Kidney function/Urinary
Cystogram
Purpose: This test shows unusual flow of
urine to the kidneys.
Preparation: There is nothing you need
to do to get ready for this test.
What to expect: A foley catheter will be
placed because a small amount of radioactive material will
go directly into the bladder. This material has no side
effects. You will be lying on your back with the camera
underneath you. A series of pictures will be taken to watch
your bladder fill up. You must try to stay still and let
us know when you can no longer stand your bladder being filled.
At this time we will take the foley catheter out and take
pictures of your bladder as it is emptying. This test varies
as far as the time it takes because it depends on how long
it takes the bladder to fill and empty. In most cases, it
will take about one hour or less.
Renal Scan
Purpose: This will show how well each kidney
is functioning.
Preparation: Drink plenty
of liquid before this test. Empty your bladder if you can
when you arrive.
What to Expect: You will
lie on your back with the camera underneath you. We will inject
a small amount of radioactive material in your arm or hand.
The pictures begin immediately. There are no side effects.
The pictures will take thirty minutes and it is important that
you stay still during that time.
Renal with Lasix-same as
above except that fifteen minutes into this test, you will
be given 40 mg of Lasix, a medicine that helps get rid of extra
water in your body.
Renal
with Captopril-same as
above except that the pictures will be taken two times, once
before being given a medicine called Captopril, a medicine that
helps lower your blood pressure.
Testicular
Purpose: This test shows any reduced or increased
blood flow to the testicles.
Preparation: There is nothing you need to
do to get ready for this test.
What to Expect: You will be given a small amount
of radioactive material in your arm or hand. The material given
does not have any side effects. The test will take about thirty
minutes to one hour.
 (back
to top of page)
Blood flow and function of the heart
Nuclear Stress Test
Purpose: This test shows if there are any
reduced areas of blood flow in the heart especially after
the heart has been exercised.
Preparation: You should not eat or drink
anything at least four hours before this test and do not
have any caffeine for one day before the exam. Check with
your doctor about which of your medicines you should take
or not take before the test.
What to Expect: You will be given a material
that will show your heart in our camera and is slightly radioactive,
but has no side effects. This will need to move through your
body for one hour, and then we will take a fifteen minute set
of pictures in with our camera. Leads are put on, like an EKG,
and the doctor will be there for the stress part of the test.
You will either walk on a treadmill or be given a medicine that
works in your body the same as exercising. You may feel weak
or short of breath when exercising. These feelings will go away
shortly. A second dose of the radioactive material is given
during the stress part of the test and another set of pictures
will be taken either immediately after the stress test or about
one hour later depending on which type of stress test was done.
The entire process takes about four hours.
MUGA – Multi-gated Acquisition
Purpose: This test lets the doctor know
if the heart is strong enough for treatment.
Preparation: There is nothing you need
to do to get ready for this test.
What to Expect: First, a material called PYP
is given in a vein in the arm or hand. This material gets the
blood ready for the radioactive material to be given later.
After ten minutes or so the technologist will take some blood
from you. This blood is mixed with radiation for fifteen minutes
and given back to you. You will not have any side effects from
these substances. Two to three pictures are taken of the heart.
Each picture takes about five to ten minutes. The entire test
takes about one hour.
(back
to top of page)
The lungs for respiratory and blood-flow problems
VQ Lung Scan
Purpose: This test checks for blood clots
in the lungs.
Preparation: There is nothing you need
to do to get ready for this test.
What to
Expect: This test has two parts: the
first part you will breathe through a mask which has an airborne
radioactive material going to you. For the second part, you
will be given a small amount of radioactive material in a vein
either in your arm or hand which has no side effects. The first
part takes about five to ten minutes and this shows the air flow
through your lungs. A mask will be fitted tightly around the
nose and mouth for about five minutes. The second part takes
about ten to fifteen minutes and it shows the blood flow through
the lungs.
(back
to top of page)
The gallbladder to identify a blockage
Hepatobiliary Scan
Purpose: This test helps to identify blockages
in the intestines and gallbladder.
Preparation: Do not eat or drink at least
six hours before this test and you should not have any pain
medicine at least four hours before the test unless you no
longer have a gallbladder.
What to Expect: You will lie on your back with
the camera over your stomach and you must stay still during the
test. A small amount of radioactive material is given in a vein
in your arm or hand that has no side effects. Pictures will
be taken of your stomach area for at least one hour. This test
will take one to three hours or more. This depends on how long
it takes the gallbladder and intestines to show up and if the
doctor wants to know how well your gallbladder is working.
(back
to top of page)
Bones for fracture, infection, arthritis or tumor
Bone Scan
Purpose: This test shows bone irregularities;
such as, breaks, infection, or disease in the bone.
Preparation:
There is nothing you need to do to get ready for this test.
What to expect: This exam has two parts. For
the first part, a small amount of radioactive material will be
given to you in your vein (in the arm or hand). This material
has no side effects. Come back in three hours from the first
part of the test for pictures. Drink plenty of fluid during
the three hour waiting time unless you have another test that
needs you to keep from eating and drinking. Allow thirty to
forty-five minutes for pictures when you come back. Be sure
to go to the restroom just before the test. You will be lying
on your back and you must stay still during the test.
(back
to top of page)
The presence or spread of cancer
Lymphoscintigraphy
Purpose: This test helps to detect the presence
or spread of cancer in the lymph nodes.
Preparation: There is nothing you need
to do to get ready for this test. However, you will not
be able to eat or drink before the surgery that follows this
test.
What to Expect: Four to eight injections of
a small amount of radioactive material are given in and near
the site of interest, either breast or melanoma site. This material
has no side effects. Some of the injections will be given under
the skin. A series of pictures will be taken of the area until
the first and biggest node shows up. (Lymph nodes are about
the size of an eye that forms on a potato.) We mark the node
with an X and you will go on to surgery or back to your room
to wait for surgery. This test can take from thirty minutes
to three hours depending on when the lymph node shows up.
MIBG Scan
Please call Nuclear
Medicine at (432) 221-1580 extension 1904 for details about
this test.
Octreoscan
Please call Nuclear
Medicine at (432) 221-1580 extension 1904 for details about
this test.
Parathyroid Scan
Purpose: This test shows the thyroid first,
then the parathyroid. It shows any irregularities of the parathyroid
gland.
Preparation: There is nothing you need
to do to get ready for this test.
What to Expect: This exam has two parts. For
the first part, a small amount of radioactive material is given
in a vein in your arm or hand that goes to your thyroid and parathyroid.
This material has no side effects. After mixing in your body
for ten to fifteen minutes, you will lie on your back for a series
of pictures. You will then return three hours later for more
pictures. Each set of pictures take about one hour.
Prostascint Scan
Please call Nuclear
Medicine at (432) 221-1580 extension 1904 for details about
this test.
Zevalin Scan
Please call Nuclear
Medicine at (432) 221-1580 extension 1904 for details about
this test.
(back
to top of page)
Stomach/Abdomen
Gastric Emptying
Purpose: This test shows how well your stomach
processes food.
Preparation: Do not eat or drink anything
at least eight hours before this test.
What to expect:
You will be asked to eat eggs with a small amount of radioactive
material on them with toast. If you cannot eat eggs, you will
be given oatmeal and toast instead. There
are no side effects to this test. A one minute picture of
both the front and back of your stomach is taken after you
eat this meal. We will take additional images at thirty minutes,
at one hour, and at four hours. This exam will take four hours
total.
Liver/Spleen
Purpose: This test shows the size and shape
of the liver and spleen. It shows how well the liver is functioning
and if the liver or spleen is enlarged.
Preparation: There is nothing you need
to do to get ready for this test.
What to Expect: A small amount of radioactive
material is given in your vein either in your arm or hand which
has no side effects. You will lie on your back to have several
pictures taken with our camera. This test will take about thirty
minutes to one hour.
Meckles
Purpose: This test shows if there is a flap
in the intestines causing pain and/ or bleeding.
Preparation: There is nothing you need
to do to get ready for this test.
What to Expect: You will lie on your back with
the camera over your stomach for the test. A small amount of
radioactive material is given through a vein in the arm or hand
that goes to your stomach and intestines. This material has
no side effects. This test takes about one hour.
(back
to top of page)
The presence and location of infection
Gallium Scan
Please call Nuclear
Medicine at (432) 221-1580 extension 1904 for details about
this test.
White Blood Cell Study
Purpose: This test checks for infection
in the body.
Preparation: Drink plenty of liquid before
this test.
What to Expect: This exam has several parts.
For the first part of the exam, we will draw some of your
blood. The white blood cells in the blood will be tagged
with a radioactive tracer. This takes two to three hours.
You will return to the hospital and will re-inject your white
blood cells. There are no side effects to this test. You
will return the next day and possibly the day after that
for pictures. The pictures will be taken with you lying
on your back for about one hour each day.
(back
to top of page)
Thyroid function
Thyroid Scans
Purpose: This test is to show the size and
shape of the thyroid and to see if there are any knots called
nodules on the thyroid.
Preparation: You must be off thyroid medicine
and not have had a contrast scan like CT for two weeks before
this test. You may eat and drink before this test.
What to Expect: A small amount of radioactive
material is given in your vein, either hand or arm. This material
has no side effects, but it has to mix in the body for about
ten minutes before the pictures are taken. The pictures will
be taken of you lying on your back with the camera over your
neck. There are four pictures which take about one to five minutes
for each. The total test time will be about thirty to forty-five
minutes.
Thyroid Uptake and Scan
Purpose: This test not only shows the size
and shape of the thyroid, but also how the thyroid is working.
Preparation: You must be off thyroid medicine
for one to four weeks depending on the type of thyroid medicine
you take. You must have not had a contrast scan like CT
in the last six weeks to two months before this test. Also,
do not eat foods with iodine in it such as seafood.
What to Expect: This is a two day test. The
first day, you must not have anything to eat or drink for two
hours before the test and do not eat or drink for two hours after
the test. The first day you will take a pill which is iodine
(the same thing that is in table salt) and a small amount of
radioactive material. This has no side effects. The second
day we will run a test to see how much iodine is in your thyroid
compared to the rest of your body. Then you will be given another
small dose of radioactive material in a vein in your arm or hand.
There are four pictures taken of the neck while you are lying
on your back with your neck under the camera. The test takes
about thirty minutes to one hour.
Thyroid Whole Body Scan
Purpose: This test shows if there is any
thyroid tissue left after surgery that needs to be treated.
Preparation: The same preparation as the
thyroid uptake and scan applies to this test.
What to
Expect: This is also a two day test,
but you will take the radioactive iodine pill as described above
the first day, wait a day in between and have the scan done forty-eight
hours after you take the pill. You will be scanned lying on
your back from head to feet. An extra picture or two will be
taken of your neck. The test will take about one hour.
(back
to top of page)
Brain function/spinal cord
Brain Spect
Purpose: This test shows any reduced blood
flow in areas of the brain.
Preparation: There is nothing you need
to do to get ready for this test.
What to expect: An IV will be placed in your
arm or hand and you will be in a room that is dark and quiet.
Lie on your back with your head as straight and flat as possible.
After a few minutes, you will be given a small amount of radioactive
material in that IV. This material has no side effects and will
mix with your body fluids for another few minutes. The pictures
will take twenty minutes with the camera going around your head.
You must stay very still during these pictures. It takes about
thirty minutes to one hour for this test.
Cisternogram
Please call Nuclear
Medicine at (432) 221-1580 extension 1904 for details about
this test.
(back
to top of page)
|