Ultrasound scan - how long is normal for results?

Angilion

Angilion

Angilion

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This isn't a medical thread as banned by the rules - I'm not asking for a diagnosis and I'm not going to put mustard on anything :)

I had an ultrasound scan 11 days ago to get a look at my liver. I was referred to the local hospital by my GP for it. The GP told me to phone if I hadn't heard anything in 10 days. So I called my GP's surgery today...and they said it would take 6-8 weeks to get the results and that was normal.

That seems ridiculous to me, especially after my GP wrote URGENT on the paperwork and I got the scan a few days later.

Am I being mushroomed or is 6-8 weeks normal? If so, why? Even if it's sent by post, 6-8 weeks is ridiculous.
 
Next day when I had one!

From what I remember the consultant at the hospital told me I needed one, and to go to the department to make an appointment. 10 weeks they say for an appointment.... or next day if I do it through Bupa (either at the NHS hospital or at the local private). So next day I have an ultrasound and they have it on the screen there with the bloke explaining to me what everything is (whilst I'm just wanting them to hurry up so I can go for a slash!) Next day they then write a letter to the consultant explaining what they did and didn't find.

6-8 weeks sounds like me where they've put you on the non-urgent list.


EDIT: Hang on... you've had the ultrasound already and it's 6-8 weeks for them to write what they did or didn't find? That's taking the wee-wee.
 
I had an ultrasound to check my heart a while back. My GP had everything within a week or so. Although they didn't phone me so I had to phone them. Fortunately everything was ok.

6-8 weeks sounds like a lot to me.
 
When I had mine the guy doing it told me what he was doing/looking for as he did it.

Had scan, results and visit with a specialist in less then a week (5 days).

Edit: Actually mine was marked Urgent and it took over a week of chasing up to get the results.
 
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I had quite a few ultrasounds (don't ask why - I ain't telling :D ) where the results have been instant and some that have taken weeks.

It depends what they are looking for. Sometimes the data has to be really carefully analysed. Sometimes it is painfully obvious nothing is wrong.
 
Angilion said:
This isn't a medical thread as banned by the rules - I'm not asking for a diagnosis and I'm not going to put mustard on anything :)

I had an ultrasound scan 11 days ago to get a look at my liver. I was referred to the local hospital by my GP for it. The GP told me to phone if I hadn't heard anything in 10 days. So I called my GP's surgery today...and they said it would take 6-8 weeks to get the results and that was normal.

That seems ridiculous to me, especially after my GP wrote URGENT on the paperwork and I got the scan a few days later.

Am I being mushroomed or is 6-8 weeks normal? If so, why? Even if it's sent by post, 6-8 weeks is ridiculous.
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Sounds about right to get the results you may though then wait up to half a year to get someone who you will see face to face to get those results put into context for you. It depends on what it is for and who has to review the scan. And GP's often add urgent for your benefit not to give anything a measure of alacrity.
 
Phone up the local hospital and ask to speak to radiology. Explain the situation and I am positive you will get further with them than your surgery – key is to be polite as they deal with stroppy people all day.

Missus works in medicine and I've done this on her recommendation many times and certainly works.
 
boxman2000 said:
Phone up the local hospital and ask to speak to radiology. Explain the situation and I am positive you will get further with them than your surgery – key is to be polite as they deal with stroppy people all day.

Missus works in medicine and I've done this on her recommendation many times and certainly works.
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They might give you a normal result but most departments will want the results to be delivered by a doctor so they can explain what they've found.
 
LordSplodge said:
Oh so an Ultrasound tech can spot every known problem just by looking at the pictures?

Pull the other one...
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The only decent information they'll get is at the time of scan, that's why ultrasound is completely operator dependant unlike XR/CT/MRI where the images are taken by a radiographer and reported by a radiologist (or a dreaded reporting practioner).
 
Minstadave said:
The only decent information they'll get is at the time of scan, that's why ultrasound is completely operator dependant unlike XR/CT/MRI where the images are taken by a radiographer and reported by a radiologist (or a dreaded reporting practioner).
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There is seeing something on a scan - one thing - then there is knowing the context that thing that was seen is in relation to the patient the implications for the patient and expected treatment if required - that is a completely different thing. You only do the later if you know what you are on about which in the main is not in the remit of the person doing the scan hence the wait.
 
Tom0 said:
I have no idea.

Just want to wish you all the best, Hope it's nothing too serious!
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So do I...which is why I'm not pleased about waiting 2 months for the scan results to go from my local hospital to my doctor's surgery a few miles away. If it is something serious, those 2 months could make a lot of difference.

They're already sure something is wrong with my liver. It's not a fishing expedition - they know something is wrong, they're just don't know what the root cause is. It could be all manner of things, including some fatal things. It might not even be my liver that's the root cause - it might be something else that's adversely affecting my liver.

If they had told me the truth before, I would have borrowed the money to go private. You can get the results on the same day if you pay enough. When they told me it was up to 10 days on the NHS, I thought that was OK. To be told that was a lie and it's routinely over 50 days is annoying. I thought it was pretty smooth going when I got an appointment for the scan about a week after the initial appointment with my GP. I thought that would be the biggest delay, not waiting for the results to travel a few miles. It would be faster if they taped them to a tortoise's shell and laid a trail of lettuce leaves.
 
boxman2000 said:
Phone up the local hospital and ask to speak to radiology. Explain the situation and I am positive you will get further with them than your surgery – key is to be polite as they deal with stroppy people all day.

Missus works in medicine and I've done this on her recommendation many times and certainly works.
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Ah, that sounds promising. Thanks for the advice. I'm going to phone the docs again on Monday, as they suggested I ring back in a few days to ask them to ask some unspecified person to ask if it was possible to perhaps get the results sent a bit earlier. Obviously a fob-off, but I'll go through the motions. When I get another fob-off, I'll call radiology.
 
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maustin said:
Sounds about right to get the results you may though then wait up to half a year to get someone who you will see face to face to get those results put into context for you. It depends on what it is for and who has to review the scan. And GP's often add urgent for your benefit not to give anything a measure of alacrity.
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I think it might have been for their benefit, in a way. They found my case interesting because the diagnosis wasn't at all clear and that made it different to nearly all the patients they see. The doc had a far better bedside manner than House, but the same sort of interest in the puzzle. Which is understandable - if you've put at least 7 years into gaining knowledge, you're bound to want an opportunity to put it to use in something other than routine.

The scan appointment was very soon afterwards, so there was a measure of alacrity to begin with.
 
About 3 hours later, but that's when I was an inpatient. Not had one as an oupatient.

Would depend on the hospital and urgency of the case I guess!
 
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