Fibroscan

Liver fibrosis is caused by repetitive or long-lasting injury or inflammation.

The cells of the liver encourage wound healing during which excess proteins such as collagen and glycoproteins build up in the liver.

Eventually, after many instances of repair, the liver cells can no longer repair themselves and the excess proteins cause a thickening or scarring of the tissue known as Fibrosis.

Over time Fibrosis will have an impact on how well your liver functions.

Most types of chronic liver disease can eventually cause fibrosis including:

• Fatty liver disease
• Liver damage due to alcohol abuse, such as cirrhosis
• Chronic viral hepatitis, such as hepatitis B or hepatitis C
• Metabolic syndrome

For your FibroScan, you will be asked to lie on your back on an examination couch. You will not be required to remove any clothing, but we will need to expose the right side of your abdomen. Therefore we don’t recommend wearing a dress on the day of the scan.

Whilst placing your right arm above your head, the radiologist will place the probe on your abdomen over the area where your liver is. The probe will emit soundwaves that will pass through your skin to your liver and bounce back.

This may feel like a gentle flick on your skin but should not hurt. This procedure is repeated at least 10 times to ensure accuracy and the average time it takes for the soundwaves to bounce back is used to determine the elasticity of your liver and the presence of any regions of scarring.

The scan takes approximately 10‒20 minutes.

The benefits of a FibroScan include:

• It is a pain free, non-invasive test with no anaesthetic required.
• It is a quick procedure completed in approximately 10 minutes.
• It doesn’t require any down time as you can go home straight away.
• It provides an accurate diagnosis of your liver health.
• It can easily monitor changes in liver disease.
• It is safer and more cost-effective compared to other liver tests such as a biopsy.

The results will be sent to your consultant with 48 hours and they will discuss them with you at your next outpatient appointment.  Your consultant will then advise on a personalised treatment plan where necessary.

Yes, you will need a referral from your consultant to undergo a Fibroscan.