Ultrasound replaces painful liver surgery

Painful biopsies to identify potentially fatal liver disease have been replaced by an ultrasound technique at Waikato Hospital.

The Fibroscan provids a painless, non-invasive alternative to a needle biopsy by measuring the liver with ultrasound waves and evaluating progression of the disease.

Though it is used overseas regularly, it is the first time the $200,000 machine has been installed in a New Zealand hospital.

Waikato Hospital's gastroenterology unit installed the machine early this month and staff are already using it on patients.

It was paid for through the Waikato Gastroenterology Research Fund which had been running clinical trials for the past years.

Gastroenterology clinical director Frank Weilert said the procedure would reduce the number of liver biopsies by up to 60 per cent at Waikato Hospital.

"Obtaining liver tissue by a needle biopsy can be a very painful procedure resulting in bleeding, perforation of other organs, even hospital admission and, rarely, death," Dr Weilert said.

"This has previously been the only option to assess the liver but the Fibroscan allows us to measure liver stiffness without invasive action.

"It will also allow us to map progress of liver disease better."

Dr Weilert said the new procedure was a more suitable option for many people, including elderly patients, those with bleeding disorders and young children.

The Fibroscan works through a probe held against the patients' abdomen.

It generates a pulse and sends waves through the liver.

The converted waves measure how stiff the liver is. The procedure takes about 15 minutes.

- © Fairfax NZ News