MRI scan following blood tests??

[tipsycat]

Hi. Please can anyone offer their opinions regarding why I'm being sent for an MRI scan.

I'm waiting for surgery to remove my gall bladder as I have gall stones. I've had an ultra sound scan which detected the stones, and had my pre op assessment a couple of weeks ago. I was told that I would receive a date for my operation through the post.

I've now received a letter asking me to go for an MRI scan as a result of the blood tests which they took at my pre op visit. I've spoken to my GP who has no more info than me, the appointment for the scan is on Saturday, so I suppose I'll find out more then, but if anyone can offer any insight, I'll be grateful, and may get some sleep before Saturday.

I was sent for an MRI scan of my brain (!) after being seen by a doctor for migraines.

A lot of the time you get scanned for things which aren't serious but need looking at, MRI scans can image the soft tissues of the body in a way that X rays can't. It may be that they want to find exactly where the gall bladder/stones are before the operation or to look at the surrounding tissues for signs of inflammation or damage. Check out www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/gallbladderdisease.htm which says MRI scans are quite routine when investigating gallbladder problems.

What I mean is you can go for completely dull reasons to have an MRI and if they thought you had something major going on inside your GP would know about it and you would be in the hospital PDQ. I don't know of anyway you can detect cancer tumours, for example, from a blood test.