CT scan

[OhioAce]

I recently went for a CT scan of my hiatal hernia. The CT scan took pictures of my entire insides. Can anyone give me any insight into this?

"Hepatobiliary: The liver parenchyma has low attenuation consistent with hepatic steatosis. No focal suspicious hepatic lesion is present. There is no biliary dilatation. Simple right hepatic cysts measuring up to 8 mm. Gallbladder is within normal limits."

When I later saw my general surgeon, who will operate on my umbilical hernia, she said it's nothing to worry about, although she said I do have a fatty liver.

I am a 69-year-old man with no symptoms. I feel great with lots of energy, no discomfort. This diagnosis was a surprise.

[nash2 Partner]

A lot of people have a fatty liver and by itself isn't a disease. The question is whether or not you also have scarring. Your doc will weigh that against your history and other factors like your BMI and your blood levels for example. Are your platelets low? Is your AST/ALT ration higher than 1? Both could be signals t ask more questions but presumably your docs have considered those things.

wayne

[OhioAce in reply to nash2]

Thanks, Nash 2. This is my first day on the board. Would scarring show up on the CT scan?

[Hidden in reply to OhioAce]

The diagnostic tool for fibrosis is generally a liver biopsy.

[nash2 Partner in reply to OhioAce]

A good radiologist can get a sense of fibrosis from CT but it isn't a very good tool. It is excellent for looking at structure but the scarring is everywhere so it doesn't show up much. FibroScan or MRE are methods that measure liver stiffness so that can tell you a lot about the amount of scarring

[grapewizard]

What are you surprised about? That you were told you have fatty liver but you don't have any symptoms? Think of it like you would high blood pressure. Most hypertensive people have no symptoms of "the silent killer". Be thrilled that you found out BEFORE you had symptoms for your liver. It's much easier to manage the earlier you find out.

[Pdsocal7]

Look into modifying your diet.