an appointment now.
What should I know about FibroScan?
As a noninvasive exam, FibroScan utilizes ultrasound waves to assess a complete observation of your liver well-being, assess the development of liver conditions, and help detect liver disease. When you have a quick exam, your digestive health provider will request that you lie on your back and put one hand beneath your head. Your technician will run a probe, similar to those used in ultrasound procedures, across your abdominal area. When we administer this test, we are able to:
- Assess the hardness of the liver to indicate scarring in the liver
- Identify fibrosis of the liver
- Check liver wellness following a liver transplant
- Detect diseases that impact the liver
- Track the development of liver problems
In most situations, FibroScan might be utilized instead of having a move invasive liver biopsy. Many of our patients opt for his technique considering that there is no requirement to take additional time away from daily schedules or seek out a person to drive them home from the exam, and is virtually painless. Although this test might not necessarily remove the need for a biopsy, it permits your provider to obtain fast results with more accuracy.
How is FibroScan performed?
When you have your FibroScan procedure at Austin Gastroenterology, the FibroScan handpiece will utilize sound waves into the liver. The probe will assess roughly three cubic centimeters within the liver – about 100 times the scale of a biopsy test. When the sound pulses are released, they would require more time to make their way through a normal liver. Conversely, the ultrasound pulses will bounce through a damaged liver quicker, and potentially faster the more damage there is to the liver.
The liver elastography test will also show the level of liver fat by monitoring the ultrasound attenuation rate. As soon as the ultrasound waves are released, they are received into damaged livers more easily than healthy livers. The diseased liver has a higher attenuation rate, but the healthy liver will have a smaller attenuation rate.
All of this information will be reported using our innovative technology and lets your GI doctor discuss your outcomes with you in timely manner. You will be able to talk to your doctor about any questions you may have after the outcomes are provided in further detail.
When would you require a FibroScan test?
When you show signs or symptoms of liver disease, such as discomfort in the abdomen, dark urine, yellow-shaded skin or eyes, or something similar, your Austin, TX digestive health provider may recommend a FibroScan to diagnose your liver state.
Depending on your issues, health record, and other factors, our team might utilize FibroScan to assess or help our confirmation of:
- NAFLD (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease)
- Alcohol liver problems
- Hepatitis B or C
- NASH (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis)
- Hemochromatosis
Get a FibroScan in Austin, TX
When you or a member of your family experiences symptoms or signs of a liver problem, have previously had liver disease, or you’re aware of a family medical history of liver issues, your GI doctor could order a FibroScan test. This swift and efficient option may help detect liver disease and assess the overall wellness of your liver, providing a more accurate way to treat and check for liver diseases.
To hear more about FibroScan and the ways it could help you sustain your liver and comprehensive well-being, contact Austin Gastroenterology today to schedule an appointment.
