Indications of a HIDA Scan
- Diagnosis of acute cholecystitis
- Evaluation of extrahepatic biliary tract obstruction
- Evaluation of post surgical biliary tract
- Diagnosis of biliary atresia and other congenital anomalies of the biliary tract
Hepatobiliary Scan / HIDA Scan Preparation
The patient must be fasting for four hours prior to a hepatobiliary scan / HIDA scan.
The department must be notified if the patient is taking any pain medications.
Hepatobiliary Scan / HIDA Scan Procedure
At the beginning of a HIDA scan, a radioactive tracer is injected in a vein in your arm while you lie on your back on an imaging table. Multiple images of the abdominal area are immediately taken. HIDA scan imaging takes one to two hours (or longer). The variability of imaging time is due to the fact that it is not possible to determine how long it will take your gallbladder and small bowel to visualize. In some instances, delayed imaging may be required if the gallbladder or small bowel does not visualized during the first set of images.