At the end of my 24 weeks on treatment, I was sent in for an ultrasound. The procedure was set up for the day after I returned from Washington DC. Big mistake!! I was totally exhausted from the trip. Actually I nearly fell asleep while they were doing the ultrasound. Then I had to wait around another hour for them to do it again, something about using a different machine. Anyway...here are those results.....

March 28, 2001
Abdominal Ultrasound
Clinical History:    Chronic Hepatitis C

FINDINGS:
    Sonographic imaging of the abdomen dated 3/28/01 is interpreted without benefit of prior examination.

    The liver is echogenic and heterogeneous in appearnce. The liver is also enlarged. No discrete lesions are seen, however. The liver surface is smooth.
    The gallbladdar is within normal limits. The wall measures 3mm in thickness. There is no intrahepatic or extrahepatic bile duct dilatation. The common duct measures approximately 4.1mm in diameter.
    There is no ascites. Portal venous flow is hepatopetal. The spleen is not enlarged and measures 10.4cm in length.

The kidneys are reniform in contour. The right kidney measures 9.7cm in length. The left kidney measures 10.1cm in length.

IMPRESSION:    ECHOGENIC, HETEROGENEOUS LIVER CONSISTENT WITH HEPATOCELLULAR DISEASE. THE LIVER IS ALSO MILDLY ENLARGED. NO EVIDENCE OF BILIARY DISEASE OR SPLENOMEGALY.
 

October 17, 2001
Right Upper Quadrant Ultrasound
Clinical History:    Chronic Hepatitis C

FINDINGS:
    The liver surface is smooth. The liver is heterogeneous in echo texture. The liver echogenicity is increased compared to the kidney and spleen consistant with fatty inflitration. There is no evidence of intrahepatic duct dialation. There is hepatopetal flow in the protal venous system. The inferior edge of the liver extends beyond the inferior border of the kidney consistent with hepatomegaly.
    The gallbladder shows no evidence of gallstones. The common bile duct measures 3mm. The right kidney measures 9.8cm. There is a simple cyst in the superior pole of the right kidney measuring about 1.3cm in the longest dimension. The left kidney measures 10.2cm. Both kidneys show normal echogenicity with no focal lesions or hydronephrosis.
    The visualized portion of the spleen and pancreas show no focal abnormalities.

IMPRESSION: HETEROGENEOUS LIVER WITH FATTY INFILTRATION. HEPATOMEGALY UNCHANGED WHEN COMPARED TO PRIOR REPORT. PRIOR EXAM IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR COMPARISON.
 

October 22, 2002
Upper Abdominal Quadrant Ultrasound with Additional Duplex Doppler Examination
Clinical History:    Chronic Hepatitis C

FINDINGS:
    Fatty liver diffusely. No definite descrete pathologic intrahepatic masses and no abdominal ascites identified.
    Patent-appearing hepatopedal flow within the main portal vein, right portal vein, and left portal vein with carotid duplex Doppler examination.
    Intact-appearing biliary tree. No definite acoustical shadowing or cholelithiasis identified. No gallbladder wall thickening appreciated, with a 0.37cm nondialated common bile duct.
    Suboptimally visualized pancreas ultrasonographically with upper limits normal splenic size with (10.0cm).
    Nonhydronephrotic-appearing 9.4cm right kindey and 10.9cm left kidney.

IMPRESSION:  FATTY LIVER. UNREMARKABLE GALLBLADDER AND NONDILATED COMMON BILE DUCT. PATENT-APPEARING MAIN PORTAL VEIN, RIGHT PORTAL VEIN, AND LEFT PORTAL VEIN ON DUPLEX DOPPLER EXAMINATION.