Slighty enlarged liver questions.

[Hmmmm12]

30 year old male 5'10 190 pounds, recently had a abdomen CT scan done with contrast that showed a slightly enlarged liver at 16.9 CM, my liver function was perfect along my pancreatic enzymes. Doctor wasn't concerned about it and told me to follow up with my primary care doctor. Showed my primary care doc the CT report and blood work and he gave me a thumbs up. Everything on the internet shows something is wrong with me but why are my doctors not concerned about it.

[AyrshireK]

What was the reason for you having the CT scan in the first place?

If your bloods are normal then your 'enlarged' liver isn't inflamed so enlargement is not due to inflammation (as it would show up in bloods) .

If the CT scan doesn't indicate fatty tissue or changes to the structure of liver other than this larger than normal liver then you should be pretty satisfied that there is nothing obviously wrong with your liver (CT scan is only second to MRI for quality in looking at the liver in good detail).

If neither the specialist or your primary care doctor are concerned then it sounds like all is ok. There isn't a standard size for a liver - average for a 26 to 35 year old male is 13.7 cm (that means some folks will have smaller than that and some will have larger).

Why are you concerned still that you may have something wrong with you?

Katie

[Hmmmm12 in reply to AyrshireK]

Went for ct scan cause of acid reflux and loss of appetite and slight discomfort on my upper right quadrant. Acid reflux is gone but my appetite is still not back.

My CT report only said no masses indicated on liver but im assuming that they ct would show a fatty liver as well.

I've got an anxiety problem and I happened to Google enlarged liver and got slapped in the face with a potential underlying issue why my liver is enlarged.

[AyrshireK in reply to Hmmmm12]

I would have thought that fatty liver would have shown up but perhaps not.

However, that would probably be the most likely scenario given that all else was normal.

Would you consider yourself carrying a few extra pounds? 30 years old, 5ft 10 and 190 lbs produces a BMI of 27.3.

Do you think there could be any lifestyle changes you could make to improve the health of your liver? I certainly wouldn't be Dr Googling, if you have health anxiety then you'll always read the worst case scenario.

If your doctor is giving you the thumbs up and specialist not keeping you on his books it sounds like things are on the ok side. However, we can ALL look after our livers better.

The British Liver Trust website has some excellent pages on looking after your liver and one on Non Alcohol Related Fatty Liver Disease. (The whole website is great, diet information etc. etc.)

britishlivertrust.org.uk/in...

britishlivertrust.org.uk/in...

Stay off Doctor Google, it will convince you of all sorts of nonsense, your doctors are happy and someone along the way has said your liver is only 'slightly enlarged'. You don't have any lumps and bumps, you don't have severe liver disease (like cirrhosis because a cirrhotic liver is generally shrivelled and shrunken and will show up on CT scan).

See if you can make some lifestyle changes, your appetite might be away due to anxiety about this whole thing, try and live more healthily and change your focus and hopefully your liver is going to last you many, many more years yet.

Katie

[jbrking]

Hi I have NAFLD and your bloods and scan would have shown this as that was how mine was found. The only symptom I had was tiredness and when I had bloods done it showed my liver was not liking something and all my lipid profile (fats in blood like triglycerides) were all high. So if they’ve told you not to worry, then don’t. Obviously living healthy and exercising is good for all of us so keep well x

[Hmmmm12]

Just an update to all who read this, I followed up with my GI doctor to review my CT scan. He did a physical exam and said he couldn’t feel anything wrong with me and maybe I just have a bigger than normal liver, but he wanted to rule out possible fatty liver or hepatitis infection. I had an ultra sound and a full liver panel blood work.

They called me with results and apparently my blood work improved even more from the er visit and everything was normal. I just have a bigger than normal liver and spleen.