What Tests Will I Need to Have?
Diagnosing tumors in the liver has improved considerably in the last several decades. The development of ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has allowed routine diagnoses to be made less invasively. We can determine the extent of tumors more accurately, thus sparing unnecessary surgery. At the same time, some diagnostic procedures offer important therapeutic or palliative options such as arteriography (embolization), CT and US (percutaneous drainage) or endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatogragraphy (ERC) and percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography/ cholangioscopy (dilatation, stent implantation, stone extraction, intraluminal radiation).
Some preoperative diagnostic modalities are complementary and thus increase clinical information, others, however, may be redundant. Diagnostic modalities play a key role in identifying the extent of disease. This has important prognostic and therapeutic implications. Benign lesions and malignant lesions are approached differently. A correct diagnosis and exact determination of the extent of disease are essential.
