CT of the liver
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Author:
Mikael Häggström [notes 1]
Planning
Choice of modality
For the liver, the initial imaging of choice is generally as follows:
- Ultrasonography of the liver for suspected cirrhosis and/or portal hypertension.[1]
- CT of the liver, often as part of a general abdominal CT, is generally the investigation of choice to look for metastases of recently diagnosed cancers in the abdomen.[2]
- MRI of the liver is indicated in hypervascular lesions that may represent a focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH).[3]
Analysis
Focal changes: Scroll through the entire parenchyma, preferably in segments, such as right third, middle third and left third, in order to have greater focus on small details.
Potential findings
- Hypoattenuating lesions
- If less than 10 mm in diameter they are generally difficult to characterize adequately.[4] Even in a patient with known malignancy, and with multiple lesions of this size, their presence does not increase the risk of developing liver metastasis, and should practically be regarded as benign.[5]
- Large simple cysts (>4 cm) may be followed up ensure stability.[6]
Notes
- ↑ For a full list of contributors, see article history. Creators of images are attributed at the image description pages, seen by clicking on the images. See Radlines:Authorship for details.
References
- ↑ Procopet, Bogdan; Berzigotti, Annalisa (2017). "Diagnosis of cirrhosis and portal hypertension: imaging, non-invasive markers of fibrosis and liver biopsy ". Gastroenterology Report 5 (2): 79–89. doi:. ISSN 2052-0034.
- ↑ Lincke, Therese; Zech, Christoph J. (2017). "Liver metastases: Detection and staging ". European Journal of Radiology 97: 76–82. doi:. ISSN 0720048X.
- ↑ Maniam, Santhi (2010). "Magnetic resonance imaging: Review of imaging techniques and overview of liver imaging ". World Journal of Radiology 2 (8): 309. doi:. ISSN 1949-8470.
- ↑ Gopal Ramaraju. How to evaluate an Incidental Focal Liver Lesions (FLLs) or Incidentalomas?. University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY.
- ↑ Maarten van Leeuwen, Joost Nederend and Robin Smithuis. Liver - Incidentalomas. What to do with incidentally found lesions in the liver?. Radiology Assistant. Publicationdate May 12, 2007
- ↑ Blonski WC, Campbell MS, Faust T, Metz DC (2006). "Successful aspiration and ethanol sclerosis of a large, symptomatic, simple liver cyst: case presentation and review of the literature. ". World J Gastroenterol 12 (18): 2949-54. PMID 16718826. PMC: 4087818. Archived from the original. .
