Possible side effects of the Procedure

Local anesthetics and contrast media can cause allergic reactions. The following symptoms can occur as possible side effects of injecting a cortisone preparation: calf cramps, slight weight gain, slight increase in blood sugar or blood pressure, acne, increased brittleness of smaller vessels with the occurrence of bruises and menstrual disorders in women. Due to the low local amount of cortisone, general cortisone side effects are only to be expected in exceptional cases.

After the injection, you may experience temporary numbness and weakness in the leg. This is a dose-dependent effect of the local anesthetic and usually resolves completely within 24 hours. Since the local anesthetic can prolong your reaction time, you should not actively participate in road traffic during this time - an escort for the way home is recommended!

Blood thinning medications may need to be stopped for a period of days, or your normal dose reduced, before this procedure is carried out. It is very important that you do not stop any of these medications or change the dose without consulting both the radiology clinic or department and your own doctor. They will give you specific instructions about when to stop and restart the medication. These drugs are usually prescribed to prevent stroke or heart attack so it is very important that you do not stop taking them without being instructed to do so by your doctor or the radiology practice, or both. Aspirin is usually not stopped.

Please read the below and if any of the following apply to you, let your examination team know so they can advise on how to best perform the scan.

• CT examinations should not be done if you’re pregnant.
• Have you ever had an allergic reaction to contrast media containing iodine before? Contrast media are used to improve the representation of structures and functions of the body.
• Do you have an overactive thyroid? The iodine contained in the contrast agent can sometimes disrupt the thyroid metabolism. If you suffer from an overactive thyroid, you should only be examined with contrast media after previous treatment of the thyroid (so-called "thyroid blockade") by your doctor.
• Do you have impaired kidney functions? Contrast media can interfere with kidney function. A current creatinine value should be available for examination before performing the CT. As a preventive measure, it is advisable to drink as much fluids as possible before and after such an examination.
• Do you have a plasmacytoma (multiple myeloma)? Kidney damage can occur in patients with a plasmacytoma. Laboratory values ​​for assessing kidney function (creatinine) should be checked with contrast medium before a CT examination.
• Do you take metformin (i.e Glucophage®) for diabetes? In conjunction with a contrast agent, metformin may be delayed in its degradation. There can be a risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) and therefore, the intake of metformin must be paused for 2 days after a contrast-enhanced CT. Please discuss this with your doctor prior to the scan.

CT examinations only take a few minutes and are completely painless.

Patients are moved horizontally through a ring-shaped section of the CT machine. During the examination, we aim to keep the patient as still as possible, providing all people with breathing instructions and hand placement so they feel comfortable.

A CT examination may be done with a contrast medium to achieve a more detailed assessment of the body region. For this purpose, iodine-containing contrast medium is injected in the arm, and sometimes people may experience a slight warm sensation from this injection. The contrast medium is quickly excreted through the kidneys and allergic reactions rarely occur.

For people getting a CT examination of the abdomen it may be necessary that they drink a solution containing a contrast medium before the examination. The examination team will advise you of this before your scan.

Lying on the examination table, the patient is driven through the ring-shaped part (gantry) of the CT device, while the X-ray tube and detectors rotate around the region of the body to be examined and continuously record slice images. The X-rays are weakened depending on the tissue being irradiated. This enables different tissues and structures (liquids, air, bones) to be differentiated from one another. These differences in intensity are measured by detectors, converted and displayed on the screen in different shades of grey. Pathological changes can thus be displayed and assessed by experienced radiologists. Thanks to the precise, high-resolution images, CT is one of the most important radiological examination methods today.

We work with a modern 128-line computed tomography Siemens Somatom Definition, which delivers up to 128 body slice images at the same time and adjusts the radiation dose individually for each patient during the examination.

MRI scans are predominately used to clarify diseases in the following areas:

• Circulatory disorders including tumors and inflammation in the brain and spinal cord.
• Spin examinations including tumors, malformations and herniated discs.
• Inflammatory diseases of the small intestine (MR-Sellink)
• Vascular changes including occlusions or aneurysms (enlargements or bulges of the vascular wall) and general constrictions.
• Tumor examinations including the mammary gland (MR mammography)
• Heart examinations include cardio-MRI diagnostics of circulatory disorders, reduced blood flow to the heart muscle, heart valve defects, inflammation, narrowing of the coronary arteries, and functional diagnostics.
• Ear, nose and throat examinations including inflammation and tumors in the internal organs such as the pancreas, liver, kidneys, spleen and adrenal glands, prostate, uterus, ovaries and urinary bladder.
• Serious injuries including tumors of bones and joints, degenerative changes and inflammation.

Please bring with you:

• Medicare card
  Referral letter from your doctor
  All preliminary findings and preliminary images (if available)
  Surgery reports (if available)
  Picture CDs etc.
  For MRI additionally: implant certificates und laboratory values (creatinine) - if your examination is performed with contrast medium.
  Blood values (thyroid value - TSH) and kidney values (Krea)

Before your examination:

You cannot take personal items listed below into the examination room as it may interfere with our machines:

Our staff will store your belongings in a safe place. Things include:

• Wallet, coins, credit cards (all cards with magnetic stripes)
• Mobile phone
• Watch
• Fake jewellery, piercings etc.
• Dental prostheses (If the prosthesis is attached by magnets, please inform our staff to clarify whether it is suitable for MRI
• Keys
• Glasses
• Belt
• Bra

Information about the MRI procedure:

How long does the MRI take?

Each examination depends on the type of test ordered. With MRIs some examinations are only 20 minutes while others can be an hour. Each scan takes between 2-5 minutes and some tests need more scans than others. We want to make sure that the picture is clear, which is all dependent on how still the patient lays. At VDX Radiology, we will always aim to do the examination as fast as possible to make patients feel comfortable.

Is it really loud?

During an MRI you will be given earplugs if you find the noise too loud. The tunnel bed sound is approximately 100 decibels so we find that earplugs or special headphones really help minimise the loud noise.

If you have claustrophobia please read

It’s common that some patients will feel nervous in the tunnel bed. Please let us know when you make your appointment if you have claustrophobia and we can prepare a sedative.

In order to receive sedation, you must have someone attend the examination with you who can drive you home. The person driving must also sign a consent form and be present when the patient begins the scan.
After receiving sedation – please be aware that you will not be able to operate any heavy machinery, drive, or make any important legal decisions for the remainder of the day. Even if you think the sedation has worn off, it is still in your system so we need you to wait 24 hours

Will there be people guiding you through the process?

Yes. Our team can see and talk to you during the examination. We communicate with you at any time via an intercom. If you feel uncomfortable and want to stop the examination prematurely, you can trigger an acoustic emergency signal via a small rubber ball that is in your hand and our staff will enter the room immediately.

What kind of instructions are you given during an MRI?

During the examination our staff will guide you through some breathing commands for heart and abdominal examinations. You will hear instructions via the intercom. Some of these instructions may be to hold your breath for a few seconds in order to achieve an ideal examination quality. Sometimes you may be instructed to do this a few times in order to get the best examination possible.

Post examination:

For people who have had an examination that has administered a contrast medium, please make sure you drink plenty of water two days after the examination. This will help you feel better!

You will receive the report by post two working days after the examination.

Do people experience allergic reactions post examination?

It’s very rare but sometimes, allergic reactions can occur up to 48 hours after the examination. You will be informed about what to look out for by a contrast agent before your examination. For examinations that don’t use contrast mediums you don’t have to worry about post allergic reactions.

After care:

• You will not be able to operate machinery or drive a vehicle for 4 hours.
• We always practice safety first so please make sure you can arrange someone to pick you up and drive you home.

Things to let our team know:

Please read through the following list. If any of these apply to you, please make our staff aware before your examination and we’ll make sure nothing interferes with your MRI scan.

• Cardiac pacemakers.
  MR-compatible pacemakers include Biotronik, Medtronic and SJM. Today, MR examinations are also possible in 1.5 Tesla scanners, but require a certain amount of planning before, during and after the MRI examination.
• Inner ear implants like cochlear implants
• Certain joint prostheses. MRI compatibility will be determined based on the material of the prosthetic.
• Older artificial heart valves. These must be checked for MRI compatibility using the cardiac card; Artificial heart valve implants before 1990 are not suitable for MRI for example.
• Neurostimulators for pain therapy
• Vascular clips and intracerebral clips (if there is no clear evidence of MR compatibility, e.g. from the surgical protocol)
• AICDs (implanted defibrillators), biventricular pacemakers, implanted insulin / pain pumps
• Metal or grenade fragments under the skin. Commonly seen with metal working professions.

If any of the following applies to you, we will need to gather special consent before examination:

• If you weigh 135kg or more.
• If you are in the first 3 months of pregnancy.
• Known allergy to MR contrast media.
• If you have claustrophobia. In most cases, we can continue with the examination by administering a low dose of a sedative. If this option is undertaken, you cannot drive for about 4 hours, even if you feel okay as the sedative will still be in your system.

At YARRA Radiology our X-rays are fully digital and therefore produce a low amount of radiation.

YARRA Radiology is equipped with world class, digital X-ray machines. We guarantee with our equipment that patients will only be exposed to very low radiation levels.

By using fully digital X-ray machines, all examination results are easily filed and all records can be accessed for years shall a patient or practice need to access these in future.

It is recommended that if a patient is pregnant, an X-ray shouldn’t take place. The patient should always seek to use a radiation-free examination method as an alternative.

During an X-ray examination a tube scans the tissues of the body part, highlighting different densities. The rays passing through the tissues then hit a storage film.

Airborne or soft tissue (e.g. lungs, muscles, skin) is very radiolucent and appears rather dark or grey on the X-ray image.

Solid and dense tissue (e.g. bones, teeth), absorbs a lot of radiation and then looks lighter or white on the X-ray image.