How is FibroScan Used in the Diagnosis of Fatty Liver Disease
Conventional methods by which the doctors diagnose the presence and severity of liver disease include certain steps:
- First, your doctor categorizes your symptoms as related to liver disease
- Then you are being put through some blood tests to look for disturbed liver enzymes levels in the body
- After getting some indications of enzymes disturbance from the blood tests, a CT scan is done on you to locate and identify the disorder in your liver
- Lastly, after locating the disorder, a biopsy is done to examine the affected tissue in order to rule out the specific treatment needed for the disorder.
The last step of this method of diagnosis, being a traditional biopsy, turns out to be a highly invasive procedure in which a needle is used to cut a small portion of your liver. As most people do not want to go through the discomfort that this procedure brings, a novel procedure is completely developed to diagnose diseases related to fatty liver. This procedure is known as Fibro scan which is completely different from the procedure of biopsy. In this blog, our main focus will be to understand different dimensions of FibroScan and how it helps with fatty liver.
What is FibroScan?
The change in your lipid structure and build-up in your liver is measured by a unique machine that is based on the principles of ultrasound. This method of diagnosis of fat accumulation in the liver is known as FibroScan. It is differentiated from the general method of biopsy by its principle of action as biopsy is an invasive procedure and FibroScan is not. Also, this method turns out to be more convenient in terms of comfort and time taken.
How do FibroScan works?
As the fat, especially Trans fat, gets accumulated in the liver, the tissue of this organ proceeds towards getting degenerated. This degeneration is seen on the surface of the liver as the scars and when these scars become prevalent, the fatty liver is said to have the condition of fibrosis.
The only way to treat this degrading condition is to first get diagnosed as soon as possible. One of the most important parameters to rule out in the diagnosis is the severity of fibrosis of the fatty liver. FibroScan test is the most painless and effective method to perform this task.
FibroScan uses vibration-controlled transient elastography to measure the stiffness in the liver. When the device is pressed against your side, FibroScan produces mechanical sound waves from its tip. This sound wave travels through your liver tissue. The speed of the waves inside the liver tissue is measured by ultrasound pulses which reflect back to the probe of the device. This speed of the sound wave is used to calculate the severity of fibrosis in the liver. This calculation is possible because sound waves travel at different speeds in the fatty liver with fibrosis than in the normal one.
Advantages of FibroScan test
As researchers have taken ample time to develop Fibroscan as an improvement of ultrasound for the diagnosis of fatty liver-associated diseases, there are certain advantages of this procedure over normal biopsy. Some of the important advantages of Fibroscan are as follows:
- Non-invasive test
- Painless
- No sedation required
- Only takes about 6-7 minutes
- Affordable
- No side effects associated
- Instant results
Disadvantages of FibroScan
The primary disadvantage of FibroScan is that not all patients having the liver-related disease are eligible for the fibroscan test. Patients who are obese are restricted to get tested by this procedure because the result of the FibroScan test done on these patients turns out to be unreliable.
Applications of FibroScan other than to evaluate fibrosis of the liver
- Evaluation of elevated blood pressure in portal veins
- Diagnosis of breast and prostate cancer
- Prediction of stability after liver transplant
Conclusion
If you are suffering from the symptoms of liver disease, it is of the utmost importance that you get diagnosed with your condition. You must always get in touch with your doctor and ask him about your eligibility for FibroScan. The hesitation of going through a biopsy can be evaded in no time if your doctor approves of this procedure for you.
Even if you are advised by your practitioner to necessarily go through a biopsy, you must not delay getting diagnosed. The strong reason for this is the fact that to delay in these matters is to push yourself to the position where recovery becomes difficult.
You can always have an educational discussion with your doctor about your fatty liver condition. Your doctor can help you to assess a proper lifestyle for you by which your condition can be managed.
To know more about the liver and the diagnostic procedures of the liver, Contact Alfa Gastro and Liver Care.