Scanman I need you

August 22, 2007

Vijay! Help Me!!!

We have a radiologist who is lazy. He reads the MRI scan or x-ray and when doing the impression part of the reading, just re-reads his initial reading. So I have to make sense of this:

1. T12-L1: Loss of disk hydration. Disk bulge indents the anterior thecal sac. Hypertrophic Facets and ligamenta flava indent the posterolateral thecal sac producing mild central stenosis.

2. L1-2: Loss of disk hydration. Disk bulge indents the anterior thecal sac. Hypertrophic Facets and ligamenta flava indent the posterolateral thecal sac producing mild central stenosis.

3. L2-3: Disk bulge in combination with hypertrophy of the facets and ligamenta flava indents the thecal sac. The neural foramina are narrowed bilaterally most narrowed on the right

4. L4-5: Loss of disk height and hydration with disk bulge, spondylosis and hypertrophy of the facets and ligamenta flava indenting the thecal sac producing mild central stenosis with narrowing of the bilateral lateral recesses and bilateral neural foraminal stenosis.

5. L5-S1: Grade 1 Anterolisthesis of L5 on S1 with Loss of disk height and hydration. Disk bulge and spondylosis effaces the epidural fat flattening the anterior thecal sac and in combination with facet arthropathy produces bilateral lateral recess and bilateral neural foraminal stenosis.

What does it mean???

I think this guy is a doctor. Why can’t he actually interpret the MRI? Isn’t that his job? This report tells me very little except that she probably has arthritis, which may or may not be of significant importance depending on what he means by mild and moderate.

My guess is that this guy doesn’t want to be liable for the interpretation. He feels that he will just let the doctor reading the report form their own interpretation. It drives me crazy when I get one of these reports. I really don’t care about Anterolisthesis or Ligamenta Flava. I just need to know: does she need to go to neurosurgery or not?

AAARGGHH!

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One Response to “Scanman I need you”

Ask Dr. Rob: Attitude Adjustment | Musings of a Distractible Mind said:

October 25th, 2007 at 2:06 pm

[...] previously discussed the working of an MRI scanner (and some of the side effects) as well as the useless reports they can generate. If we can avoid magnetizing the patient and can get a report that is in English that we can [...]