Liver and Spleen Scan

How To Prepare

Before your liver and spleen scan, tell your doctor if you:

• Are or might be pregnant.
• Are breast-feeding. Use formula (throw out your breast milk) for 1 to 2 days after the scan until the radioactive tracer has passed from your body. This generally takes 24 hours.
• Have had an X-ray test using barium contrast material (such as a barium enema) or have taken a medicine (such as Pepto-Bismol) that has bismuth in the last 4 days. Barium and bismuth can block a clear picture.

You will empty your bladder right before the scan.

Talk to your doctor about any concerns you have regarding the need for the test, its risks, how it will be done, or what the results will mean. To help you understand the importance of this test, fill out the medical test information form(What is a PDF document?).

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Author:	Jan Nissl, RN, BS	Last Updated: November 28, 2006
Medical Review:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine Jerome B. Simon, MD, FRCPC, FACP - Gastroenterology
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