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I Had An Ultrasound For Abdominal Pain And The Results

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Posted on Thu, 4 Apr 2019
Question: I had an ultrasound for abdominal pain and the results said this:

Findings: hepatic parenchymal echogenicity is diffusely increased suggesting fatty infiltration of the liver.

Impression: Mild hepatic steatosis is unchanged in appearance from XXXXXXX 2018.

What is hepatic parenchyma? What does this all mean?

I assume just fatty liver? I went through a bout of alcoholic hepatitis back in XXXXXXX but I believe that has resolved.
The ER doctor mentioned Cirrohsis? Did she mean fatty liver is part of cirrhosis?
What is hepatic parenchyma?
What is the difference between simple fatty liver or steatohepatitis..
doctor
Answered by Dr. Ramesh Kumar (4 hours later)
Brief Answer:
It's just mild fatty liver.

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thanks for asking query on this forum,.I am Dr Kumar I have gone through your query on detail and answers are-
1)Hepatic means liver and parenchyma means the cells from which liver is made up of.Liver is an orgran a cell is like a XXXXXXX Bricks combine together to form a wall called tissue and tissue combine together to form an organ like liver ;As walls combine together to form a house.

2)Yes these are complex medical words just to explain a simple term fatty liver.
3)Cirrhosis is the end stage of fatty liver disease.For a chronic alcoholic also it takes minimum of 10-15 years to land in to cirrhosis from fatty liver.
There are many stages of fatty liver grade one two three and the end stage disease is called cirrhosis.
Though not asked,
The main treatment is weight loss, it is recommended to lose at least 5% of your body weight and then monitor your liver enzymes to make sure they go back to normal. It is also recommended to take medications to lower your cholesterol if your cholesterol is high and if you had diabetes to make sure it is under good control.

The fat in your liver can cause inflammation, which, over time, can lead to cirrhosis, and this can then increase your risk of liver cancer.
As of now it's just fatty liver which is very common finding.Steatohepatitis is again a name used medically to define inflammation of cells in liver(Hepatitis means inflammed liver cells).

I hope that helps, please feel free to ask any questions about that, I would be glad to answer.
Thanks

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Ramesh Kumar (34 hours later)
Dr. XXXXXXX

Thanks for responding. I am still confused about the “ hepatic parenchymal echogenicity is diffusely increased”. What does that interpret to? Increased from what?

Thanks
doctor
Answered by Dr. Ramesh Kumar (3 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Follow up.

Detailed Answer:
Hello again my dear patient,
Thanks for follow up,
See liver is a large organ divided into a number of segments medically.
There are usually two medical terms-
1)localised-which means the changes are seen in a specific area.This is some thing usually serious because only a particular area is involved(like cyst or cancer).
2)Diffuse or Generalised-The changes are not related to any specific area rather are present all over the organ(In every segment some may have more while other may have a bit less.This is a normal phenomenon as the changes are diffused all over the liver and are not involving just a specific area.Very common in fatty liver.

As you have fatty liver.The rays of ultrasound can't pass through the area where fat is deposited more and can pass easily through areas where fat is deposited less.Therefore the picture they get on screen(echogenicity) is increased but is diffused.In non fatty liver all rays passes by hence picture is usually white and less darkened while in areas with deposition of fat the contrast is dark.

In simple language they just want to write that due to Generalised-The deposition of fat all over the liver (In all segments) the parenchmya(the tissue which forms liver) show diffuse increased echogenicity( show diffused normal and high contrast film on screen due to uneven passage of ultrasonic waves through various parts of liver).
This just means that you are having mild Grade 1 fatty liver a very common finding in people above 30 years.

Hope I can clear your doubt,
feel free to follow up in case you can't still get me,
Do rate the answer any suggestions to make answers better are welcome.
Regards!
Note: For further follow up on digestive issues share your reports here and Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T
doctor
Answered by
Dr.
Dr. Ramesh Kumar

Gastroenterologist

Practicing since :1986

Answered : 2912 Questions

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I Had An Ultrasound For Abdominal Pain And The Results

Brief Answer: It's just mild fatty liver. Detailed Answer: Hello and thanks for asking query on this forum,.I am Dr Kumar I have gone through your query on detail and answers are- 1)Hepatic means liver and parenchyma means the cells from which liver is made up of.Liver is an orgran a cell is like a XXXXXXX Bricks combine together to form a wall called tissue and tissue combine together to form an organ like liver ;As walls combine together to form a house. 2)Yes these are complex medical words just to explain a simple term fatty liver. 3)Cirrhosis is the end stage of fatty liver disease.For a chronic alcoholic also it takes minimum of 10-15 years to land in to cirrhosis from fatty liver. There are many stages of fatty liver grade one two three and the end stage disease is called cirrhosis. Though not asked, The main treatment is weight loss, it is recommended to lose at least 5% of your body weight and then monitor your liver enzymes to make sure they go back to normal. It is also recommended to take medications to lower your cholesterol if your cholesterol is high and if you had diabetes to make sure it is under good control. The fat in your liver can cause inflammation, which, over time, can lead to cirrhosis, and this can then increase your risk of liver cancer. As of now it's just fatty liver which is very common finding.Steatohepatitis is again a name used medically to define inflammation of cells in liver(Hepatitis means inflammed liver cells). I hope that helps, please feel free to ask any questions about that, I would be glad to answer. Thanks