Liver Hemangioma

[Unregistered]

Hi there,

I'm a male in my early 40's, and as part of my annual physical they did an ultrasound of my abdomen. The radiologist (?) identified some faint crop circles on my liver, and they sent me in for an MRI.

The MRI showed a small, faint hemangioma on my liver. The doctor said it's not a problem, and his only recommendation was to have an ultrasound again in a year to make sure it's not going crazy. (It wasn't there a year prior.) I have no symptoms whatsoever from it.

Is this an issue for my class 2 medical, and do I need to report it?

Thanks.

 

[Gary F]

Dr. Bruce would be the authority here but I would not report it anymore than I would report a wart. If the physician did not send you for a biopsy then he or she believes that it is most probably a benign finding. Since that could not be determined with 100% certainty a follow up study was recommended. It is common for incidental findings to be discovered on imaging tests. The radiologist will usually describe the finding and often make the comment "clinical correlation required" or recommend a follow up study to cover his ass.

 

[weilke]

Good news.
- it's not going to kill you
- it's not going to do anything bad to you
- doesn't need to be cut out

Yes, looking at it in a year to make sure it's not something different is a good idea.

It is a bunch of blood-vessels that couldn't make up their mind what to turn into. Very common.

The question is: Why would your doc do an ultrasound as part of a routine physical ? This wasn't done 'for your convenience' right in his office, was it ?

 

[Unregistered]

The ultrasound is part of the annual company physical where I work. It's a rather all-encompassing thing.

I took the high moral ground and asked my AME. He asked if it was malignant, and the answer was no. Based on that he says I have to mention it on my medical but don't need any supporting paperwork at this time.

I was worried about putting it down, but at the same time I want to be legal ... So all is good.

Thanks!

 

[bbchien]

This is not a disqualifying condition. Smile

 

[weilke]

The ultrasound is part of the annual company physical where I work. It's a rather all-encompassing thing.

Ah, one of those things.

One of the risks of unneccessary imaging is finding unneccessary stuff. You are lucky in the sense that a hemangioma has a fairly typical appearance on MRI and ultrasound and therefore can be followed by ultrasound.

I took the high moral ground and asked my AME. He asked if it was malignant, and the answer was no. Based on that he says I have to mention it on my medical but don't need any supporting paperwork at this time.

Get a copy of the ultrasound and MRI report and a letter from the company doc that it is a nonmalignant lesion of the liver in case someone ever asks.

 

[Gary F]

This is the main reason that many routine screening imaging tests are not a good idea even if they are paid for by insurance.