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During your HIDA scan
You'll be asked to change into a gown before your HIDA scan begins. Your health care team will position you on a table, usually on your back. A medication is then injected into a vein in your arm.
The medication contains a radioactive tracer that travels through your bloodstream to your liver, where it's taken up by the bile-producing cells. The radioactive tracer travels with the bile from your liver, into your gallbladder and through your bile ducts to your small intestine.
You may feel some pressure while the radioactive tracer is injected into your vein.
As you lie on the table, a special gamma camera passes back and forth over your abdomen taking pictures of the tracer as it moves through your body. Each picture takes about a minute. The gamma camera takes pictures continuously for about an hour.
You'll need to keep still during the HIDA scan. This can become uncomfortable, but you may find that you can lessen the discomfort by taking deep breaths and thinking about other things. Tell your health care team if you're uncomfortable.
The doctor watches the scan's progress on a monitor as the radioactive tracer moves through your body. The HIDA scan stops when the doctor sees the radioactive tracer entering your small intestine. This typically takes an hour.
If your doctor doesn't see the radioactive tracer in your small intestine, you may receive a medication and undergo more scans later in the day.
After your HIDA scan
In most cases you can go about your day after your HIDA scan. You'll likely still have some of the radioactive tracer in your body. The substance will leave your body through your urine over the next day or two. For this reason your doctor may ask that you:
- Flush the toilet twice after urinating.
- Wash your hands thoroughly after you urinate.
- Drink water throughout the day to help flush the radioactive tracer from your body.
- Society of Nuclear Medicine procedure guideline for hepatobiliary scintigraphy. Reston, Va.: Society of Nuclear Medicine. http://interactive.snm.org/docs/pg_ch11_0703.pdf. Accessed Oct. 3, 2008.
- General nuclear medicine. RadiologyInfo. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=gennuclear&bhcp=1. Accessed Oct. 7, 2008.
- Practice guideline for the performance of adult and pediatric hepatobiliary scintigraphy. Reston, Va.: American College of Radiology. http://www.acr.org/SecondaryMainMenuCategories/quality_safety/guidelines/nuc_med/hepatobiliary_scintigraphy.aspx. Accessed Oct. 3, 2008.
- Segerman D, et al. Radionuclide imaging: General principles. In: Adams A, et al. Grainger & Allison's Diagnostic Radiology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/106899019-4/0/1611/0.html. Accessed Oct. 8, 2008.
- Mettler FA. Essentials of Radiology. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Elsevier Saunders; 2005. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/106899019-4/0/1276/0.html. Accessed Oct. 8, 2008.
