SPRINGFIELD – Mercy Health announces that it now offers patients non-invasive, painless liver assessments with FibroScan, the first device cleared by the FDA as an aid in the management of patients with liver disease.
The liver is the largest solid organ in the body and serves as the body’s filter and warehouse, removing toxins and waste products from the blood stream and storing vitamins, minerals and glucose that the body will need later. It helps to manage cholesterol, hormones and sugar and also regulates fat storage and blood clotting factors.
However, many things can damage the liver, including:
• Medications, including acetaminophen
• Some herbal and alternative remedies
• Infections, such as hepatitis
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
• Alcohol abuse
Liver stiffness can be a sign of liver damage. FibroScan works by emitting a pulse of energy which patients feel as a slight vibration on their skin during the 10-minute procedure. FibroScan measures the speed and strength of this energy as it travels, which provides a measure of the liver’s stiffness. Doctors use this information as part of a broader evaluation of the liver’s health.
“Mercy Health is pleased to offer this important advance in liver management to our patients. It provides quick, pain-free results that previously might only have been available from a liver biopsy,” said Adam Groshans, Chief Operating Officer, Mercy Health – Springfield. “We’ve located the FibroScan at Mercy Heath – Springfield Regional Outpatient Center, which earns top patient satisfaction scores, for the convenience of the outstanding community of gastroenterology specialists serving Clark and Champaign counties.”
FibroScan examinations are covered by most insurance plans. The FibroScan is located at Mercy Heath – Springfield Regional Outpatient Center, located at 2610 N. Limestone St. Springfield, Ohio 45503.
The Mercy Health Foundation Clark & Champaign Counties has committed to total funding of the FibroScan equipment.
