Synonyms Gallbladder Ultrasound

Procedure Commonly Includes Gallbladder and biliary tree

Indications Cholelithiasis, cholecystitis, neoplasms, lesions, polyps, or ductal obstruction

Contraindications Open wound or incision overlying examination area, recent barium study.

Patient Preparation Patient should be on a low fat diet the night before the examination with NPO for 10 hours prior to the examination. No laxatives are given the day of the examination. No barium studies should have been performed on the patient for at least 2 days preceding the examination. Endoscopy, ERCP, colonoscopy, and abdominal CT should be performed after this examination. Nuclear Medicine studies may be ordered prior to the examination. The examination may be long, up to 1 hour including waiting time. An emergency examination or an unpredictably long preceding examination may result in additional delay. Note: Ultrasound exam to be scheduled before a barium study. If barium study was done, bowel preparation is needed before doing ultrasound examination.

Special Instructions All outpatient examinations are by appointment only. All inpatients are placed on the daily schedule as time permits and are performed as scheduled. Nonemergent examinations are given secondary priority and therefore may not be able to be performed the same day scheduled. Patients will generally be asked to stay after the examination until films are reviewed by the radiologist.

Equipment Standard B-mode real time ultrasonic imager with 2-5 MHz transducer.

Technique A gel is applied to the skin and a handheld transducer is swept across the area of interest to image the appropriate organs. Sound waves are used for the imaging and no radiation exposure is present. Images are recorded on x-ray film.

Data Acquired Longitudinal, transverse, and oblique views of the gallbladder; longitudinal image of common bile duct

Causes for Rejection Gas, barium, oral ingestion of food or fluids, obesity

Turnaround Time A typed report will generally be issued within 36 hours. A preliminary verbal report generally can be given to the referring physician on request.

Normal Findings Absence of cholelithiasis

Critical Values Common bile duct 6 mm prior to cholecystectomy, 11 mm after cholecystectomy

Additional Information This is a very sensitive examination for evaluation of the presence of gallstones as well as biliary tree dilatation. Additionally, soft tissue masses, and abnormal collections can be detected.

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