Fibroscan and varices

[kandiepat]

Hi All re fibroscan, will it pick up if you have varices? Or,is the camera down the throat the only way to tell? Thanks Kandiepat

[GrittyReads]

I think it has to be the camera down the throat, but it's not an area of PBC that I know much about. If you don't get an answer from someone who knows from experience, soon, I would either re-post on here in the week, as there tends to be more people popping in then. Or, you could phone or email one of the trained advisors at the PBC Foundation. they host this site on 'Health Unlocked' and the link to their own website is at the top of the page. There you will find details of times, phone numbers and email addresses.

Hope this helps and you get some answwrs soon.

[spoul]

I've had a fibroscan that only scans the liver......it measures the stiffness of liver which allows them to stage your Pbc. Then I have a 6 monthly ultrasound which looks at liver and other surrounding organs for any abnormality. I've had 2 gastroscopies in 18 yrs the most recent one to look for varices which fortunately I don't have.

Hope this helps 😊

[alpha3]

I had the camera down, I think it's called Gastroscopy, and consultant said I didn't have varices fortunately. Prior to that I had six monthly Ultrasounds which he seems to have discontinued.

[Hidden]

Well, let's see now, I have known cirrhosis and Portal Hypertension - first indicated by an ultrasound - I now have these done every six months. Around 18 months ago my GI ordered a fibroscan, which gave a result of 30 - this result, coupled with the Portal Hypertension, prompted my doctor to order a Gastroscopy which showed I had developed varicies.

What I'm trying to say is, from my experience, fibroscans do not detect varicies, but can, if coupled with Portal Hypertension (as in my case), indicate the possibility of varicies.

[dooley1]

You are correct DianneS, a fibroscan detects liver stiffness and varices are detected by a gastroscope, a camera that goes into the oesophagus and stomach to look for bulges/weakness in the veins that might rupture.