This scan will enable the physician to see which part of the kidneys are damaged due to scarring caused by urinary tract infection and to assess the renal function of the kidneys.
Procedure
You will be given a small injection in your arm. You can leave the department after the injection but you will have to return after about 3 hours for the scan. This waiting period is to allow the kidneys to take up the tracer. There is no known side effect. During the scan, you will lie on the imaging couch and a Gamma Camera will take images of your kidneys from several angles.
Patient Preparation
You must drink lots of water before the procedure.
This procedure allows the physician to monitor the function of the kidneys and the degree of any blockage in the flow of urine out of the kidneys.
You will lie down on the imaging couch and a Gamma Camera will be placed over your abdominal area. There will be a small injection and images of the tracer passing through your kidneys will be taken. The computer will continue to monitor and image your kidneys for about 30 minutes. During this time, it is extremely important for you to keep very still, as any movements will cause the processing and calculation of the data to be inaccurate.
This scan allows the physician to detect possible narrowing of the blood vessels supplying blood to the kidneys and also monitor the function of the kidneys.
You will lie down on the imaging couch and a Gamma Camera will be placed over your abdominal area. An injection containing a small amount of radioactive tracer will be given and images of the tracer passing through your kidneys will be recorded. The computer will continue to monitor and image your kidneys continuously for about 30 minutes. During this time, it is extremely important that you keep very still, as any movements will cause the processing and calculation of the data to be inaccurate.
This procedure will give a detailed and accurate picture of the filtration rate and function of the kidneys.
You will have your weight and height taken. A small 3-way injection plug will be inserted in a vein in your arm to facilitate injection and blood taking. Chromium-51 will be injected via this plug. You are then free for the next three hours. You will have to return to our department twice - at three and four hours after the injection, during which some blood samples will be withdrawn via the plug. This will take about 10 minutes each time.
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