Gall Bladder
Purpose: This is an x-ray examination of the gall bladder after the ingestion of a contrast material, Telepague pills. The exam helps to show if the gall bladder is functioning normally and whether any gallstones are present.
Length of Test: 30 minutes.
Patient Prep: On the evening before the x-ray examination, the patient should eat a light supper containing fruit or fruit juice, vegetables cooked without fats, bread and jelly, coffee or tea without milk or cream (sugar is ok). The patient should not eat meat or fried foods.After supper, the patient should not eat, drink, smoke or chew gum. Water may be taken in moderate amounts.
About 14 hours before the x-ray exam, the patient needs to swallow the Telepague tablets one at a time with water.
The patient should not eat breakfast the next morning.
Procedure: The technologist will take x-rays and the radiologist will evaluate them. The gall bladder is a difficult organ to visualize which may necessitate shifting the patient into different positions for additional x-rays.
When the gall bladder is visualized:
A post-fatty meal x-ray may be taken. This requires the patient to eat a fatty meal (ie, bacon, eggs, etc.) and return to the radiology office for additional x-rays approximately 45 minutes - 1 hour after eating.
When the gall bladder is not visualized:
A second day series could be required. Incomplete visualization happens with over 50% of all patients, a normal occurrence. Six additional Telepague pills are required for the second day series. This does not mean that there is something necessarily wrong with the patient's gallbladder or that the x-rays were not good quality.
The x-rays will be evaluated by a radiologist and a report will be sent to the referring physician.
