A magnetic resonance cholangiogram (MRC) is a new test that can help
doctors look for problems in the abdomen. The image is done from outside the
body, without inserting an instrument.
Doctors can use MRC to locate
gallstones before surgery to remove the gallbladder
(laparoscopic cholecystectomy). But the test is most useful for diagnosing
complications of gallstones, such as obstruction of the bile duct, perforation
of the gallbladder, or
abscesses.1 The
disadvantage of MRC is that, unlike ERCP, doctors cannot use it to remove
gallstones.
Citations
Browning JD, Sreenarasimhaiah J (2006). Gallstone
disease. In M Feldman et al., eds., Sleisenger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, 8th ed., vol. 1, pp. 1387-1418.
Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier.
Browning JD, Sreenarasimhaiah J (2006). Gallstone
disease. In M Feldman et al., eds., Sleisenger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, 8th ed., vol. 1, pp. 1387-1418.
Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier.
