Hi, I have just had my referral letter to a gastroenterologist from my GP which states in April I had ‘a palpable liver of 2-3cm’ but the ultrasound 2 weeks later says normal size and shape.
At the time my GP said he could not feel my liver but sent me for a US scan.
I presume 2-3cm is liver enlargement probably caused by liver disease?
I am going out of my mind with worry. Why would the Dr lie to me?
The liver isn't normally/easily palpable below the ribs, but if you're having symptoms or abnormal labs, an ultrasound is typically ordered to see what's going on.
Sometimes a doctor must justify why he want's the ultrasound done in order to get it approved by insurance or regulators, & stating the liver is palpable would justify the order for ultrasound. Your doc may not have been lying to you, but simply fudging things in the paperwork to get the ultrasound approved without being questioned by the pencil pushers.
The ultrasound should provide a much better evaluation of the liver, and a "normal liver" result is great news.
Oh wow, thank you for explaining.
So I should take the ultrasound result as the truth?
I have an appointment with a consultant tomorrow afternoon so am hoping to learn more
Oh yes, I'd trust the ultrasound. Measurements taken by US are usually pretty accurate.
No result from any machine ever is 100% accurate. Also, all of these scans are interpreted by a human being, so there is room for error, whoever does them. I'm sure no-one deliberately lies about these things, but gives their best opinion at the time.
I don’t think you read my post properly MC1189. The doctor told me my liver was not palpable when I was there and then the letter said it was palpable.
The ultrasound then said it was normal size. So I am confused as to whether it is enlarged or not.
Ohhhhh! Yep missed the discrepancy. However, I have found that my U/S is usually fairly consistent (I have them regularly).
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