Liver Update and Pictures

This spring I flew up to Anchorage to visit my liver specialist in Anchorage, Dr. Geronimo Sahagun. Dr. Sahagun is great because he is willing to take the time to answer questions, and goes above and beyond, taking time out of his schedule to respond to emailed questions. He encourages me to research my condition (Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis) independently, and then takes the time to answer the pages of questions I bring to my appointments. My last visit this spring spurred a visit to our local branch of the Alaska Open Imaging Center for an MRCP. Our Soldotna office uses the Hitachi AIRIS 2 open imager, you can take a look at it HERE. The MRCP took about an hour and they took about 140 images of my liver and it's bile ducts. Hitachi Medical Division is designing open imaging machines to create a more comfortable environment for the patient during what can be a nerve wracking and long process. The technicians fasten a strap around your chest to monitor your breathing, and at the trough of an exhale the images are taken. The images are then sent to a specialist who analyzes the images, drafts a report and sends it to Dr. Sahagun. Let me assure you, MRCP's are not cheap, but in exchange for your thousands of dollars, they give you a CD with all your images on it. A program called eFilm lite is preloaded on the CD and allows you to scroll through your cross sectioned Liver and Bile ducts. While Dr. Sahagun felt my case of PSC was fairly mild, he wanted to confirm with an MRCP. Thankfully the MRCP confirmed his belief. What was so interesting about this conclusion was everything I went through leading up to my trip to the Alaska Open Imaging. I went through countless rounds of blood work, doctor visits, a colonoscopy and even a liver biopsy; all revealing very little about an existing condition marked by my abnormal LFP numbers. SO, final conclusions: My liver condition is relatively mild. PSC is known to increase chances of Colon Cancer. Recent studies have shown that Urso Forte (Ursodiol) the medication I'm taking, is largely not effective in managing PSC, however it may help prevent colon cancer. That's it in a nutshell. I will post one photo from the MRCP. My liver is the bright white organ. The image is one in a series that rotates around the body showing all sides of the liver and the ducts.

Hope all is well, foggy and cool today,

Josh

P.s. Where The Wild Things Are comes out today!