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Often, in order to prevent the development of various pathological processes or possible diseases associated with impaired liver function, doctors prescribe a duplex scan of the liver vessels. What do you need to know about this procedure? When exactly is this diagnostic method prescribed? How is it carried out and how to prepare for such an examination? Are there any contraindications for this procedure? The answers to these and other questions can be found by reading the article below.
What is the procedure and what are the indications for its implementation
Duplex vascular scanning or Dopplerography is a modern research method based on ultrasound diagnostics of liver vessels using the Doppler principle. It lies in the fact that acoustic impulses are reflected from moving blood cells in the vessels. This is recorded using an ultrasound machine and immediately reproduced on the screen in the form of a black and white or color (color mapping) image.
This diagnostic method is prescribed by a general practitioner or gastroenterologist, based on the patient’s complaints and the characteristic symptoms of the disease. Most often, patients complain of dull, nagging pain in the right side of the abdominal cavity under the ribs. Pain is often accompanied by indigestion, bloating, flatulence.
Primary examination with such symptoms can detect an expanded venous network on the anterior wall of the abdominal cavity – the “head of a jellyfish”.
The Doppler ultrasound procedure allows early diagnosis of serious diseases such as acute hepatitis, portal hypertension, mononucleosis, cirrhosis of the liver, neoplasms in the liver tissues or metastases.
The study gives an objective judgment about the state of the liver and its possible pathologies.
Carrying out the procedure and preparing for it
The duplex scanning procedure is carried out in medical diagnostic centers and outpatient clinics, as well as in hospitals, both planned and in emergency situations.
The presence of appropriate equipment and trained specialists in clinics significantly increases the reliability of the results obtained.
In order to improve their quality and accuracy, it is necessary to prepare for the procedure in advance. First, it is necessary to significantly reduce gas formation in the intestines. To do this, two or three days before the examination, the following foods should be excluded from consumption:
- confectionery and flour products;
- fatty and smoked foods;
- legumes;
- fresh fruits and vegetables.
The day before the scan, it is best to use absorbent preparations: activated charcoal, smecta or enterosgel. It would also be a good idea to take two tablets of Espumizan the night before the examination. Ultrasound is performed on an empty stomach, so before the procedure, you need to arrange an eight-hour fast for yourself.
This study is carried out lying down. Before the procedure, the patient must free the stomach from clothing. After that, a special gel is applied to the region of the right hypochondrium and an ultrasound sensor of the apparatus is installed.
If the visualization of the vessels is insufficient, it is moved to the spaces between the ribs or set at a certain angle to the skin surface.
During the examination, the specialist may need the subject to hold his breath or take a deep breath. The duration of the manipulation takes no more than half an hour (usually about 7-10 minutes) and does not bring any discomfort or pain.
Contraindications and interpretation of results
This diagnostic method has no contraindications and is completely safe. It can be carried out even for small children and pregnant women, eliminating any risks of the occurrence and development of various side effects.
In conclusion, the specialist notes the speed of blood flow and the state of the vessels of the liver: their narrowing or expansion, leading to possible pathological processes.
The main signs of portal hypertension caused by cirrhosis of the liver are:
- increased pressure in the portal vein;
- distorted image of the vessels of the liver;
- the presence of vascular anastomoses.
If neoplasms are present, as a result of which vasoconstriction has occurred, then using this diagnostic method, the residual lumen is assessed. And external signs, such as a cyst, cirrhotic lesion, metastases or tumors, are distinguished from internal causes: thrombosis and others.
Cyst and hemangioma in this examination differ from malignant tumors in their underdeveloped vascular network and structure.
Duplex scanning of the hepatic vessels is a modern method of ultrasound diagnostics that allows early detection of various diseases at an early stage. The procedure helps the specialist to make the correct diagnosis, as well as determine the tactics of treatment.