Hi,

Fibroscan is used here all over the country to know about fibrosis stage, and ultrasounds are used every 3/4 month to see if any tumours show.

I just found this at www.liverscan.ca

What is the difference between a FibroScan® and a liver ultrasound?

A liver ultrasound uses sound waves to produce a visual image of the liver, like a blurry photograph.

It gives no information about the severity of liver scarring except in very extreme circumstances (i.e. advanced cirrhosis).

On the other hand, the FibroScan® is much more sensitive than ultrasound for identifying less severe scarring (i.e. mild fibrosis).

In other words, the greater sensitivity of the FibroScan® allows one to identify liver scarring at an earlier stage than ultrasound, and therefore start appropriate treatment before the disease is too advanced.

With respect to fatty liver, the FibroScan® is also more sensitive than routine liver ultrasound and has the advantage of being able to quantify or grade the severity of fatty infiltration.

I just googled Fibroscan as I've never heard of it yet.

I was thinking it was the same as the ultrasound I got but my results do not have a kPa reading on it.

Are they the same?

Hi guys, thanks for the feedback and encouragement.  I'll keep you posted when we see the specialist in October.

Caroline

3 kPa is a great result!

go for eot+12w PCR definetly, from insurance pocker or your own...UND result from it would kill almost all anxiety, and precentage for relapse on 24w would be really small.

best

Caroline, That is awesome news. Very happy for you. I had to talk my Dr. into 12 weeks also, Like they are paying for it. It is my money.

Anyway, time to relax now. I did this treatment right along with you and it was truly hell. But thank the lord it's over now..

Bob

Hi again Caroline,

I see that 3 NSW Hospitals now have the new 'portable' Echosens Fibroscan. I recall you mentioning that hubby had a weight problem before Rx. That may be the reason for his abnormally high initial reading. I would disregard that one. If his current reading is correct at 3 kPa, that is fantastic as it means he has little or no liver damage. It would fit with his ability to continue working during 48 weeks of Rx. Unfortunately my reading of 30.1 kPa was probably correct, but I still hope for a drop when I have the next Fibroscan in 3 weeks. I will be happy to drop down to 15- 20 kPa. It looks good for his SVR ! Cheers.

Hi again, Caroline, I can understand you feeling puzzled by your hubby`s confusing fibroscan results, but I think I would take it as good news anyway.  The main thing at the moment is that he was UND at the end of treatment, great result there. 

Very good news that hubby`s getting a VL test done at 12 weeks post tx now, that should give you a lot of reassurance rather than having the anxiety of having to wait!  Hope he`s starting to get his energy back now. 

All the best to you both, keep us posted, and good luck! 

Hi Caroline,

I'm not sure about hubby's results. In Australia, most machines are calibrated so that any number above 17 kPa is cirrhosis. At 30.1, my reading was the second highest recorded on my Doctor's machine. Although the machine theoretically reads up to 100, it's very rare to get any reading above 50.

To go from 43 to 3 is too much . There must be a machine problem. A reading of 3 kPa is equivalent to F0-1, whereas 43 is severe F4. Obese people with fatty livers can have a falsely high Fibroscan score, but not by that much. I have never heard of a portable unit with smaller probes- although they are not huge machines, they need to be set-up and calibrated correctly. Anyway, just hope that 3 is the correct reading. Good luck for the 12 week scan. Cheers.

Hubby and I went to see the specialist today.  He is 5 weeks post treatment now.  As I mentioned on a previous post, he got his UND result 1.5 weeks post treatment.  Today was a follow up. 

Hubby asked for a fibroscan so that it could be compared with the one done pre treatment.  The specialist squeezed him in right away for a fibroscan and when our nurse was doing the scan she said she could not find any liver damage at all.  His number was 3 (whatever that means) and is supposed to be a fantastic number, as opposed to 43 when the specialist herself had conducted the fibroscan before treatment commenced.  The nurse mentioned that perhaps the different size probes used for the test may alter results.  As the specialist had used a portable fibroscan in her office (ie. smaller probe) and the probe used today was a larger one which she said would be more suitable for my husband's readings. 

Has anyone got any feedback on this matter?  We walked out feeling great, but there's the undercurrent that you feel that somehow the tests may be flawed!!!  We do not have a specialist appointment now until mid October to get the specialist's viewpoint.

We also managed to get the specialist to agree to a 12 week VL test which they were adamant hubby was not going to have until 24 weeks - so that is great news.

Caroline

-- Edited by Bloomster on Monday 29th of July 2013 05:52:25 AM