Abdominal Ultrasound For Small Polyps In Gallbladder Shows Lesion In Liver.Dr Advised MRI. Is This For Staging Cancer ?

Posted on Sun, 6 May 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 6 May 2012 Answered on

Mon, 9 Jul 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : i had a abdominal ultrasound for small polyps in the gallbladder and they found a 1.5cm lesion in my liver this is new I had an ultrasound to check my polyps eight months ago. The radiologist orderd a mri w/ contrast . Why?
Is this for staging cancer???? Wouldn't the ultrasound tell them what kind of lesion?? I am a Ct tech and this has me concerned..

Answered by Dr. Ketan Vagholkar (8 hours later)

Hi,
I can understand your concern pertaining to these radiological reports. You need not worry . Iwill address them sequentially.
1. Gall baldder polys can run a benign and asymptomatic course. Rarely do they undergo malignant change. However if they are picked up in every successive scan then it would be good to undergo cholecystectomy and study the lesions in detail histologically.
2. Regarding the 1.5 cms lesion in the liver , ultrasound may not be able to diagnose the lesion accurately. A contrast enhanced CT scan of the abdomen will help in determining the diagnosis of this lesion. An MRI will be of little help. So at this stage the question of staging does not arise. Investigations are required for ascertaining the basic diagnosis. This will then dictate further work up.
I hope this explanation clears all your doubts pertaining to the relevance of various investigations.
With regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar