If you have been experiencing pain after eating, nausea and vomiting then your doctor may ask for you to have an ultrasound scan to check for median arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS) This is where a ligament in your abdomen can compress the nerves and blood vessels assocaited with your stomach, liver and other abdominal organs. Typically the symptoms are worse when breathing out.
The visceral artery ultrasound scan will involve checking the abdominal aorta, the renal arteries, the coeliac trunk and its branches, the superior and inferior mesenteric arteries. The coeliac trunk will then be assessed with inspiration (deep breath in) and maximal expiration (breath all the way out and hold). This will allow the sonographer to see the severity of any compression in the coeliac trunk.
When you book this scan you will be asked to fast (not eat or drink) for 4 hours prior to your appointment time. Take all of your medication as normal. For medication that needs to be taken with food please also do this as normal. If you are diabetic and need to eat please do so as normal. Arrive 5 minutes before your appointment time to allow any paperwork to be completed. Please use the toilet in this time prior to your scan. Once you have been called into the ultrasound room you may need to remove some clothing. The sonographer will ask you to lift all your clothing off your abdomen up to the level of your ribs. You will also need to lower your trousers/underwear slightly onto your hips. Once you are ready the sonographer will instruct you to lie on your back on the couch. The gel will be cold and the ultrasound probe will be pressed firmly on your tummy area. Normally your sonographer will ask you to keep your arms to your sides and to try and relax your tummy and not “push back” at the ultrasound probe. The scan can be a bit uncomfortable although this depends on how much gas you have in your abdomen at the time of the scan. Typically a scan of the visceral arteries will take between 15-30 minutes.
The sonographer will check through the images and produce a worksheet with the relevant information which is then rechecked by the vascular surgeon. If you are seeing one of our specialists on the same day as the scan then they will be able to give the result immediately. Otherwise your report will be sent back to the referrer within a day or two. You can contact the referer to arrange a time to discuss the results. If the sonographer identifies any urgent problems then they will discuss it with our vascular specialists and your referrer immediately and let you know if you need to do anything further.
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